NATO Must Strike to Stop Spread of Nukes (Putin, Iran, Iraq)

[Greatday]

The West must be prepared to carry out pre-emptive nuclear strikes to halt the spread of nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction, according to a radical manifesto for a new NATO by five of the West's most senior military officers and strategists.

Calling for reform of NATO and a new pact drawing the U.S., NATO and the European Union together in a "grand strategy" to tackle the challenges of an increasingly brutal world, the former armed forces chiefs from the U.S., Britain, Germany, France and The Netherlands insist a "first strike" nuclear option remains an "indispensable instrument" since there is "simply no realistic prospect of a nuclear-free world."

FOXNews.com - Manifesto: NATO Must Strike to Stop Spread of Nukes - International News | News of the World | Middle East News | Europe News

[Stormcrow73]

Use nukes to prevent them being used???? Wow, that's one heck of an oxymoron! Read the full text and you find that the seeming intent of this is primarily deterrence: say you just might use them and thats deterrence enough to not have the likes of Iran develop them. But I still think that's not the stick we want to carry around with us.

[dunkel25]

Yeah, you're right. I mean, what kind of sense does it make to negotiate from a position of strength?

[Stormcrow73]

Originally Posted by dunkel25

Yeah, you're right. I mean, what kind of sense does it make to negotiate from a position of strength?

LOL, we can negotiate from a position of strength without threatening nukes. I have no issues with using them IF WE REALLY HAVE TO. But we have enough conventional armament to put a halt to most any efforts to develop nukes.

[Floridabound09]

If they fall into the wrong hands none of us will have to worry about what is right or wrong.
Take them out anyway they can if the intel shows us they have any control at all over them.
Time to stop making the weak people happy and get rid of the problem.

[NewToCA]

Good for the former Armed Forces Chiefs of Staff, they should be putting ideas like this out for legitimate consideration.

[sponger42]

A stated first-strike policy is fine for threatening non-nuclear nations and forcing them to give up their nuclear ambitions. Should they not comply and gain nuclear capabilities, the policy must revert to a stated no-first-use policy such as that used against the USSR during the cold war.

The purpose of any nuclear weapons policy should be both to prevent widespread conflict, and to prevent the use of any nuclear weapon in absolute terms. Nuclear weapons are only useful as a deterrant to total wars such as WWI and WWII and have preformed admirably at suppressing subsequent conflicts and preventing WWIII. However, they fail in their capability the moment they are deployed. They also fail if potential adversaries stop believing that you might actually use them.

An actual nuclear strike of any kind is utter maddness and should be considered a war crime regardless of the circumstances. However, it negates the deterrant capabilities of nuclear weapons to openly state such a policy.

[fishmonger]

Yes, let's be prepared to annihalate many hundreds of thousands of men, women, and children + possibly initiate the apocalypse in the event that one or another unfriendly government attempts to aquire the ultimate means of preventing us from doing so... definitely wisdom passed down from the heavens here. How many of you guys have seen Dr. Strangelove? Great movie if I may say so myself.

[TnHilltopper]

Nothing like a little arms race to pump up the economy ehy?

In response to the US position, Russia has decided to get back in the game.

RussiaToday : News : Russian Defence Chief flags pre-emptive strike

Meanwhile, Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Kislyak said U.S. military policies may put into question stability and predictability in the global strategic balance.

He said Russia doesn't view as serious the U.S. reasons for deploying elements of its anti-missile shield in Europe.

According to Kislyak, that and the U.S. refusal to ratify the Treaty on Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms leaves the door open for America to develop its nuclear arsenal.

Russia leaves door open for pre-emptive nukes - USATODAY.com

"We have no plans to attack anyone, but we consider it necessary for all our partners in the world community to clearly understand ... that to defend the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Russia and its allies, military forces will be used, including preventively, including with the use of nuclear weapons," Gen. Yuri Baluyevsky said.

Like most saber-rattling by Putin and other Russian officials, the chief of staff's remarks appeared aimed at least in part at the United States, which Moscow accuses of endangering global security through aggressive actions such as the invasion of Iraq.

So much for our "peace dividend", but then again, there is a lot less money to be made in times of peace.

[Floridabound09]

I have said all along that Russia will rebuild. With the destruction of our military in the 90's they were rebuilding theirs.
They will again be a force to reakon with, its a matter of time.