Our Most Serious National Security Threat Isn’t Russian Nukes In Space, It’s Intelligence Agencies In Washington
The hysteria on Capitol Hill over Russian nukes in space was a cheap ploy to ram through Ukraine aid and kill FISA reform.The hysteria on Capitol Hill over Russian nukes in space was a cheap ploy to ram through Ukraine aid and kill FISA reform.UN General Assembly demands Israel surrender its nuclear weapons after 149-6 vote
Only a handful of countries supported Israel's right to nuclear self-defense in a recent U.N. vote.
The U.N. General Assembly considered a resolution Wednesday calling for Israel not to develop, produce, test, or otherwise acquire nuclear weapons.
Additionally, the resolution called for the Jewish nation to "renounce possession of nuclear weapons" and to assent to the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons treaty, thereby placing "all its nuclear facilities under comprehensive International Atomic Energy safeguards."
149 nations voted in favor of the resolution. Only six voted against it.
What are the details?
The U.N. general assembly demanded that Israel agree to "accede to the [Middle Eastern nuclear non-proliferation] Treaty without further delay, and not to develop, produce, test or otherwise acquire nuclear weapons, to renounce their possession and to place all its unsafeguarded nuclear facilities under full-scope International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards."
Israel, India, Pakistan, and South Sudan have not signed the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons treaty.
Israel has never formally acknowledged possessing nukes. However, former President Jimmy Carter told MSNBC in 2014 that Israel has "300 or more" nuclear warheads, and leaked emails from former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell indicated the nation had at least 200 nukes in its arsenal.
The resolution calling for Israel's disarmament was advanced by Palestine and various other countries including Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Sudan, and the United Arab Emirates.
The Jerusalem Post reported that the six nations that opposed the resolution were Canada, Israel, Micronesia, Palau, the U.S., and Liberia.
Ukraine, which voted with the Palestinians against Israel on another resolution in November, was among the 26 nations that abstained from the resolution.
\u201cThe United Nations General Assembly just voted 149-6 that Israel must give up its nuclear weapons.\n\nThe US, Canada, Israel, Micronesia, and Palau opposed the resolution. The United Kingdom abstained.\u201d— John McEvoy (@John McEvoy) 1670450129
The U.N. General Assembly similarly voted on Oct. 28 for Israel to dispose of its nuclear weapons. The result was 152-5 in favor of the resolution. The European Union abstained.
Fox News Digital reported that while the October resolution concerned the "risk of nuclear proliferation in the Middle East," it focused on Israel and failed to mention Iran.
A report published by the Institute for Science and International Security on Dec. 5 indicated that Iran may have "advanced its nuclear weapons readiness under civilian nuclear and military non-nuclear cover projects."
Notwithstanding its apparent compliance with treaties such as those pushed by the U.N., Israel's rival "threatens the world with a program ready to produce nuclear weapons 'on-demand.'"
Under Joe Biden, Threat Of Nuclear War Has Gone Up
Even corrupt corporate media are willing to acknowledge the risk of nuclear war is 'now a daily issue for the Biden administration.'Pentagon changes postwar policy to allow nuclear strikes against non-nuclear threats, breaking Biden pledge
The Pentagon revealed in its new "National Defense Strategy" that it will dispense with President Joe Biden's pledge only to use nuclear warheads to deter or respond to a nuclear attack. Instead, the U.S. will now deploy nuclear weapons to "deter not only nuclear attack, but also a narrow range of other high consequence, strategic-level attacks."
Biden's nuclear pivot
The Pentagon report suggested that its updated policy pertaining to targeting non-nuclear threats with nuclear weapons was the result of a "thorough review of a broad range of options for nuclear declaratory policy – including both No First Use and Sole Purpose policies."
The department concluded that "those approaches would result in an unacceptable level of risk in light of the range of non-nuclear capabilities being developed and fielded by competitors that could inflict strategic-level damage to the United States and its allies and partners."
This change represents a significant about-face for Biden, who campaigned in 2020 on the Democratic Party's platform, which rejected "a return to an old era of grave nuclear dangers"; called for a reduction of American nuclear stockpiles; and insisted that the "sole purpose of our nuclear arsenals should be to deter — and, if necessary retaliate against — a nuclear attack."
The Democrat platform to which Biden subscribed also criticized former President Donald Trump for seeking to build new nuclear weapons, calling the initiative "unnecessary, wasteful, and indefensible."
The Biden administration has recently determined that nuclear upgrades are not so unnecessary after all.
Politico reported this week that the U.S. has "accelerated the fielding of a more accurate version of its mainstay nuclear bomb" to European NATO bases. The B61-12 air-dropped gravity bomb will be delivered in December rather than next spring, given the urgency created by nuclear tensions with Russia.
