U.S. Unveils Strategy for Nuclear Threats from China and Russia, says a Time news report.
A new defense strategy
The Biden Administration unveiled a new defense strategy Thursday that puts the U.S. military on a Cold War-footing with China and Russia, detailing a plan to confront two nuclear peer adversaries for the first time in history with a multi-year build-up of modernized weaponry, enhanced foreign alliances and a top-to bottom overhaul of the American nuclear arsenal.
The 80-page document serves as the Administration’s roadmap for global security for the decades to come, and makes clear the U.S. faces two powerful but very different competitors.
It characterizes China as a long-term “pacing challenge” with its growing power projection in the Pacific region, while deeming Russia to be an immediate “acute threat” amid its ongoing war with Ukraine and continual threats to launch a nuclear strike.
“We chose the word ‘acute,’ carefully,” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told reporters at the Pentagon. “Unlike China, Russia can’t systemically challenge the United States over the long-term, but Russian aggression does pose an immediate and sharp threat to our interests and values.”
Russian missile strikes on civilian targets
In recent weeks, Russian missile strikes on civilian targets in Ukraine and unfounded claims of a pending “dirty bomb” detonation have sparked fears the world is inching ever closer to the brink of nuclear war.
The Administration has deep concerns about the conflict escalating, Austin said, but remains committed to continuing to support Ukraine with weapons and the means to defend itself.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly discussed the possible use of nuclear weapons in the eight-month-old war and this week observed nuclear drills, called Grom or “Thunder” exercises, involving Russian submarines, bombers and ballistic missile launches inside Russia.
Austin shot-down speculation that the war games were subterfuge for a real nuclear attack, saying U.S. intelligence had not observed any indication that such preparations were taking place. He added that senior Russian officials had privately said there are no plans to use a nuclear device in Ukraine, but the U.S. remained cautious.
“It would be the first time that a nuclear weapon has been used in over 70 years, so that certainly has a potential of changing things in the international community,” Austin said. “We’re going to continue to communicate that any type of use of a weapon of that sort, or even the talk of the use of a weapon of that sort, is dangerous and irresponsible.”
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Source: TIME
