Russia-NATO tensions over Ukraine<\/a>.<\/p>\n\u201cWe are just thinking about it. They weren\u2019t shy to openly talk about it during the past years,\u201d Putin said, referring to the U.S. policy, as he attended a summit in Kyrgyzstan of a Moscow-dominated economic alliance of ex-Soviet nations.<\/p>\n
For years, the Kremlin has expressed concern about U.S. efforts to develop the so-called Conventional Prompt Global Strike capability that envisions hitting an adversary\u2019s strategic targets with precision-guided conventional weapons anywhere in the world within one hour.<\/p>\n
\u201cSpeaking about a disarming strike, maybe it\u2019s worth thinking about adopting the ideas developed by our U.S. counterparts, their ideas of ensuring their security,\u201d Putin said with a thin smile, noting that such a preemptive strike was intended to knock out command facilities.<\/p>\n
He claimed that Russia already has commissioned hypersonic weapons capable of carrying out such a strike, while the U.S. hasn\u2019t yet deployed them. He also claimed that Russia now has cruise missiles that surpass their U.S. equivalents.<\/p>\n
While Putin appeared to refer to conventional precision-guided weapons when he talked about possibly mimicking the U.S. strategy, he specifically noted that the U.S. hasn\u2019t ruled out the first use of nuclear weapons.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf the potential adversary believes that it can use the theory of a preemptive strike and we don\u2019t, it makes us think about the threats posed by such ideas in other countries\u2019 defensive posture,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
In Washington, advisers to President Joe Biden viewed Putin\u2019s comments as \u201csaber-rattling\u201d and another veiled warning that he could deploy a tactical nuclear weapon, according to a U.S. official who was not authorized to comment and spoke on the condition of the anonymity.<\/p>\n
The official noted that Russian military doctrine has long stated that Moscow reserves the right to first use of a nuclear weapon in response to large scale military aggression.<\/p>\n
John Erath, senior policy director for the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation, also viewed Putin\u2019s statement as yet another attempt to raise the nuclear threat.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe doesn\u2019t quite say we\u2019re going to launch nuclear weapons, but he wants the dialogue in the U.S. and Europe to be, \u2019The longer this war goes on, the greater the threat of nuclear weapons might be used,\u2019\u201d Erath said.<\/p>\n
Putin was asked Wednesday at a Kremlin conference whether Russia could commit to forswearing a first strike and responded that such an obligation might prevent Russia from tapping its nuclear arsenal even if it came under a nuclear attack.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf it doesn\u2019t use it first under any circumstances, it means that it won\u2019t be the second to use it either, because the possibility of using it in case of a nuclear strike on our territory will be sharply limited,\u201d he responded.<\/p>\n
He elaborated on that answer Friday, saying Russia\u2019s nuclear doctrine is based on the \u201claunch on warning\u201d concept, which envisions nuclear weapons\u2019 use in the face of an imminent nuclear attack spotted by its early warning systems.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen the early warning system receives a signal about a missile attack, we launch hundreds of missiles that are impossible to stop,\u201d he said, smiling. \u201cEnemy missile warheads would inevitably reach the territory of the Russian Federation. But nothing would be left of the enemy too, because it\u2019s impossible to intercept hundreds of missiles. And this, of course, is a factor of deterrence.\u201d<\/p>\n
Russia\u2019s nuclear doctrine states the country can use nuclear weapons if it comes under a nuclear strike or if it faces an attack with conventional weapons that threatens \u201cthe very existence\u201d of the Russian state.<\/p>\n
Since sending Russian troops into Ukraine in February, Putin has repeatedly said that Moscow was ready to use \u201call available means\u201d to protect its territory and has rejected Western criticism of nuclear saber-rattling.<\/p>\n
\u201cI understand that ever since nuclear weapons, the weapons of mass destruction have appeared, all people \u2014 the entirety of humankind \u2014 have been worried what will happen to the planet and all of us,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Speaking Friday at U.S. Strategic Command, which has responsibility for the nation\u2019s nuclear weapons, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Putin\u2019s repeated threats were irresponsible.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs the Kremlin continues its cruel and unprovoked war of choice against Ukraine, the whole world has seen Putin engage in deeply irresponsible nuclear saber-rattling,\u201d he said in a reference to Putin\u2019s earlier nuclear threats without addressing his latest remarks. \u201cSo make no mistake, nuclear powers have a profound responsibility to avoid provocative behavior and to lower the risk of proliferation and to prevent escalation and nuclear war.\u201d<\/p>\n
___
\nhttps:\/\/www.paulcraigroberts.org\/2022\/12\/12\/a-hair-trigger-on-endgame\/<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-150711","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/150711","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=150711"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/150711\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=150711"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=150711"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=150711"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"Russian](\"https:\/\/storage.googleapis.com\/afs-prod\/media\/d879d5159f2d4fb5b5808135adce47a5\/1000.jpeg\")
<\/div>\n