An increasingly bipolar world
The Pentagon noted that "by the 2030s the United States will, for the first time in its history, face two major nuclear powers as strategic competitors and potential adversaries": Russia and communist China.
China is reckoned to be the far greater threat, as it is “the only competitor with both the intent to reshape the international order, and, increasingly, the economic, diplomatic, military, and technological power to advance that objective."
Russia was recognized in the report as an "acute threat," presenting "serious, continuing risks in key areas" and presenting "nuclear threats to the homeland and U.S. Allies and partners."
While Russia poses a threat to America and its allies, it also bolsters a greater threat.
"Although diverging interests and historical mistrust may limit the depth of their political and military cooperation," the Pentagon indicated that communist China and Russia continue to develop and strengthen their alliance. This alliance "could seek to create dilemmas globally for the Joint Force in the event of U.S. engagement in a crisis or a conflict with the other."
China, deemed America's most "consequential strategic competitor," may only have an estimated 350 nuclear warheads (Russia has roughly 5,977 and the U.S. has 5,428), but it intends to have 1,000 by decade's end. Furthermore, it is taking "increasingly coercive actions to reshape the Indo Pacific region and the international system to fit its authoritarian preferences."
The report suggested that the world "expects nuclear powers to act responsibly," but that the U.S. "has made little progress" with China despite consistent efforts.
Chinese dictator Xi Jinping recently intimated that conflict between China and the U.S. was on the horizon, stating, ""Be mindful of dangers in the midst of peace. ... Get the house in good repair before rain comes, and prepare to undergo the major tests of high winds and waves, and even perilous, stormy seas."
Nuclear deterrence
The Pentagon report indicated that for the U.S. to "maintain credible and effective deterrence of both large-scale and limited nuclear attacks from a range of adversaries," it would have to do what Trump demanded in 2018: "Modernize and rebuild our nuclear arsenal, hopefully never having to use it, but making it so strong and so powerful that it will deter any acts of aggression by any other nation or anyone else."
Extra to modernizing "nuclear forces, nuclear command, control, and communications, and the nuclear weapon production enterprise," the strategy report said the Pentagon will also "bolster regional nuclear deterrence" by working closely with American allies.
The authors of the report concluded, "For the foreseeable future, nuclear weapons will continue to provide unique deterrence effects that no other element of U.S. military power can replace."
Bloomberg reported that Mackenzie Eaglen, a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, was "struck" by how emerging geopolitical threats have prompted both the Trump and Biden administrations as well as members of both parties to adopt a similar approach to defense.
Eaglen said, "They're willing to postpone their visionary policies in light of the harsh reality on nukes from China and Russia."
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US and South Korean forces launch missiles into the sea in retaliation to North Korea's aggression
On Monday, the U.S. and South Korean militaries launched eight ballistic missiles into the sea in a retaliatory show of force that matched a similar display conducted by North Korea just the day before.
The Associated Press reported that U.S. and South Korean forces were conducting a live-fire exercise that involved eight Army Tactical Missile System missiles. The American military provided one missile and the South Korean military provided the other seven.
The South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff and U.S. Forces Korea confirmed that the missiles were fired into South Korea’s eastern waters over a span of ten minutes following notifications of air and maritime safety.
The retaliatory missile launches were intended to demonstrate the ability of South Korean and U.S forces to swiftly and lethally respond to aggression from North Korea.
On Sunday, the South Korean military detected eight short-range missiles originating from North Korea. They were launched over a 35-minute span from at least four different locations including western and eastern coastal areas and two inland areas north of and near the North Korean capital city of Pyongyang.
These missile launches are North Korea’s latest provocation of the international community and marks the 18th round of missile tests conducted by the reclusive communist nation so far inn 2022. This round of missile tests from the North came just one day after the South Korean military conducted a naval drill in the Philippine Sea alongside the U.S. aircraft carried Ronald Reagan.
It is believed that Kim Jong Un, North Korea’s supreme leader, is renewing his efforts to develop nuclear weapons.
Yoon Suk Yeol, the newly elected president of South Korea, recently made a speech during the country’s Memorial Day celebrations that his government would pursue “fundamental and practical security capabilities” to counter North Korea’s growing aggression.
Yoon, a conservative who took office in May, has vowed to strengthen the South’s defense through collaborating with the U.S. as a strategic ally.
At the National Cemetery in Seoul, Yoon said, “North Korea’s nuclear weapons and missile programs have grown to a point where they are not only a threat to the Korean Peninsula, but to Northeast Asia and world peace.”
Yoon said that his government would “sternly respond to any kind of North Korean provocation.”
