Tag: Nuclear Weapons

Will There Be A Nuclear Incident In Ukraine?

There are many that think Putin will be pressed into using some form of nuclear device in Ukraine….and then possibly onto the rest of the world.

Is that fear universal?

What does the average Russian think?

The results of survey was published in “New Voice Of Ukraine”

The survey says that 9% of Russians, asked whether the Russian leadership is ready to launch a nuclear strike on Ukraine, said “definitely yes,” and 20% said “rather yes,”, while 32% said “rather no,” 28% said “definitely no,” and 12% “hesitated to answer.”

In addition, 29% of respondents believe that the possible use of nuclear weapons by Russia against Ukraine is justified, while 56% said the use of this type of weapon could not be justified.

On March 25, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that he plans to deploy tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus.

Earlier, Director of National Intelligence in the Biden administration, Avril Haines, reported that Russia is unlikely to launch a nuclear strike, according to the White House.

Now is this a propaganda piece or a true survey that Ukraine somehow got their hands on to use for news and support?

I found lots of opinion piece on the possibility of the use of nukes but nothing along the lines of this ‘survey’….for now I am skeptical that this is an accurate depiction of the Russian people and their thoughts on the possibility of the use nukes in Ukraine.

On another thought….did Russia ever move nukes into their ally, Belarus?

I personally do not think Putin will use nukes….but that could change if and when Putin becomes desperate.

But just in case here are 3 scenarios that could answer that question…..as published in Politico….

Scenario 1: Remote atmospheric test

Least provocative would be Putin’s resumption of above-ground nuclear testing — by detonating a low-yield nuclear warhead high above Novaya Zemlya, the old Soviet test site in the Arctic, for example. While both the actual damage on the ground and radioactive fallout would be negligible, the psychological effect could be enormous: It would be the first nuclear explosion by a superpower since nuclear testing ended in 1992, and the first bomb detonated in the atmosphere by either the U.S. or Russia after such tests were outlawed by treaty in 1963. It would also be a potent reminder that Putin has tactical nuclear weapons in abundance — about 2,000 by last count — and is prepared to use them.

Scenario 2: Atmospheric detonation above Ukraine

A more provocative demonstration would be an ultra-high-altitude explosion of a more powerful weapon over Ukraine itself. In a 1962 test, the U.S. detonated a 1.4-megaton H-bomb in the mid-Pacific, 250 miles above the Earth. The resulting electromagnetic pulse unexpectedly knocked out streetlights and disrupted telephone service in Hawaii, 900 miles distant. A similarly powerful explosion above Kyiv would not only be visually spectacular but would likely plunge the capital into prolonged darkness and silence by shorting out computers, cellphones and other electronics. EMP effects might also extend into NATO member countries. But the extent of damage from the pulse is unpredictable, and Russian communications could also be affected.

Scenario 3: Ground explosion in Ukraine

Most dangerous — and, for that reason, perhaps least likely — would be using a tactical nuclear weapon to achieve a concrete military objective such as disrupting the delivery of weapons to Ukrainians fighting in a city like Mariupol. Alternatively, Putin might detonate a tactical nuclear warhead against military or logistics targets in sparsely populated western Ukraine — in the agricultural lands between Lviv and Kyiv, for instance — after warning people in the target area to evacuate. But even the smallest nuclear weapon would set fires over a wide area if detonated in the air. Depending on the height of the explosion, it could also spread lingering radioactive fallout, possibly extending into NATO member countries and Russia itself.

Any thoughts?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Nuclear Oneupmanship

Last month the Russian made an announcement that it would move some nukes into Belarus……

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Saturday that Moscow will deploy tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus at the request of Minsk.

Announcing the decision, Putin compared the move to NATO’s nuclear sharing program, under which there are US nuclear weapons deployed to the territory of five allied countries: Germany, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Turkey.

“There is nothing unusual here either. Firstly, the United States has been doing this for decades. They have long deployed their tactical nuclear weapons on the territory of their allied countries,” Putin said. The Russian leader insisted the deployment wouldn’t violate Moscow’s non-proliferation commitments.

(antiwar.com)

Then I read a piece that said that the US was planning to move some nukes into South Korea…..

The US will dock nuclear-armed submarines in South Korea for the first time since the 1980s in a significant escalation that will raise tensions on the Korean Peninsula and risk provoking a response from Pyongyang.

