Threads - Quotes

Tuesday 24 May: [...] Nevertheless, people are alarmed about the lack of advice or information from the government. Well, the policy of the government is quite clear on the matter, we are urging to people to keep calm, use their common sense and to go about their business as normal. Panic can only make matters worse. We all know the situation is serious but we are in constant touch with our allies in Washington and have firm assurance that it's under control.Threads and other Sheffield Plays (1990), p. 184. proceed smoothly. Thank you Minister, and we've just had a newsflash from Bonn, that the Russians have cut the road links into and out of West Berlin. Radio and air communications with the city have apparently also been severed. Details are still coming in, but it seems an American army convoy bound for West Berlin has been turned back at {{w|Helmstedt–Marienborn border crossing|Helmstedt}} on the East German border. Unconfirmed reports say the Russians have offered a safe passage out of the city to the U.S., British and French garrisons. It's not clear if this move is connected with yesterday's riots in East Germany. We'll bring you more details on the story as soon as we have them.

Monday 23 May: In response to today's news of the outbreak of hostilities between vessels of the United States and Soviet navies, a special session of parliament has this evening passed an Emergency Powers Act. There'll be a special announcement at the end of this bulletin, and details will be given then of how this affects you. The Prime Minister is expected to address the nation on the international crisis later this evening. A statement, issued earlier from Downing Street, said the government is optimistic that a peaceful, negotiated settlement to the conflict is at hand. In the meantime, the public is urged to remain calm, and to continue normally.

Monday 23 May: [...] There's been a run on tinned food, sugar, and other storable items, which is causing shortages in some areas. A spokesman for the main supermarket chain said that panic buying is unnecessary. Fuel shortages are hindering resupply in some areas, but overall there is no shortage of stocks. They urge the public to calm down, be patient

Monday 23 May: Since the expiry of the American ultimatum to the Soviet Union at noon yesterday, there have been intense diplomatic efforts to mediate between the two countries. There is still no information from Iran itself: no news teams have been allowed in or out of the country since phone and telex links were cut on Friday evening. Questioned in the House this morning, the Foreign Secretary said he had no definite news to report, and that it would be unhelpful to speculate in the absence of any hard information from the area.

Saturday 21 May: The government has taken control of British Airways and all cross-channel ferries: they say it's a temporary step to help move troops to Europe; thousands are stranded at Heathrow and Gatwick; and the Royal Navy is to guard the North Sea oil rigs: the MOD says it's a prudent, precautionary measure.

Saturday 21 May: The day has been marked by a number of demonstrations up and down the country, reflecting support for and against the government's decision to reinforce Europe. Although most of these passed off without incident, police made a number of arrests for disorderly conduct at rallies in the North and Midlands.

Saturday 21 May: There's been no response from the Soviet government as yet to the United States ultimatum delivered to Moscow last night. The American note calls for joint withdrawal of all U.S. and Soviet forces from Iran by noon on Sunday. However, NATO observers in West Germany have reported increasing build-ups of Warsaw Pact troops and vehicles at points along the central frontier this morning. The Ministry of Defence has announced it's sending more troops to Europe to reinforce the British commitment to NATO. The first contingent left RAF Brize Norton this morning.

Thursday 19 May: [...; ...; ...; ...; ...; ...; ...; ...; ...; ...] Worldwide about the superpower confrontation in the Middle East has increased this evening . In a statement issued a short time ago by the Pentagon in Washington, the United States has accused the Soviet Union of moving nuclear warheads into their new base at Mashhad in northern Iran. According to the American spokesman, the war aboard two giant Antonov transport planes late yesterday afternoon and were immediately moved undercover into temporary hangars. predictable flurry of activity in and around the NATO headquarters. Among those arriving in the last half-hour member countries. They entered the building swiftly, and do not comment on the reports at this stage. a statement within the next hour or so. NATO's position on the United States action in sending its task force to Iran has been cautious up to now from which neither side could back down. Arriving here in Brussels a short time ago, NATO's Secretary General said he in the Middle East. Whether the latest news strengthens the divisions within NATO is something we should know in a few hour's time, when the full council of ministers meets in an emergency session to debate its response to the crisis into London. And we've just heard that the Prime Minister has issued a message of support for the United States government. The statement, just released from Downing Street, condemns what it calls "reckless Soviet actions, which can only worsen an already grave situation.

Thursday 19 May: [...] The remaining units of the United States 10th Airborne Division, which parachuted into western Iran yesterday, have taken up defensive positions near Isfahan, designed, according the spokesman, to block any possible move towards the oilfields in the Persian Gulf. Squadrons of American B-52 bombers have been arriving at U.S. bases in Turkey since late on Tuesday evening, together with three AWACS early warning aircraft. It's believed that they'll be used in a supporting role to the Middle East task force. The 84th Airborne Division has also been placed on the state of combat readiness, and is set to be able to

Thursday 12 May: American and Israeli search and rescue vessels in the area today came across debris and oil slicks that could only have come from the missing submarine. It's still being said in Washington, that the Los Angeles was on a routine reconnaissance mission off the coast of Iran, when she sank last Tuesday with the loss of all hands. After paying tribute to her 127 officers and men, the President went on to say that he held the Soviet Union solely responsible for their deaths, and for the vessel's disappearance.

