12/22/16 :
vlad putim - "Moscow needs to “strengthen the military potential of strategic nuclear forces, [developing arms that can avoid missile defense systems].
The United States must greatly strengthen and expand its nuclear capability until such time as the world comes to its senses regarding nukes (author's note, good leadership (not), trump needs to come to his senses)
12/23/16:
BREAKING: Trump to #morningjoe on the nukes tweet: 'Let it be an arms race'
“We will outmatch them at every pass,” per MSNB
'Trump meant that he won’t allow other countries to expand their nuclear capabilities.', per sean spicer, future White House press secretary, in a television interview, per a Washington Post article on the afternoon of 12/23.
What the hell is going on? A nuclear arms race?!? Are these two guys idiots? I am not any kind of expert on nuclear arms or on military strategy. And you know what, I don't need to be. Here's some simple numbers. The U.S. currently has 2,150 operational and deployed nuclear weapons. There are another 2,500 in 'reserve storage' and 3,000 set to be disarmed. But lets just talk about the 2,150 that are operational and deployed. Our country has various classes of 'nukes' with varying strengths; 100 kilotons, 150 kilotons, 340 kilotons, 450 kilotons and 1.2 megatons. The nuclear bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima had a strength of approximately 15 kilotons and the weapon dropped on Nagasaki was between 18 and 23 kilotons. You do the math. How much destructive power do we need?
trump tweeted that he wants to "strengthen and expand our nuclear capability". I'll repeat the two key words, "strengthen and expand". I'm at a loss for words.
trump tweets and then his his 'team' scrambles to soften his words. Even if this is an intended strategy to keep other nations off balance (which I do not believe is the case), it is a dangerous and adolescent game. What I do believe we have here is a reactionary ass that can't keep his 'mouth' shut. Twitter is no way to conduct foreign policy, or domestic policy for that matter. putin, for his part, is proving that he understands trump; he can and will manipulate trump.
Hopefully, trump's nominee to oversee the Pentagon, Retired Marine General james mattis, will be able to assert his views, which he revealed in testimony last year in front of the Senate Armed Services Committee. mattis noted that it was time to ask whether it was “time to reduce the triad to a dyad,” suggesting that it may be time to abandon America's ICBMs (inter continental ballistic missiles). he further pointed out that to do so could reduce the "false alarm danger" (setting off a nuclear war by accident).
Just remember, trump ....."know[s] more.......than the generals do, believe [him]”. He was talking about ISIS when he made this statement, but it sure sounds like he thinks the same way with reference to nuclear arms.
No Bueno!
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