Vlad Putin has given NATO – well, nothing less than a reason to exist a little longer. With the collapse of the Soviet Union, NATO was a headless chicken, running around aimlessly, still on its feet but just. The North Atlantic alliance pretty much took whatever gig it could get.
Continue readingTag: NATO
drive-by planet: Risk of ‘accidental’ nuclear war: Chomsky on the ‘worst case scenario’
It’s hard to imagine a scenario in which any world power would deliberately start a nuclear war given the dire consequence for the planet. Rational thinking and the will to survive prevents us from believing that any nation… any leader… could be crazy enough to intentionally unleash what could wind up being a terminal war of reciprocal destruction. But what is often overlooked is the increasing likelihood that a nuclear war might well be started by accident.
During a recent RT interview Noam Chomsky addressed this possibility:
The worst-case scenario, of course, would be a nuclear war, which would be terrible. Both states that initiate it will be wiped out by the consequences. That’s the worst-case. And it’s come ominously close several times in the past, dramatically close. And it could happen again, but not planned, but just by the accidental interactions that take place – that has almost happened. It’s worth remembering that just one century ago, the First World War broke out through a series of such accidental interchanges. The First World War was horrifying enough, but the current reenactment of it means the end of the human race.
Chomsky’s reference to a nuclear war begun ‘by accident’ makes sense when you look at how this might come about. An escalation factor might be faulty intelligence, leading for example to a mistaken belief that the other side is planning an imminent nuclear strike. The decision may then be taken to use tactical nuclear weapons in order to seize first-strike advantage. Underlying intelligence failure of this sort could be a more general strategic misreading of the enemies’ intent and other communications failures that fuel a pattern of escalation.
A report entitled Towards a Grand Strategy for an Uncertain World: Renewing Transatlantic Partnership lays out a new vision for the NATO alliance. It contains a number of statements that confirm the importance of nuclear weapons “in the quiver of escalation”… ostensibly to prevent “existential dangers.” But in fact their use is also clearly about maintaining a winning edge however couched in the language of prevention, as this statement from the report suggests: “What is needed is a policy of deterrence by proactive denial, in which preemption is a form of reaction when a threat is imminent, and prevention is the attempt to regain the initiative in order to end the conflict.” Tactical nuclear weapons are very much a part of any so-called “proportional” response. This scenario opens the door for all kinds of potential disaster.
Tactical or non-strategic nuclear weapons are now part of the toolkit of the world’s major militaries. These weapons can be calibrated to suit the challenges on hand. Variable yield allows operators to set the weapons’ explosive power in consideration of target and conditions. Small-yield tactical nukes might encourage preemptive strikes especially if a conventional force is facing defeat. They may be used in other ways to seize the advantage. Under war conditions the step from tactical to strategic nuclear weapons might not be such a huge leap, especially on the part of a military staring down the barrel of defeat.
Bottom line, our continued use of these weapons raises the ante when it comes to the prospects of large scale nuclear war. Chomsky sums up the stark choice we face in this paragraph:
We can think back as far as 1955, when Bertrand Russell and Albert Einstein produced an appeal, a joint appeal to the people of the world, in which they said to all of us, you have a choice that is stark, unavoidable, the question is, will you eliminate war or will you eliminate human race? These are your choices.
Right now we are making bad choices. The provocations of the West in Eastern Europe and the expansion of NATO’s reach to the borders of Russia is fraught with risks that can’t be taken lightly. Chomsky rightly characterizes NATO as a “US-run intervention force.”
The official mission of NATO became to control the international, the global energy system, pipelines. That means, to control the world. Of course, its [a] U.S.-run intervention force, as in Kosovo and Serbia in 1999 – it was a U.S.-run intervention force. That’s the new NATO and it did expand to Russian borders…
The demonization of Russia in Western media and the toxic cold war-like environment that is being whipped up is driven by geopolitical ambitions, energy and resource considerations and a very particular animus toward a major global power that is unwilling to alter its long held values and traditions. This offends some people, who over and above the larger geopolitical considerations, appear willing to risk heightening an already tense situation in the course of pressing a Western-centric rights agenda.
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Six things we all need to think about when Canadians volunteer to fight for the Kurds
The Kurds: They should have had a country of their own, but since they don’t, and since Canada is allied by treaty to one of their principal enemies, letting Canadians join their fight isn’t a simple matter. We need clarity on just what Canada’s position is from the Canadian government.
