Russia has a nuclear doctrine known as "escalate to deescalate" or, more accurately, "escalate to win," which contemplates threatening or using nuclear weapons early in a conventional conflict.
It cannot be a good sign that Russia, China, and North Korea at the same time are threatening to launch the world's most destructive weaponry.
Because the Western democracies have largely stood down and are clearly not fighting in Ukraine, Beijing and Pyongyang want similar successes.
"Like Vladimir Putin, the Communist Party of China has lost its fear of American power... China's nuclear threats expose... perceived American weakness, expose the risk of the lack of a U.S. regional nuclear deterrent, and expose the inadequacy of U.S. leadership." — Richard Fisher of the Virginia-based International Assessment and Strategy Center, to the author, March 2022.
Whatever the reason for the threats, Putin and Xi have told everyone what they intend to do. Unfortunately, Western leaders are determined not to believe them.
In response to Russian threats, President Joe Biden on February 28 said the American people should not worry about nuclear war. On the contrary, there is every reason to worry.
In line with Western thinking, presidents and prime ministers have almost always ignored nuclear threats, hoping not to dignify them. Unfortunately, this posture has only emboldened the threat-makers to make more threats. The later the international community confronts belligerent Russians, Chinese, and North Koreans, the more dangerous the confrontations will be.
The world, therefore, looks like it is fast approaching the worst moment in history.
Russia has a nuclear doctrine known as "escalate to deescalate" or, more accurately, "escalate to win," which contemplates threatening or using nuclear weapons early in a conventional conflict. It cannot be a good sign that Russia, China, and North Korea at the same time are threatening to launch the world's most destructive weaponry. Pictured: Mobile intercontinental ballistic missile launchers at a military parade in Moscow, Russia, on June 24, 2020. (Photo by Sergey Pyatakov - Host Photo Agency via Getty Images )
On May 1, on Russian TV, the media executive often called "Putin's mouthpiece" urged the Russian president to launch a Poseidon underwater drone with a "warhead of up to 100 megatons." The detonation, said Dmitry Kiselyov, would create a 1,640-foot tidal wave that would "plunge Britain to the depths of the ocean." The wave would reach halfway up England's tallest peak, Scafell Pike.
"This tidal wave is also a carrier of extremely high doses of radiation," Kiselyov pointed out. "Surging over Britain, it will turn whatever is left of them into radioactive desert, unusable for anything. How do you like this prospect?"
"A single launch, Boris, and there is no England anymore," said Kiselyov, addressing the British prime minister.
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