The deployment is part of an agreement announced by President Biden and South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, who is visiting Washington. The US previously had nuclear weapons stationed in South Korea but withdrew them in 1991.

The agreement comes as there’s no sign of the tensions on the Korean Peninsula easing. The US and South Korea continue to conduct massive war games while Pyongyang has launched a huge number of missile tests and is warning it can develop more nuclear weapons.

(antiwar.com)

Is this one of those ‘do as I say not as I do’?

I do not see the difference…..as a person opposed to nukes I see this game as dangerous on several levels.

But then that is just me.

On another note….US said it hasn’t seen any indication that Russia is planning to use nuclear weapons. White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby also said the US hasn’t seen Russia move any nuclear weapons around yet.

Does anyone see a problem with the rhetoric here?

Sorry just thinking out loud (so to speak)….

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Russian Nuke News Of The Day

The big news this weekend ought to get the jaws flapping and brains scrambled…..

Over the weekend news broke that Russia plans to re-position its nukes.

President Vladimir Putin said Saturday that Russia will station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus. The allies struck an agreement after Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko raised the possibility, Putin told Russian state television, per the BBC. Russia will maintain control of the weapons, he said, likening the move to the US having weapons in Europe and saying it won’t break existing nonproliferation agreements. “The United States has been doing this for decades,” Putin was quoted as saying.

A storage site for the weapons, which are designed to be used in battle—unlike longer-range strategic nuclear weapons—will be built by July 1, Putin said, per Reuters. Putin has had Lukashenko’s support for the invasion of Ukraine, and Russia has used neighboring Belarus as a staging ground for deploying troops. Putin said this move is a response to Britain’s decision to ship Ukraine armor-piercing rounds containing depleted uranium, which Russia falsely claims have nuclear components, per the AP.

Again I think some will lose their minds over this news…..

Why would Putin do this move?

Putin also said the decision was related to the UK supplying Ukraine with depleted uranium rounds for its British-made Challenger 2 tanks. Depleted uranium ammunition is radioactive and is linked to cancer and birth defects, especially in Iraq, where US forces used an enormous number of the controversial munitions.

When will this happen…..if ever…..?

In response to the announcement, the US said it hasn’t seen any indication that Russia is planning to use nuclear weapons. White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby also said the US hasn’t seen Russia move any nuclear weapons around yet.

But let me say this is no different than the US putting nukes in the UK and other sites….before I get some half brain thinking that I am a Putin fan let me state here and now….Putin is a barbaric tool the sooner he is gone the better….and the nukes…I am anti nuke as well as anti-war…..I do not think that we need the capabilities to destroy the earth several times over….we already do a fine job with conventional weapons.

Does that clear up any confusion?  (Probably not but I tried)

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

North Korea….The Problem

Recently Russia/Putin made a comment about the possibility of the use of a nuke in or around Ukraine…..and the internet went batcrap crazy and the blogs exploded with the prediction of doom and gloom….the end of civilization was a tick away.

North Korea has the nuke capability and the delivery system to deploy the weapons as needed….I said reports…..recently NK responded to the drills that the US and South Korea were having….

North Korea issued a veiled threat Tuesday to use nuclear weapons to get the US and South Korea to “pay the most horrible price in history,” an escalation of its fiery rhetoric targeting the ongoing large-scale military drills between its rivals. Animosities on the Korean Peninsula have been running high in recent months, with North Korea testing a string of nuclear-capable missiles and adopting a law authorizing the preemptive use of its nuclear weapons in a broad range of situations. Some experts still doubt North Korea could use nuclear weapons first in the face of superior US and South Korean forces. North Korea has argued its recent weapons tests were meant to issue a warning to Washington and Seoul over a series of joint military drills that it views as an invasion rehearsal, including this week’s exercises involving about 240 warplanes, the AP reports.

North Korea has argued its recent weapons tests were meant to issue a warning to Washington and Seoul over their series of joint military drills that it views as an invasion rehearsal, including this week’s exercises involving about 240 warplanes. Pak Jong Chon, a secretary of the ruling Workers’ Party who is considered a close confidant of leader Kim Jong Un, called the so-called “Vigilant Storm” air force drills “aggressive and provocative.” He slammed South Korean military leaders over what he called “rubbish” comments that threatened to destroy North Korea if it uses nuclear weapons. South Korea’s military has warned North Korea that using its nuclear weapons would put it on a “path of self-destruction.”
 
