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Putin's Nuclear Threat

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Scott Ritter
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General rehearsal parade in Moscow
General rehearsal parade in Moscow
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The disconnect between the Western and Russian narratives in the current conflict, could prove fatal to the world.

Vladimir Putin is a madman. He's lost it. At least that is what the leaders of the West would like you to believe. According to their narrative, Putin isolated, alone, confused, and angry at the unfolding military disaster Russia was undergoing in Ukraine, lashed out, ostensibly threatening the entire world with nuclear annihilation.

In a meeting with his top generals on Sunday, the beleaguered Russian president announced, "I order the defense minister and the chief of the general staff of the Russian armed forces to put the deterrence forces of the Russian army into a special mode of combat service."

The reason for this action, Putin noted, centered on the fact that, "Western countries aren't only taking unfriendly actions against our country in the economic sphere, but top officials from leading NATO members made aggressive statements regarding our country" in relation to the ongoing situation in Ukraine.

The "deterrence forces" Putin spoke of refers to Russia's nuclear arsenal.

What made the Russian president's words resonate even more was that last Thursday, when announcing the commencement of Russia's "special military operation" against Ukraine, Putin declared that "no one should have any doubts that a direct attack on our country will lead to the destruction and horrible consequences for any potential aggressor." He emphasized that Russia is "one of the most potent nuclear powers and also has a certain edge in a range of state-of-the-art weapons."

When Putin issued that threat , The Washington Post described it as "empty, a mere baring of fangs." The Pentagon, involved as it was in its own review of U.S. nuclear posture designed to address threats such as this, seemed non-plussed, with an anonymous official noting that U.S. policy makers "don't see an increased threat in that regard."

NATO's Response

For NATO's part, the Trans-Atlantic military alliance, which sits at the heart of the current crisis, issued a statement in which it noted that:

"Russia's actions pose a serious threat to Euro-Atlantic security, and they will have geo-strategic consequences. NATO will continue to take all necessary measures to ensure the security and defense of all Allies. We are deploying additional defensive land and air forces to the eastern part of the Alliance, as well as additional maritime assets. We have increased the readiness of our forces to respond to all contingencies."

Hidden near the bottom of this statement, however, was a passage which, when examined closely, underpinned the reasoning behind Putin's nuclear muscle-flexing. "We have held consultations under Article 4 of the Washington Treaty," the statement noted. "We have decided, in line with our defensive planning to protect all Allies, to take additional steps to further strengthen deterrence and defense across the Alliance."

Under Article 4, members can bring any issue of concern, especially related to the security of a member country, to the table for discussion within the North Atlantic Council. NATO members Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland triggered the Article 4 consultation following the Russian incursion into Ukraine.

In a statement issued on Friday, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg expanded on the initial NATO statement, declaring that NATO was committed to protecting and defending all its allies, including Ukraine.

Three things about this statement stood out. First, by invoking Article IV, NATO was positioning itself for potential offensive military action - its previous military interventions against Serbia in 1999, Afghanistan in 2001, Iraq in 2004, and Libya in 2011, were all done under Article IV of the NATO Charter.

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Scott Ritter served as a former Marine Corps officer from 1984 until 1991, and as a UN weapons inspector in Iraq from 1991 until 1998. He is the author of several books, including "Iraq Confidential" (Nation Books, 2005) and "Target Iran" (more...)
 

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