Thursday 12 May: BBC News at 8 o'clock: The Soviet Union has protested strongly to the United States about what it calls "dangerous provocations" by American warships in the Gulf of Oman yesterday. This follows an incident in which serious damage was caused to the Soviet cruiser Kirov, when she was in collision with the U.S. destroyer Callaghan.

Wednesday 11 May: [...] On a day that has seen U.S. naval vessels in the Indian Ocean put on high alert, and on the eve of the Iran debate in the United Nations Security Council, this morning's report came as a bombshell to most Americans. Quoting sources close to the administration, the Washington Post says there's been a serious incident involving a United States warship in the waters off the coast of Iran. No further details are given in the story, attributed the paper's defence correspondent. However, one rumour, being heard increasingly in the Capitol this morning, says the vessel is a U.S. submarine that has disappeared whilst on routine patrol in the area. Coming just at the same time, the latest news of a Naval alert has alarmed many people, by seeming to confirm that something very serious has happened. A Pentagon spokesman refused to be drawn one way or other on the crisis parrying all reporter's questions at his regular morning press briefing.Threads and other Sheffield Plays (1990), p. 167.

Sunday 8 May: The United States has hinted it may send troops to the Middle East if the Russians don't move their forces out of Iran. The Prime Minister has joined the chorus of western leaders calling for immediate withdrawal and has spoken of a serious threat to world peace. Four people were killed today on the M6 motorway in Staffordshire when their car was in a collision with a heavy tanker. The accident happened at the junction with the A449 near Dunston.The location of the motorway incident is according to Threads and other Sheffield Plays (1990), p. 165.

Thursday 5 May: [Footage with caption "{{w|Norddeutscher Rundfunk|ndr}} film"; [Iran; [Andrei Gromyko|Mr. Gromyko; [Mohammad Reza Pahlavi|the Shah] This film, shot secretly by a West German television crew on Tuesday, shows one of the Soviet convoys on the move in northern ]. The convoys were first spotted by United States satellites on Monday, moving across three of the mountain passes leading from the Soviet Union. The Soviet Foreign Minister has defended the incursions, and has accused the United States of deliberately prompting last week's coup in Iran. Speaking on his arrival in Vienna, ] claims the Soviet vehicles were responding to appeals from legitimate government forces from the Bojnord. He went on to define American covert activities in Iran in the period immediately preceding the coup as "destabilising". He warned the United States of the dangers seeking in what he called "an easy return to the reign of ].

Saturday 5 March: [Radio announcement fragmentary due to Jimmy channel hopping] There's been further fighting in Iran between government and... as the civil war there...

Narrator: The first winter. The stresses of hypothermia, epidemic and radiation fall heavily on the very young and old. Their protective layers of flesh are thinner. In the first few winters, many of the young and old disappear from Britain.

Narrator: Chronic fuel shortages mean that this could be one of the last times tractors and combine harvesters are used in Britain.

Narrator: Collecting this diminished first harvest is now literally a matter of life and death.

Narrator: A growing exodus from cities in search of food. It's July. The countryside is cold and full of unknown radiation hazards. By now, five to six weeks after the attack, deaths from the effects of fallout are approaching their peak.

Narrator: Detention camps are improvised to cope with looters. Their numbers are growing.

Narrator: Money has had no meaning since the attack. The only viable currency is food, given as reward for work or withheld as punishment. In the grim economics of the aftermath, there are two harsh realities. A survivor who can work gets more food than one who can't and the more who die, the more food is left for the rest.

Narrator: By this time, without drugs, water or bandages, without electricity or medical support facilities, there is virtually no way a doctor can exercise his skill. As a source of help or comfort, he is little better equipped than the nearest survivor.

Narrator: The entire peacetime resources of the British Heath Service, even if they survived, would be unable to cope with the effects of even the single bomb that's hit Sheffield.

Narrator: Hanging in the atmosphere, the clouds of debris shut out the sun's heat and light. Across large areas of the Northern Hemisphere it starts to get dark, it starts to get cold. In the centers of large land masses like America or Russia, the temperature drop may be severe, as much as 25 degrees centigrade. Even in Britain, within days of the attack it could fall to freezing or below for long, dark periods.

Narrator: The first fallout dust settles on Sheffield. It's an hour and 25 minutes after the attack. An explosion on the ground at Crewe has sucked up this debris and made it radioactive. The wind has blown it here. This level of attack has broken most of the windows in Britain. Many roofs are open to the sky. Some of the lethal dust gets in. In these early stages, the symptoms of radiation sickness and the symptoms of panic are identical.

Narrator: It is 8:30 a.m. 3:30 in the morning in Washington. Over the past few days, neither the President nor his senior staff will have had more than a few hours rest. This is when they may be asleep. This is when Western response will be slowest.

Narrator: Many of these officers have had no training at all. Some have learnt of their emergency role in the last few days, and almost all are unsure of their exact duties.

Narrator: In the last few days, emergency headquarters like this have been hastily improvised up and down the country, in the basements of town halls and civic centres.

Narrator: Britain has emergency plans for war. If central government should ever fail, power can be transferred instead to a system of local officials dispersed across the country. In an urban district like Sheffield, there is already a designated wartime controller. He's the city's peacetime chief executive. If it should suddenly become necessary, he can be given full powers of internal government. When, or if, this happens depends on the crisis itself.

Narrator: In an urban society, everything connects. Each person's needs are fed by the skills of many others. Our lives are woven together in a fabric. But the connections that make society strong also make it vulnerable.