If you asked the Pentagon, they would tell you in no uncertain terms that the US is not engaged in any sort of nuclear arms race. At the same time, the US is spending heavily on new nuclear weapons, and is particularly scrambling to get weapons designed to target Russia.
Officials described a recent table-top war game where Russia carried out a tactical nuclear first-strike against NATO territory during a conflict in Europe. This idea of Russia attacking first seems to be informing a lot of US policy decisions.
The exercise saw a low-yield Russian nuke deployed, and the US arsenal, still limited on lower options, ultimately decided that their only response was a much bigger strategic nuclear strike on Russia, starting a civilization-ending nuclear exchange.
Though seemingly the risk of such a war would be a deterrent against a Russian first-strike, the Pentagon is arguing they need more low-yield options so they can engage in tit-for-tat nuclear wars at a lower level.
Analysts have been very concerned about these developments, because the Pentagon very publicly views lower-yield nukes as more usable, and this risks the US deploying them in attacks on non-nuclear states.
america
America
You’re a plague of locust
Preordained pride
to consume the whole world
You’re an abomination
waving a venal dishonest polluted flag
Shooting anyone
who doesn’t bow before you
Signing off
to your national interests
their natural resources
America
you go to your neighbors
You infiltrate subvert rape terrorize torture occupy
Till you get distracted and bored
leaving a broken bleeding toy
You wash your hands
move on without
nary a backward glance
Then do again
somewhere else
another time
oblivious
to what you left behind
America
You wear a stealth-cloak
of faux- freedom
and stained diluted-democracy
Boasting
to one & all
you are the best that’s ever been
You’re the envious pinnacle
of humanity
while becoming
The greatest purveyor of violence
this planet has ever suffered from
The largest exporter of terrorism
as smiling neocolonialist imperialists’
America
You forgot about your birth
You’ve forgotten
your descended
from illegal immigrants
who robbed, cheated stole and conquered
Destiny that was divinely manifest?
Your burden
you profited from
An ethnic cleansing
glorious genocide
expunged 20,000 year old culture
that was better than yours
Now you vaguley remember
the names the nations
as mascot’s sports teams and tools of terror
You’re too blind
not to see the irony
or the shame
you should feel
stained to your soul
Trump will be your last
days of glory past
great again
not to be
squished beneath https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/e696f81fcb751c4b60e0d7f9387e5db6092841e2136d631c25219287b90abe80.jpg
humanities feet
Liars. This is not to target Russia this is to target Iran. How Ironic. The Pentagon deployed ABM systems in Romania and Poland against Russia claiming it was for Iran and now they are developing low yield nukes for Iran and claiming they are for Russia.
Dishonety aside, I think they are targeting both countries.
Even our criminals know they can’t blow up small cities to punish Russia without consequences but I can hear them now. ‘It was Divine Providence that a weapon we developed to defend against Russian aggression is also the perfect instrument to stop the #1 state sponsor of terrorism from acquiring nukes’. They will act as if this was a coincidence or something other than a planned genocide.
Every statement the US Deep State’s been uttering, with regard to both Russia and Iran is a Whopping Lie. Neither Russia nor Iran have been waging wars of aggression in many parts of the world .. Only the US and some of its allies are guilty of aggression.
Iran’s a peaceful nation that hasn’t attacked its neighbors in over 500 years. Now, that’s quite a feat for a powerful nation .. However, Iran (formerly Persia) remained peaceful. Only the 8-year war with Iraq that was started by Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein interrupted Iran’s peace, and Iran only fought in self-defense. That war ended in a stalemate.
The US has also lied about Russia’s aggression against Ukraine – another Whopper. All Russia did was to arm the Donbass rebels with modern military hardware to defend themselves against the aggressive Kiev regime. The same goes with nuclear arms. Again, the US lied. There certainly is an arms race, as Russia’s missiles and nukes are far ahead of those of the US, causing the US to scramble to get more nukes to target Russia.
This is utter insanity on America’s part .. Or, should I say, suicidal? Instead of wasting money on nukes, the US should repair its crumbling infrastructure and ensure that all citizens are able to put food on their tables.
Yes, there is something illogical about the response to Russian advances in military technology. It is hard to imagine that the response will consist of more nuclear weapons, the only ostensible use being a massive attack on Russia. Thus, never mind being behind in supersonic, cruise missiles, multiple reentry vehicles, drone submarines.
By going all out in nuclear power, Russia’s advantages would not matter.
This may be the only answer when no other model of coexistence on this planet is even considered. But it is a risky one. It is hard to imagine that at this point in history we have such an empire hungry entity determined to make all bow to the Master. But this is what we have.
Of course. Iran is a gateway to Caspian basin. A direct danger to Russia and China.
No matter how aggressive and insane US policy becomes, it will always be framed that this is only a response to the theoretical aggression that others might do. Of course other nations can see that what the US is doing is not just cooking up theories about others but engaging in nuclear proliferation. US officials saying an arms race isn’t or won’t happen doesn’t make it true.
There is NO reason to believe Russia would make a ‘first strike’ on the USA UNLESS the USA attacked it lethally. The USA is the one which is always aggressive to anyone else it designates as an enemy even with no valid reason. Russia actually does have defenses-the USA uses the word but is NOT well- defended, just spends a lot and inflicts sanctions, threats, attacks, occupations on other nations. Russia keeps trying to make and keep arms control agreements, not break them. It has excellent defenses costing about a tenth of the US wasted dollars.
Read Andrei Martyanov’s books “Losing Military Supremacy” and “The Real Revolution in Military Affairs” to get a different POV.
There is no arms race here. Russia made it very clear. Any grade munition of radioactive material lumped at them will result in all out annihilation.
