Why are Trump and Putin suddenly keen to revive the Cold War?
In May, Donald Trump suggested he could support South Korea, Japan and Saudi Arabia arming themselves with nuclear weapons for their own defence [Image: Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images].
All the news lately has been about Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin having some kind of hidden alliance, with the controversy about alleged Russian rigging of the US presidential election and Trump’s notably warmer attitude to Russia over the conflict in Syria.
Now they are both saying they want to resurrect the Cold War.
Why?
Do they think the world was somehow more secure with the threat of nuclear Armageddon hanging over all our heads? That terrorists will give up? That rogue states like North Korea will stop their own nuclear programmes?
That demagogues across the world will suddenly realise having nuclear weapons is a bad idea, simply because America and Russia are stockpiling stupid numbers of them once again?
I think that would be very foolish indeed.
And the potential for harm is far too great. If you don’t think so, consider these words from George Takei, who came from a family that experienced nuclear devastation to be a part of a cultural phenomenon that showed us all a better way*:
Trump wants to expand our nuclear arsenal. I think of my aunt and baby cousin, found burnt in a ditch in Hiroshima. These weapons must go.
— George Takei (@GeorgeTakei) December 22, 2016
US President-elect Donald Trump called on Thursday for a strengthening of America’s nuclear weapons programme, throwing into doubt longstanding efforts to reduce its arsenal.
On Thursday, Trump tweeted: “The United States must greatly strengthen and expand its nuclear capability until such time as the world comes to its senses regarding nukes.”
It was unclear what prompted the comment on a medium that favours brevity over context. But it came on the same day that also President Vladimir Putin addressed Russia’s nuclear capacity.
“We need to strengthen the military potential of strategic nuclear forces, especially with missile complexes that can reliably penetrate any existing and prospective missile defence systems,” Putin said.
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So Trump ‘logic’ is that in order to get rid of “nukes”, we need more.
And here was me thinking 2017 could only get BETTER… :(
Perhaps looking at the factual news and reports instead of MSM propaganda might reveal that russian did not hack election results. This has not only been proven several times , but even admitted.
I’d love to see those reports.