Yoon’s approach to dealing with North Korea breaks with that of his predecessor who emphasized amicable dialogue with the North.
Yoon said, “Just to escape temporarily North Korean provocation or conflict is not something that we should do. This kind of approach over the past five years has proven to be a failure.”
The Chinese government is accelerating the build-up of its nuclear arsenal as tensions with the US rise
People familiar with the thought process of China’s leadership say that the Chinese government has begun to accelerate the development of its nuclear arsenal after reassessing the threat posed to mainland China by the United States.
The Wallstreet Journal said that China’s nuclear effort “long predates Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but the U.S.’s wariness about getting directly involved in the war there has likely reinforced Beijing’s decision to put greater emphasis on developing nuclear weapons as a deterrent.”
It is believed that Chinese leaders see a stronger nuclear arsenal as a way to deter the U.S. from involving itself in a potential future conflict over Taiwan.
The Chinese government has also accelerated work on more than 100 suspected missile silos that could be used to store nuclear-tipped missiles in remote western regions of China.
American officials and independent security analysts who study nuclear proliferation say they are unsure about what is motivating Beijing’s race to develop its nuclear arsenal.
The Wallstreet Journal reported that the “people close to the Chinese leadership said China’s increased focus on nuclear weapons is also driven by fears Washington might seek to topple Beijing’s Communist government” as American foreign policy becomes more hawkish towards China.
American military officials and security analysts worry that China rapidly accelerating the development of its nuclear arsenal could embolden the Chinese Communist Party to launch a surprise nuclear strike.
Reportedly, the Chinese government plans to maintain an arsenal “no larger than necessary to ensure China’s security interests.”
A person close to the leadership of China suggested that another reason Chinese leadership is rushing to strengthen its nuclear arsenal is so that the U.S. can’t push them around on the geopolitical stage. The person said, “China’s inferior nuclear capability could only lead to growing U.S. pressure on China.”
This past year, the American security apparatus was caught entirely off guard as the Chinese government launched a nuclear-capable hypersonic missile into space that circled the earth before sailing towards its target on the planet’s surface.
An unnamed U.S. official said, “We have no idea how [China] did this.”
People familiar with the thinking of Chinese leadership have said that it is unlikely that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine has had an impact on the Chinese government’s nuclear acceleration despite the lingering threat of Putin using a nuclear weapon against Ukraine causing immense anxiety within the international community.
The Pentagon estimates that China will have 1,000 nuclear warheads by the end of this decade.
Russia debuts new hypersonic missiles in strike on Ukrainian munitions depot
The war in Ukraine might be about to take a dark turn as Russian forces deploy the use of hypersonic missiles. This marks the first time Russian forces have used hypersonic missiles in combat.
The Kinzhal hypersonic missiles were used by Russian forces to destroy an underground ammunition storage facility in Delyatyn, Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast.
The Daily Star reported that information on the attack remains scant but that Russia has long boasted about its hypersonic weapons arsenal which contains missiles that can evade traditional anti-missile defense systems.
These missiles include the 3M22 Zircon missile which is a low-flying rocket that is able to speed past early detection technologies. It, and other similar weapons in the Russian arsenal, have a range of around 1,000 kilometers.
The state-owned Russian television network, TV Zvezda, said that “The Russian Zircon hypersonic missile’s stealth features have been disclosed” indicating that this missile was, in fact, utilized against the Ukrainians.
“The speed of the Zircon hypersonic missile is so high that it prevents the opponent’s air defense system from detecting its impact in time,” the state-owned network boasted.
It continued by suggesting that “[the missile’s] launch will be known only after the target has been hit” and that the missile has “variable trajectory” making it difficult for even advanced defense systems to detect it.
Igor Krokhmal, the launching frigate’s commander, said, “No one will see the missile launch or its flight. They will only see when the missile hits the target.”
The U.S. Sun reported that Krokkhmal said there won’t be anything that can counter the Zircon missile for years to come.
He said, “A surface target, a coastal target. I don’t think there will be anything to counter this in the next few years.”
In December, when the missile was being tested, Russian President Vladimir Putin said, “Zircon are our newest missiles fired from the sea at sea targets, and land targets.”
He added, “The [missile] tests were carried out successfully, flawlessly” and said that “this is a big event for our country, a significant step in improving Russia’s security, in increasing [our] defensive capability.”
Similarly, last-October, the Chinese government launched a nuclear capable hypersonic missile into space that was able to circle the globe without being detected.
The Long March rocket, operated by the China National Space Administration, purportedly caught American intelligence agencies by surprise.
“We have no idea how they did this,” an anonymous U.S. official told the Financial Times.
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