“If the US and South Korea attempt to use armed forces against (North Korea) without any fear, the special means of the (North’s) armed forces will carry out their strategic mission without delay,” Pak said, in an apparent reference to his country’s nuclear weapons. “The US and South Korea will have to face a terrible case and pay the most horrible price in history,” he said. US and South Korean officials have steadfastly said their drills are defensive in nature and that they have no intentions of attacking North Korea. South Korean officials have said North Korea could up the ante in coming weeks by detonating its first nuclear test device since September 2017, which could possibly take the country a step closer to its goals of building a full-fledged nuclear arsenal capable of threatening regional US allies and the US mainland.

Lil Kim was thumping his chest, right?

Hours after threatening to use nuclear weapons in response to the US-South Korea joint military drills, North Korea fired a short-range ballistic missile that crossed the sea border separating North and South Korea—the first time that’s happened since the two countries divided in 1948, the BBC reports. Other outlets say the missile landed close to the disputed border, but are not clear on whether it crossed. What was clear was that the missile landed further south than any other since the division, the Guardian reports. Seoul says Pyongyang fired about a dozen missiles in total Wednesday, though apparently just one landed near the tense maritime border, the AP reports. It landed 37 miles from the South Korean city of Sokcho, triggering air-raid alarms on Ulleungdo island.

The North Korean missiles were launched from the east and west coasts, CNN reports. In response, South Korea conducted air-to-surface missile tests, firing three precision-guided missiles near the countries’ eastern border, Seoul said. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement that North Korea’s actions were “very unprecedented and we will never tolerate it,” and that the country “will strictly and firmly respond under close South Korea-US cooperation.” National security meetings have been called in South Korea and Japan in response to the latest missile launches.

All that and yet the internet is NOT full of doom and gloom….why is that?

I mean Kim is actually firing missiles….Putin was just talk.

Why no predictions of the end of civilization as we know it?

Maybe it is just the American people falling for the BS of the MSM.

Whatcha think?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

The Nuke Hysteria

Recently there has been many words written and said about Putin and the use of nukes….I have made my feelings known on several occasions….now there is a new story line about the use of a dirty bombs which is a nasty piece of work but it is not as devastating as a nuclear bomb.

I have found a couple of reports on these two story lines….

First Putin has made a statement on the use of nukes…..

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday said that Moscow has no plans to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine and warned the world is facing the most dangerous decade since World War II.

“We see no need for that,” Putin said of the use of nuclear weapons in Ukraine in a speech at the Valdai Club, a Moscow-based think tank. “There is no point in that, neither political, nor military.”

Putin recently warned that Russia could use all the weapons at its disposal to defend its “territorial integrity,” and other Russian officials made clear that included nuclear weapons and applied to the territories Moscow recently annexed in Ukraine.

But there’s been no sign that Putin has made a decision to use nuclear weapons, and he said Thursday that Russia’s recent talk of nuclear weapons was a reaction to remarks from Western officials.

Discussing current global tensions, Putin said that the world is facing “probably, the most dangerous, unpredictable and at the same time important decade since the end of World War II.”

(antiwar.com)

But we hate Putin so that would be a lie, right?

The State Department has made some intel available to us peasants on the Putin nuke thing…..

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told reporters Thursday that the US has still not seen anything to indicate that Russian President Vladimir Putin has decided to use a dirty bomb, per the AP. He said there are continued concerns that the conflict could escalate, and he said that’s why it is critical for the US to keep the lines of communication open with allies and with Russia. “We’re going to continue to communicate that any type of use of a weapon of that sort, or even the talk of the use of a weapon of that sort is dangerous and irresponsible,” said Austin, who spoke with his Russian counterpart twice in the last week.

“It’s important to make sure that we’re talking to adversaries and allies alike and making sure that that we’re tamping down dangerous talk.” Asked if there are concerns Russia might use its upcoming nuclear exercises as a cover for a strike inside Ukraine, Austin said, “it’s something we continue to watch. And we haven’t seen anything to cause us to believe at this point that that is some kind of cover activity.” Moscow has repeatedly made the unfounded claim that Ukraine is preparing to use a “dirty bomb,” an explosive devise with radioactive material, on its own territory. Western officials have dismissed the claim as misinformation possibly designed as a pretext for Russia to justify its own military escalation.

