World

STRATCOM Commander Adm. Charles Richard claims Nuclear war with China or Russia a “real possibility”

by on

More in World:

STRATCOM Commander Adm. Charles Richard has recently stated that a Nuclear war with China or Russia is a ‘real possibility.’

Charles Richard said that China and Russia have “begun to aggressively challenge International norms” in “ways that haven’t been seen since the height of the Cold War”. Richard cited their investment in advanced arms as much as nuclear technology as well as a rise in cyber attacks. In his report, “Forging 21st-Century Strategic Deterrence,” Richard stated that “Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Department of Defense has not had to consider the possibility of great power competition, crisis, or direct armed conflict with a nuclear-capable peer.”

Later in the report, Richard stated, “I bristle when I hear the DoD accused of ‘being stuck in the Cold War’. The department is well past the Cold War; in fact, a large part of our challenge lies in the fact that we no longer view our environment through the lens of potential enemy nuclear employment. The United States has sustained global counter-terrorism efforts for two decades—and has grown accustomed to ignoring the nuclear dimension.”

“At the U.S. Strategic Command, we assess the probability of nuclear use is low, but not ‘impossible,’ particularly in a crisis and as our nuclear-armed adversaries continue to build capability and exert themselves globally.” A nuclear confrontation with China or Russia would be deadly, however, there are some other smaller nuclear forces to be concerned about, namely North Korea, which since 2004 has been pouring resources into its nuclear program. However, nations like Russia and China must be considered when talking about nuclear weapons obviously because combined, Russia and the United States control a whopping 12,000+ nuclear warheads. The rest of the world accounts for much less than a quarter of that.

ARTICLE: OWEN LEE BRZDEK

POLITICS EDITOR: CARSON CHOATE

PHOTO CREDITS: THE US SUN

Leave a Reply