Home » Posts tagged 'provocation'
Tag Archives: provocation
Not A Deterrent, But Massive Provocation: Russia Blasts US Ambassador’s ‘Move Nukes To Poland’ Remarks
Not A Deterrent, But Massive Provocation: Russia Blasts US Ambassador’s ‘Move Nukes To Poland’ Remarks
The deeply contentious issue of US and NATO nuclear weapons right on Russia’s European doorstep of Poland is front and center once again, as the redeployment of US nuclear weapons from Germany to Poland is said to actually be on the table following an ongoing fierce debate inside Germany’s coalition government over the possible removal of US nuclear weapons from their soil.
It started with a hugely provocative statement from Rick Grenell, the US ambassador to Germany who is also the acting director of National Intelligence, who wrote last week, “The purpose of NATO’s nuclear share is to keep non-nuclear member states involved in the planning of NATO’s deterrence policy. Germany’s participation in nuclear share ensures that its voice matters.” He followed up with what appears a threatening ultimatum to the allied country:
“Will Germany bear this responsibility, or will it sit back and simply enjoy the economic benefits of security provided by its other allies?”
Amb. Grenell’s words were posted the US Embassy in Germany’s website. On the heels of these statements came a Saturday tweet by US Ambassador to Poland Georgette Mosbacher, who went so far to boldly suggest that America’s European nuclear arsenal could be hosted in Poland.
Needless to say this is about the most outlandishly hawkish take proposed in years, even by Cold War standards:
Georgette Mosbacher✔@USAmbPoland
If Germany wants to diminish nuclear capability and weaken NATO, perhaps Poland – which pays its fair share, understands the risks, and is on NATO’s eastern flank – could house the capabilities here: https://cutt.ly/SyWQERl A credible nuclear deterrent remains needed | U.S. Embassy & Consulates in GermanyBy Richard A. Grenell US Ambassador to Germany Before the fall of the Iron Curtain, Germany sat on the front lines of a possible nuclear conflict. So Germany and its NATO Allies came together to…de.usembassy.gov
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
Provocations Have A History Of Escalating Into War
Provocations Have A History Of Escalating Into War
The Russian Government and President Putin are coming under pressure not from US sanctions, which are very good for Russia as they force Russia into independence, but from Russian patriots who are tiring of Putin’s non-confrontational responses to Washington’s never-ending insults and military provocations. Russian patriots don’t want war, but they do want their country’s honor defended, and they believe Putin is failing in this job. Some of them are saying that Putin himself is a West-worshipping Atlanticist Integrationist.
This disillusinonment with Putin, together with Putin’s endorsement of raising the retirement age for pensions, a trap set for him by Russia’s neoliberal economists, have hurt Putin’s approval ratings at the precise time that he will again be tested by Washington in Syria.
In many columns I have defended Putin from the charge that he is not sufficiently Russian. Putin wants to avoid war, because he knows it would be nuclear, the consequences of which would be dire. He knows that the US and its militarily impotent NATO allies cannot possibly conduct conventional warfare against Russia or China, much less against both. Putin also undersrtands that the sanctions are damaging Washington’s European vassals and could eventually force the European vassal states into independence that would constrain Washington’s belligerence. Even with Russia’s new super weapons, which probably give Putin the capability of destroying the entirety of the Western World with little or no damage to Russia, Putin sees no point in so much destruction, especially as the consequences are unknown. There could be nuclear winter or other results that would put the planet into decline as a life-sustaining entity.
So, as I have suggested in many columns Putin is acting intelligently. He is in the game for the long term while protecting the world from dangerous war.
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