The State Department would not lie…so that is good news, right?

Just to let you, my readers, know what is being said….but remember actions speak louder than words.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

 

Practice Makes Perfect

All this talk about a nuke holocaust has the US doing what it does best….preparing for an all out use of nukes.

NATO military alliance will hold a training exercise, known as Steadfast Noon, in which US B-52 bombers and F-16 fighters will simulate dropping atomic bombs over Europe amid a deepening nuclear standoff with Russia.

The training exercise comes just ten days after US President Joe Biden warned of a nuclear “apocalypse,” saying the risk of nuclear war is the greatest since the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962.

“This is the exercise that practices NATO’s nuclear strike mission with dual-capable aircraft and the B61 tactical nuclear bombs the US deploys in Europe,” wrote Hans Kristensen of the Federation of American Scientists.

The aircraft will rehearse dropping B61 “tactical” thermonuclear bombs, each of which is up to 20 times more powerful than the weapon that destroyed Hiroshima in World War II, killing as many as 126,000 civilians.

While nuclear training exercises are usually presented as routine, nonthreatening, and not targeting any specific country, this year NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg made clear that the exercise is intended as a threat to Russia.

In a speech that mentioned Russia five times, Stoltenberg announced, “Next week, NATO will hold its long-planned deterrence exercise, Steadfast Noon.” He added, “Russia knows that a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought.”

As of 2019, the United States had 150 “tactical” nuclear warheads stationed throughout Europe as part of the NATO nuclear arsenal, including in Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Turkey.

https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2022/10/17/lkbs-o17.html

This news should worry about this exercise….after all the US is the ONLY country to actually use a nuke on a civilian population….it is a precedent.

But wait!

There is more that concern us mere peasants….

A commander said, “this is not a training deployment, this is a combat deployment”

The White House has deployed thousands of American soldiers just miles from Ukraine to prepare for war, according to CBS News. Officers speaking with the outlet revealed they were there for combat against Russia.

Brigadier General John Lubas confirmed nearly 5,000 troops from the 101st Airborne recently joined the 100,000 American soldiers already deployed to Europe. Lubas described his troops as being on “full deployment,” and they are preparing to fight Russian soldiers in Ukraine. “This is not a training deployment, this is a combat deployment for us. We understand we need to be ready to fight tonight,” he said.

Colonel Edwin Matthaidess said his forces have been “closely watching” the Russian soldiers, “building objectives to practice against” and conducting war games that “replicate exactly what’s going on” in Ukraine.

CBS News reported, “[Russia’s] goal is to cut off all Ukrainian access to the sea, leaving the country and its military forces landlocked.” CBS News did not provide a source for that assertion. The Kremlin has publicly said its war goal is limited to eastern Ukraine.

Lubas declared the division was “ready to defend every inch of NATO soil.” However, Moscow has never threatened to invade a NATO country. Ukraine is not a NATO member. When President Zelensky said Ukraine should be allowed into the North Atlantic alliance last month, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg rejected Kiev’s proposal.

(antiwar.com)

All this sounds like someone itching for a fight and will eventually find a reason to put practice into action.

Please people PAY ATTENTION!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Going Nuclear!

The situation in Ukraine keeps bring up many questions that need answers….the problem is that these issues trickle out as needed.

The latest one is the nuclear arms that Russia possesses and the possibility of their use if things go South in Ukraine.

Is it truly a possibility or just hype?