Russia has always bern the target. Europe could never resist the temptation. Be that Swedes, Napoleon, England, Germany. Appearance of weakness is always temptation to Western ruling elites. Western mindset is still modeled on principles of hunting societies. Weak pray, weak neighbors — it is instinctively considered a pray, as weakness is considered a vacuum, and power is drawn to it. And in late medieval Europe — a new classes developed that saw Russia as a prey, and thus an enemy. Newly rich banking and merchant classes, saw Russia’s land aristocracy an obstacle to spreading their business. Enlightenment era, industrial revolution, and transport revolution saw Europe spread colonial rule across the globe, and banking/merchant classes even more keen on destroying old order in Russia.
In reality, nothing has changed since. Be that Imperial Russia, Soviet Union, today’s Russia is still nothing more then a prey.
Only the European banking/merchant classes are now established on both sides of Atlantic, and are more then ever keen on getting hands on Russia. Some for riches, some for historic revenge.
In American mind — nukes are the real thing. Nuke all those pesky little disobedient countries, and problem solved. Little if any progress has been made in public education to grasp the concept of nuclear matter, its longevity once released, and its devastating impact on everything living on this planet.
Thus, have nukes, will travel.
Nothing in our policy exists that is not tied to Russia. It was believed that linking China to US economy would result in isolating Russia. NATO was and is about Russia. Iran was and is about Russia. Middle East is because of Israel, but in the end because of Russia. Our ham fisted approach to India, is about Russia. Our Korea policies were and remain about Russia.
At present, China has disappointed, and is not giving up Russia alliance. No virus can change that.
Thus Iran, Iran, Iran. A geopolitical soft spot. But Iran cannot be intimidated nor cajoled. They know the consequences of losing sovereignty.
And with the grip on Europe, Southeast Asia, and Middle East slipping — it is conveniently Russia’s fault. And if you can conjure up a domestic reason for Russia’s “malignancy”, so much the better. Given time, constant repetition will do the job.
In the meantime, there is money to be made — at taxpayers’ expense — on renewing nukes and their deployability. And as Russia (and with it China) are getting ahead in military technology, we are still confident in nukes.
Since all Russia wants is — no wars in its soil, and China having identical military doctrine, it is clear who wants war. The party that is probing Russia’s borders, is the aggressor.
Iran, Russia, Iran — same thing. Iran is a gateway to Caspian basin, from where Russia and China are vulnerable in every possible way.
Thus, it matters little who is the target du jour.
Somebody in US is getting impatient. Russia was down and out several times, just to shock the world with its reincarnation and even stronger.
Now, the theory is — how to get Russia down before it gets even stronger. Or how to slow it down.
Hunting societies never functioned on the basis of trust. You are either a winner or a pray. It is old agricultural societies that developed the concept of trust, as destruction of crops threatened them all. But the trust has to be earned.
And this is where we fall short. We dominate our allies, nothing is trust based. But once our resources of domination diminish, there is no loyalty and respect.
Russia gets it. So does Iran. So do the rest of the countries un the Muddle East, not allowing US to drag them into war with Iran.
Don’t think your hunting society comparison holds much weight. While yes they may have gone for weaker prey, beyond that Hunter/gatherer had immense trust between societal members. This is the root of Tribal societies that still hang on in the face of the encroachment of the nation states. The major difference you may find is that such hunter/gatherers simply have different way of viewing the world, the largest glaring difference being the primacy of the individual and less tendency toward strict hierarchy, which is likely to result in less predation via war from a society that subsumes individual identity to group identity and can therefore be more easily lead to join the group in warring against out groups.
As to the rest of the post I will hardly disagree, just don’t think the hunter society is a very good foil for your points
Disagree with you. Western anthropologists and historians tend to attribute to their heritage all the noble characteristics, while other civilizations are merely a footnote.
Hunting societies were highly hierarchical and were fighting for limited resources. Those were societies driven by scarcity. Agricultural means of food production came to the West from the East. Across Balkans and along major rivers it spread first to the North and East, then West. In fact, the jaw realignment associated with agriculture based nutrition did not complete in UK until Norman invasion. That is, agriculture came to the West in several waves, but lagging behind Balkans almost 2000 years.
But agriculture introduced age of abundance.
Agricultural societies were settled, and have been the means of establishing a cooperative social organizations. A crop can be destroyed in hours by an enemy, and the toil of a gear lost. These societies developed wide practice of intermarriage, and created what we know today as clan based society.
The example of Egypt is often brought up as an example of agricultural society, when in fact those were advanced militaristic societies that used agriculture as their industry.
Early agricultural societies that experimented with crops, and that were the developers of the new social structures — were much earlier creations. Eventually, Western and Northern Europe adopted agriculture, and the old hunting hierarchies merged with the networking agricultural societies, to result in many forms of clan structures.
In fact, there are differences in societal organizations depending on the migration patterns. Such as Angles and Saxons, as opposed to Nordic migrations from Baltic region across North Sea. Cultural, linguistic and religious symbols point to links.
In general, Western societies retained much stronger hierarchical structures then the agricultural societies of the east of Europe with lose and shifting networks of clans.
The notion of individualism is actually rather new in Western civilization.
In fact it was hotly debated in England after French Revolution. The ideas
of reason that empowers the individual were challenged by philosophers that believed in cumulative experiences of generations, and thought the idea of rational individual shallow and narrow interest based. That such societies would eventually degenerate.
It is a lazy misinterpretation of history when historians look at the large empires that rose on the foundations of agricultural economy. And look st them as a model of agricultural societal structures. Be that Egypt, China, Greece or Rome — those societies harnessed the agriculture. They were adopters of agriculture as a technology, and organized governance around it.