Will the West’s Paranoia of Russia Destroy the World?
Do you remember the James Bond film in which a deranged Soviet General wanted to launch a nuclear war, or Dr. Strangelove, an American deranged general who wanted to do the same? Well, Dr. Strangelove is still with us, but he is no longer considered insane.
In today’s Pentagon spreading nuclear weapons among allies who lack them in order to conduct an even larger nuclear war is just good war planning. On April 1, and unfortunately it wasn’t an April Fool’s joke, the nominee as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Dan Caine, said that the United States was ready to consider entering into nuclear sharing agreements with more of the country’s NATO allies. “From a military perspective, expanding NATO allies’ participation in the nuclear deterrence mission in some capacity would enhance flexibility, survivability, and military capability. If confirmed, I will work… to evaluate the cost/benefit of such a decision.” See this.
The nominee said that another benefit of providing nuclear weapons to NATO members who don’t have them is to prevent nuclear proliferation resulting from acquiring them on their own. If too many of our allies have the weapons, the US would not be able to manage the escalation risk.
What Caine said makes sense. We do not want Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy, Germany, or Poland launching a nuclear war.
But what this common sense hides is the absurdity of “managing nuclear war.”
There is a consensus, or close to one, that nuclear war would be lethal to life on the planet. It calls to mind the novel, A Canticle for Leibowitz, with the spaceship loading with human, animal, and plant life for a distant planet in a short period of time remaining prior to nuclear armageddon on earth.
It is, of course, the Pentagon’s job to be prepared for war. But as the war the Pentagon is preparing for is unwinnable, why not attempt to prepare for peace? What cause is worth fighting for it if results in the death of planet Earth?
These thoughts entered the mind of President John F. Kennedy. JFK had campaigned as a Cold Warrior proclaiming a “missile gap.” Somehow President Eisenhower, World War II hero and 5-star general had let the Soviets get
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LewRockwell.com is a libertarian website that publishes articles, essays, and blog posts advocating for minimal government, free markets, and individual liberty. The site was founded by Lew Rockwell, an American libertarian political commentator, activist, and former congressional staffer. The website often features content that is critical of mainstream politics, state intervention, and foreign policy, among other topics. It is a platform frequently used to disseminate Austrian economics, a school of economic thought that is popular among some libertarians.