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: Sh_t Pravda Says
Ah, Pravda, the legendary propaganda agency of the Soviet Union, is back at it, merrily thrashing about in its favourite Cold War wading pool. Articles such as, “Russia takes complete advantage of castrated Armed Forces of the West,” or, “Russia prepares nuclear surprise for NATO,” or, “Modern Day America, One
Continue readingdrive-by planet: Risk of ‘accidental’ nuclear war: Chomsky on the ‘worst case scenario’
It’s hard to imagine a scenario in which any world power would deliberately start a nuclear war given the dire consequence for the planet. Rational thinking and the will to survive prevents us from believing that any nation… any leader… could be crazy enough to intentionally unleash what could well
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: A Word of Warning to NATO from Finland
Finland isn’t impressed with NATO’s anti-Moscow attitude. President Sauli Niinisto will be taking that message to a conference in Helsinki on Thursday with David Cameron and the leaders of the Nordic and Baltic nations. Niinisto says NATO is backing into a new Cold War with Russia. He criticized the West
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: If It’s Cold War You Want, It’s Cold War You’ll Get
Wasn’t one enough? Really? For almost a half century we, the West, and the Russians/Soviets poured mountains of money down the drain preparing for a war none of us would have survived had it come to that. Underground missile batteries, fleets of nuclear missile submarines, strategic (nuclear) bombers, nuclear-capable strike
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Ten Questions about the Harper Government’s embrace of war with ISIS-ISIL-IS
Ready, Aye, Ready! Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird whips up the War Party in the House of Commons. Below: Stephen Harper, the prime minister, and Edmonton Centre MP Laurie Hawn. Stephen Harper, John Baird, Laurie Hawn and the rest of the boys yesterday finally got the war in Iraq they’ve
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: Justin, Tommy – Here’s Your Talking Points
Look, if you can’t nail Harper on this ISIS business, you’re not fit to govern anything much less our country. What you need to do is pry the lid off ISIS. Show Canadians what lies beneath, who stands behind. Start with the notion that this seemingly well-organized, well-trained, well-equipped and
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: Oh Hell, There Goes the NATO Neighbourhood
The allegation: our longtime NATO partner, Turkey, has been supporting al-Qaeda in Syria. The accuser, Francis Ricciardone, until late June the American ambassador to Turkey. “Turkey has directly supported al-QAeda’s wing in Syria, in defiance of America, the former US ambassador has disclosed.“The Turkish authorities thought they could work with
Continue readingCowichan Conversations: Obama Begs for More War
Richard Hughes-Political Blogger From the outset we have been lied to and misled by US President Barack Obama, and our tag-a-long Prime Minister Steve Harper, operating through NATO and facilatating the overthrow of a democratically elected government in Ukraine just two weeks before the election. Now many credible reports are
Continue readingCowichan Conversations: Russia Wants War!
Richard Hughes-Political Blogger There is an abundance of information out there showing that the US purposely funded extreme right wing militants to over throw the elected Ukrainian government, a task that they accomplished a mere two weeks before the scheduled election. The map above pretty much tells the reality
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: In Case You Missed It, the Nuclear Option is Back
Vlad Putin is going for his nukes and we need to grasp our role in getting him there. Russia is re-arming with a new class of nuclear submarines, a new and possibly illegal inter-continental ballistic missile and a new strategic bomber. Our sanctions against Russia over the Ukraine are working.
Continue readingCowichan Conversations: Ukranian Soldiers Captured and Then Released by Ethnic Russians (Video)
Richard Hughes-Political Blogger We have read accounts which differ substantially from the MSM line accusing Russia of sending troops and military equipment into eastern Ukraine. Here is some video which expands on that. Is it true? This is certainly at odds with unquestioned MSM reports that dominate the news cycle.
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: New column day
Here, questioning whether Canadians share Stephen Harper’s newly-professed aspiration to spend tens of billions of dollars more every year to prop up U.S. and U.K. military contractors. For further reading…– David Pugliese reported on this week’s NATO summit. – NATO’s most recent spending calculations are here (see PDF link), showing
Continue readingdrive-by planet: Fidel Castro compares NATO with Hitler’s SS: says US/Israel responsible for the creation of ISIS
Below: Demo in Poland protesting this weeks NATO summit in Wales In an article published in Cuban state media iconic revolutionary leader, Fidel Castro, calls out NATO and imperialist war mongering. He compares statements by NATO representatives with Nazi SS talk. Castro: “Many people are astonished when they hear the
Continue readingdrive-by planet: NATO summit targets Russia: nuclear threat increases with risk of war
Protest in Newport, Wales, against NATO aggression Government leaders of NATO countries meet in Wales this week to make plans for the escalation of military preparedness, with Russia squarely in the cross hairs. This includes the likely endorsement of a rapid response force made up of as many as 4,000
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