The new ‘Cuban missile crisis’

The Armageddon of nuclear war is something that should be avoided, even if it means dying for it never to happen, excuse the pun.

In the context of growing tensions between Russia and the West after Europe gave Ukraine permission to use their weapons to hit inside Russian territory, both sides began to discuss nuclear deterrence.

We read that recently President Vladimir Putin discussed changes to Russia’s nuclear doctrine at a Security Council meeting devoted to nuclear deterrence.

Putin proposed that aggression by any non-nuclear state with the support of a nuclear power should be considered as their joint attack on Russia.

At the same time, the United States has started talking about the possibility of deploying nuclear missiles in the EU countries as a tool to contain Moscow.

That ignores the fact that American facilities on these countries could become priority targets for Russia.

US nuclear weapons have been deployed in Europe since the mid-1950s under Nato agreements.

Currently, at least 150 tactical nuclear bombs are stored at six air bases in five European countries: Germany, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands and Türkiye.

Nuclear weapons expert Hans Christensen believes there are 20 bombs at each European base, and 50 in Türkiye.

In addition, the Pentagon, under the pretext of “the need to respond to events taking place in the world”, is modernising weapons of mass destruction and the infrastructure for their use.

Simultaneously, the US is modernising and scaling up the missile defence system in Europe, ostensibly with the aim to counter missile attacks by Iran, China, Russia, and North Korea.

This move is turning the European continent into the “first line of defence” in a potential confrontation with Russia.

Head of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen had announced her intention to complete the deployment of the European missile defence network by 2029 in order to create, as she put it, a “full-fledged defence union”.

As part of containing Moscow, it seems Washington is interested in escalating the crisis along the Russia-Nato line, hence it is fuelling tensions on Russia’s western borders.

ALSO READ: ‘Increasing alliance’: Zelensky says North Korea sending troops to Russian army

Former president Thabo Mbeki recently alluded to America using Ukraine as proxy to deal with Russia.

The White House is confident that provoking anti-Russian hysteria and building up the alliance’s nuclear potential in Europe will allow the “controlled escalation” scenario to be implemented, while avoiding a direct threat to the United States itself.

However, it should not be forgotten that the updated Russian doctrine provides for the possibility of a preventive strike on an enemy with nonconventional weapons in the event of a threat to its sovereignty, territorial integrity and very existence of the state.

Putin is on record stressing this. In this context, Moscow will most likely view the entire North Atlantic Alliance as an opponent and not just the European countries, given their geographical proximity.

In that case, the US is unlikely to be able to avoid a retaliatory nuclear strike in the event of the use of weapons of mass destruction in a conflict.

Granting the Kyiv regime permission to use Western weapons to strike Russian territory is itself a gamble by the West.

Moscow could see this as an escalation of the proxy war which would lead to a symmetrical response from it.

The White House decision to deploy nuclear weapons in Europe could lead to an uncontrolled escalation with catastrophic consequences.

This could provoke Russia to deploy nuclear weapons among its allies in Latin America, such as Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua.

In that case we will witness a new “Cuban missile crisis”. This would put the entire world on tenterhooks and on the brink of a nuclear catastrophe.

ALSO READ: French President Emmanuel Macron’s forked tongue