With
Russia
issuing warnings about using all
weapons at its disposal to protect
its position in Ukraine, it’s a good
time to talk about the distinction
between “tactical” and “strategic”
nuclear weapons.
Put
bluntly, there’s no real distinction. All
nuclear weapons, regardless of size and
yield, are devastating and potentially
escalatory to a full-scale nuclear war. Were
Russia to use “tactical” nuclear weapons,
the U.S. and NATO would likely respond in
kind. Even if a major nuclear war could be
avoided, resulting political disruptions
would likely aggravate ongoing economic
dislocation, triggering a serious global
recession, even a Great Depression, further
feeding the growth of fascism and
authoritarianism.
When you
build weapons, there’s a temptation to use
them. Weapons don’t exist in a vacuum.
Within the military, people are trained to
use them. Doctrine is developed along with
contingency plans. Exercises are run to
prepare for deployment and use in wartime,
“just in case.” In short, we can’t count on
sane heads to prevail here, not when some
people seem to think you can use a “little”
nuke to send a message.
Fortunately
for the world, nuclear weapons haven’t been
used in war since Hiroshima and Nagasaki in
1945. But they are used daily in the sense
of intimidating other countries. Currently,
Russia is using its nuclear forces to try to
contain US/NATO aid to Ukraine and
involvement in the Russia-Ukraine War.
Russia is drawing a nuclear red line, and I
doubt it’s a bluff.
It’s
hypocritical
of both the US and Russia to accuse
the other of nuclear brinksmanship
since both countries have contingency
plans
to
use
nukes. Hopefully, it’s obvious to
both countries how devastating
it
would
be if a nuclear exchange, even a
“limited” or “tactical” one, were to
occur.
Even as
bluffs, nuclear threats are reckless, since
there’s always some fool who may seek to
call the bluff. Let’s hope the US/NATO
collective doesn’t play the fool. We have
enough problems in the world without tossing
nuclear warheads of whatever size or yield
at each other.
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