Nuclear War Looms?

It is, in large measure, an old dynamic playing out in new form as
an economically declining Russia, a rising China and an uncertain
United States resume their one-upmanship.

Moscow is fielding big missiles topped by miniaturized warheads, and experts fear that it may violate the global test ban as it develops new weapons. According to Russian news reports, the Russian Navy is developing an undersea drone meant to loft a cloud of radioactive contamination from an underwater explosion that would make target cities uninhabitable.

The Chinese military, under the tighter control of President Xi
Jinping, is flight-testing a novel warhead called a “hypersonic glide
vehicle.” It flies into space on a traditional long-range missile but then
maneuvers through the atmosphere, twisting and careening at more
than a mile a second. That can render missile defenses all but useless.

US accused Russia of “aggressive” and “unsafe” manoeuvres after two Su-24 strike aircraft flew within 30ft of an American destroyer in the Baltic. Across Europe, Russian fighters and bombers have been intercepted while probing the air defences of Nato countries.

Read more:

Race for Latest Class of Nuclear Arms Threatens to Revive Cold War

Obama Vs Putin Nuclear War Looms

The Inevitability of Nuclear War
Russia warns U.S. over naval incident as NATO tensions laid bare
Russia 'breaks' military deal with America and threatens US warplanes over Syria
'We will respond with all necessary measures': Russian warning after US Navy warship sails close to its Baltic border as it emerges Moscow has beefed up its attack submarine fleet
Hypersonic warhead for future ICBM successfully tested in Russia – report
Russia jets make 'simulated attack' on US warship in 'aggressive' Baltic incident
Russian warplanes risking safety of European airliners, says Nato chief

North Korea leader says will soon conduct nuclear warhead test

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said his country would soon conduct a nuclear warhead explosion test and a test launch of ballistic missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads, the official KCNA news agency reported on Tuesday.

Kim made the comments as he supervised a successful simulated test of atmospheric re-entry of a ballistic missile, KCNA said.

Nuclear-capable Trident missile streaking over San Francisco after being fired off coast of California

"A mysterious bright light in the sky has sent Californians into panic," reports the BBC. "Videos posted online show a bright flare rising high, before a wide, bright blue flash emerges in a cone shape. Many videos continue to track the light for several minutes."

Related:

Mysterious light in sky' spooks California


Photographer captures awe-inspiring pictures of nuclear-capable Trident missile streaking over San Francisco after being fired off coast of California in test mission

Thermonuclear missile launch near Los Angeles is final sign of World War III on the precipice... US, China and Russia all escalating covert attacks in run up to global war

Is a nuclear conflagration inevitable?

With all roads seemingly pointing toward a new era of nuclear proliferation, is a nuclear conflagration inevitable?

April 7, 2015
In The Wall Street Journal, Henry Kissinger and George Shultz write:


"Absent the linkage between nuclear and political restraint, America’s traditional allies will conclude that the U.S. has traded temporary nuclear cooperation for acquiescence to Iranian hegemony. They will increasingly look to create their own nuclear balances and, if necessary, call in other powers to sustain their integrity. Does America still hope to arrest the region’s trends toward sectarian upheaval, state collapse and the disequilibrium of power tilting toward Tehran, or do we now accept this as an irremediable aspect of the regional balance?

Some advocates have suggested that the agreement can serve as a way to dissociate America from Middle East conflicts, culminating in the military retreat from the region initiated by the current administration. As Sunni states gear up to resist a new Shiite empire, the opposite is likely to be the case. [...]

The Middle East will not stabilize itself, nor will a balance of power naturally assert itself out of Iranian-Sunni competition. (Even if that were our aim, traditional balance of power theory suggests the need to bolster the weaker side, not the rising or expanding power.) Beyond stability, it is in America’s strategic interest to prevent the outbreak of nuclear war and its catastrophic consequences. Nuclear arms must not be permitted to turn into conventional weapons. The passions of the region allied with weapons of mass destruction may impel deepening American involvement.

If the world is to be spared even worse turmoil, the U.S. must develop a strategic doctrine for the region. Stability requires an active American role. For Iran to be a valuable member of the international community, the prerequisite is that it accepts restraint on its ability to destabilize the Middle East and challenge the broader international order.

Until clarity on an American strategic political concept is reached, the projected nuclear agreement will reinforce, not resolve, the world’s challenges in the region. Rather than enabling American disengagement from the Middle East, the nuclear framework is more likely to necessitate deepening involvement there—on complex new terms. History will not do our work for us [...]"

To be continued...