Former NATO Commander Predicts Nuclear War With Russia Within Next Year

Shirreff: NATO, Russia Heading Inexorably for Nuclear War

Former NATO deputy commander Gen. Sir Alexander Richard Shirreff has published a new book, called 2017 War With Russia, in which he predicts a full-scale nuclear war between NATO and Russia, saying the sides are heading “inexorably” for a nuclear exchange, and that the war will start next May.

The book’s narrative follows the same expectations as other NATO officials who have been angling for bigger budgets and more military buildup, claiming Russian President Vladimir Putin will just randomly invade NATO member nations and start a huge war out of the blue.

Sir Richard says Russia feels “encircled” by NATO, and will invade Latvia in May, and threaten nuclear war if NATO isn’t okay with that. NATO won’t be okay with that, and so the world will basically end with the same nuclear holocaust NATO has hung over our heads for generations.

As with most Western generals, his “solution” is the make the problem even bigger, saying he believes Russia can be scared away from war by sending more NATO troops and vehicles to Russia’s border, which would of course make them feel even more encircled.

Sir Richard argued Putin wants to make Russia “a great power” through the war, though why Russia with Latvia would be a significantly greater power than Russia by itself is unclear.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.