The world has been living in fear of thermonuclear confrontation for nearly eight decades. Nuclear-armed countries have a tremendous responsibility in this regard, as their actions can cause the destruction of the world as we know it, with cataclysmic consequences for humanity. In early August, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres stated that the world was “one miscalculation away from nuclear annihilation.” Guterres added that “we have been extraordinarily lucky so far” and called for a broader stand-down of all nuclear-armed powers’ arsenals, but also stressed that the “luck” the world had enjoyed so far in avoiding a nuclear catastrophe “may not last” and urged the world to “renew a push towards eliminating all such weapons.”
Although the UN Secretary-General is correct in his warnings, it should be noted that very specific global powers are escalating tensions to the boiling point. Ironically, the side which is the most vocal about supposed “threats” coming from others is also the only side in history that has used all three types (nuclear, biological, chemical) of weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) in war. Anyone familiar with the history of WMDs knows this side is the United States of America. The imperialist thalassocracy used nuclear weapons against civilians in Japan, as well as a plethora of biological and chemical weapons in dozens of other countries it attacked since the end of the Second World War.
And yet, the US still has the audacity to accuse others of the supposed intention to acquire or use WMDs. In recent months, US President Joe Biden has been accusing Russia of alleged plans to use tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine. Although the US provided zero evidence to support such statements, Western corporate and state-run mainstream media continue parroting this narrative, further trying to cement Russophobia in the minds of regular people. According to these reports, the US has allegedly “sent several warnings to Russia via backchannels regarding the possible use of nuclear weapons in Ukraine.” A Washington Post report claims that “the White House’s messages to Russia have been intentionally vague to foster uncertainty in Moscow about what the US would do if Russia deployed its ultimate weapon.”
According to State Department officials who gave the interview to the Washington Post, the US has allegedly “warned Russia multiple times” since Moscow started its special military operation. The White House claims that its warnings to Russia (provided the claims are even true) have been “intentionally vague” in order to “cause uncertainty” in Moscow. US officials insist that “these nonspecific threats will deter Russia through strategic ambiguity.” The report further states that “the ‘strategic ambiguity’ is an intentionally non-transparent foreign policy concept designed to cause the enemy not to act out of fear it could cross a red line without knowing it.”
The officials claim an example of this approach is the US policy toward Taiwan. For approximately half a century, Washington DC has been implementing “strategic ambiguity” in regards to the island’s political status. The US “is refusing to officially and legally commit to directly aid Taiwan” in case China decides to take it back. In doing so, Washington DC has “discouraged Taiwan from officially declaring independence.” However, the US also doesn’t deny it would “directly aid the government in Taipei.” This “accomplishes the goal of deterring Beijing” from taking direct action to fully restore its sovereignty over the breakaway province.
However, this foreign policy concept toward Russia and China seems to be changing. Although it’s extremely risky in and of itself, this approach is still less escalatory than what the US has been doing in recent months. The troubled Biden administration has already started abandoning the “strategic ambiguity” concept. Since he took office, Joe Biden stated the US would go to war with China over Taiwan. He publicly stated this at least four times. For its part, Beijing has responded to these threats by conducting naval exercises and it’s already in the process of expanding its strategic arsenal. According to various reports, in response to US aggression, China is investing in a threefold increase in the number of strategic weapons it operates by 2030.
Moscow is also taking note of US threats. Last Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that the Russian military will use everything at its disposal to defend the country and its territorial integrity. President Putin’s exact statement was: “If the territorial integrity of our country is threatened, we will, without doubt, use all available means to protect Russia and our people – this is not a bluff.” Although the warning didn’t specifically mention nuclear weapons, it’s clear that Russia could deploy them if the US tries to escalate. Western state and corporate-run mainstream media immediately took the statement out of context and started constructing the convenient false narrative that Russia would use WMDs in Ukraine.
Although Russia does operate the world’s most powerful nuclear arsenal, it has never used these weapons in war (unlike the US). The country’s WMDs serve as a deterrent and this was exactly what President Putin meant in his statement. Although the Kiev regime is a direct security challenge for Moscow, Russia’s conventional forces are more than capable of tackling this issue. Moscow has also announced low-level mobilization, which clearly implies that it doesn’t plan on using WMDs, as it makes no sense to send hundreds of thousands of soldiers into an area that will allegedly be targeted with nuclear weapons, as the US claims.
Drago Bosnic, independent geopolitical and military analyst