Nuclear Winter / News Alert – Trump Administration Targeting Russia, Planning to Reduce Restrictions on Nuclear Weapons Use

Nuclear Winter / News Alert: Reports are showing that the Trump administration has approved work on a new nuclear missile, likely in violation of the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty. Also, early indications from the Department of Defense “Nuclear Posture Review” are that the Trump Administration will be loosening the restrictions on nuclear weapons use in order to “correct Russia’s perception” that the US Government is unwilling to use its nuclear arsenal.

https://www.armscontrol.org/act/2018-01/focus/trumps-more-dangerous-nuclear-posture

The Huffington Post has received a copy of the full draft Nuclear Posture Review on their site, with an accompanying analysis.  Below is a quote from the draft Nuclear Posture Review (page 11, lines 364-370), which shows that the Trump Administration is looking toward the Cold War as their model for future “peace”.

These [supplemental nuclear weapons] will enhance deterrence by denying potential adversaries any mistaken confidence that limited nuclear employment can provide a useful advantage over the United States and its allies. For example, Russia’s belief that limited nuclear first use, potentially including low-yield weapons, can provide such an advantage is based, in part, on Moscow’s perception that its greater number and variety of non-strategic nuclear systems provide a coercive advantage in crises and at lower levels of conflict. Correcting this mistaken Russian perception is a strategic imperative. (emphasis mine)

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