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Life, Preempted
Ritter, Scott
http://consortiumnews.com/2024/09/27/scott-ritter-life-preempted/Date Written: 2024-09-27 Publisher: Consortium News Year Published: 2024 Resource Type: Article Cx Number: CX25188 Policymakers in both the U.S. and Europe are undertaking increasingly brazen acts of escalation in Ukraine designed to bring Russia to the breaking point. Abstract: - Excerpt: When the United States launches the Trident missile carrying the low yield warhead, how are the Russians supposed to interpret this act? The fact is, if the U.S. ever fires a W-76-2 warhead using a Trident missile, the Russians will assess this action as the initiation of a nuclear first strike and order the launching of its own nuclear arsenal in response. All because the United States has embraced a policy of “first strike ambiguity” designed to keep the Russians and Chinese guessing about American nuclear intentions. And, to put icing on this nuclear cake, Russia’s response appears to have been to change its nuclear posture to embrace a similar posture of nuclear pre-emption, meaning that rather than wait for the U.S. to actually launch a nuclear-armed missile or missiles against a Russian target, Russia will now seek to pre-empt such an attack by launching its own pre-emptive nuclear strike designed to eliminate the U.S. land-based nuclear deterrent force. In a sane world, both sides would recognize the inherent dangers of such a forward-leaning posture, and take corrective action. But we no longer live in a sane world. Subject Headings |