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned Wednesday that were World War III to begin, it would involve nuclear weapons, reports Reuters. A few days earlier, Vladimir Putin announced he was putting the nation’s nuclear deterrent forces on high alert, suggesting he was transitioning the country’s nukes to a higher level of readiness. So what are the chances we’d get to the point where Russia actually dips into its nuclear stockpile? It’s a question that’s been asked and debated in recent weeks. Some coverage:

  • The stockpile itself: The BBC looks at what Russia has: The Federation of American Scientists estimates just shy of 6,000 nuclear warheads, though roughly 1,500 have been retired and earmarked for disposal. The remaining 4,500 aren’t all ready for action, though. It’s thought about 1,500 are “deployed”—i.e., on a sub at sea or at missile and bomber bases. Its stockpile is the biggest among the nine nuclear countries on the planet.
  • Parsing Putin’s words: At the Guardian, Kristin Ven Bruusgaard observes that despite what Putin said Sunday, Russia’s nuclear arsenal “remains on a certain level of readiness even during peacetime,” and the US hasn’t detected any signs that warheads are being moved. So if little has changed, why did Putin signal a move was being made? “To influence the Western calculus by repeating that a confrontation with Russia would entail a significant nuclear risk,” en Bruusgaard writes. “To Moscow, the situation is now grave enough to gesture at its nuclear options.”
  • One scenario: At Slate, Fred Kaplan sees one scenario in which Putin might actually go nuclear: if the US or NATO gets personally involved, say by sending troops or dropping bombs. “If Putin thought he couldn’t win that war with conventional arms alone (he’s having a hard enough time against just the Ukrainian army), he might very well escalate to nuclear war. That’s what nuclear weapons are for—not just to deter a nuclear attack by an adversary but also to deter (and, if necessary, tip the course of) a large-scale conventional war.”
  • The NATO angle: At Foreign Policy, Anchal Vohra writes that Russia’s nuclear capabilities are exactly why the US and its European allies have ruled out sending troops. She points out that, “desperate to save his people, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has appealed, in vain, for immediate entry to NATO, which would oblige the alliance to come to Ukraine’s defense. ‘I’ve asked 27 leaders of Europe if Ukraine will be in NATO. I’ve asked them directly. All are afraid and did not respond,'” Zelensky said.
  • Nothing imminent: In comments to NPR, Olga Oliker of the International Crisis Group puts it like so: “I think it’s very unlikely that Moscow is just going to lob a nuclear weapon at something. Obviously it’s been a week when a lot of people’s assumptions have been challenged, but I’ll cling to this one for a while.”

More information for those that truly care whether nukes are on the table.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-60559574

Is ‘Vlad the Invader’ really moronic enough to use a nuke?

I am old enough that I remember the scenes from the first nuke that hit Japan…..maybe the world and Russia needs to be reminded just how harsh the consequences are for the use of such weapons.

Just a thought!

Update:  After I wrote this post news came out of an Russian attack on a nuke plant…..

Russian troops are shelling Europe’s largest nuclear power station in Ukraine. “We demand that they stop the heavy weapons fire,” Andriy Tuz, spokesperson for the plant in Enerhodar, said in a video posted on Telegram. “There is a real threat of nuclear danger in the biggest atomic energy station in Europe.” The plant accounts for about one-fourth of Ukraine’s power generation, the AP reports. Tuz told Ukrainian television early Friday that shells were falling directly on the Zaporizhzhia plant and had set fire to one of its six reactors. That reactor is under renovation and not operating, but there is nuclear fuel inside, he said.

Ukraine’s foreign minister pleaded with the Russians to halt their attack, per the Guardian. About 2:30am, Dmytro Kuleba tweeted: “Russian army is firing from all sides upon Zaporizhzhia NPP, the largest nuclear power plant in Europe. Fire has already broke out. Russians must IMMEDIATELY cease the fire, allow firefighters, establish a security zone!” Ukrainian firefighters cannot get near the blaze because they are under fire, Tuz said. Just the day before, the UN atomic watchdog agency expressed grave concern that the fighting could cause accidental damage to Ukraine’s 15 nuclear reactors.

A live-streamed security camera linked from the homepage of the plant showed what appeared to be armored vehicles rolling into the parking lot and shining spotlights on the building where the camera was mounted. There are then what appear to be bright muzzle flashes from vehicles and nearly simultaneous explosions in surrounding buildings. Smoke then rises and drifts across the frame. The mayor of Enerhodar said Ukrainian forces were battling Russian troops on the city’s outskirts. Video showed flames and black smoke rising above the city of more than 50,000, with people streaming past wrecked cars.

This could be devastating to Ukraine….

The fire is now under control……

Watch This Blog!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Closing Thought–08Oct21

There was a day when Americans cared about the possibility of a nuclear war that would destroy our way of life…..now no one seems to care about that possibility…..we use to protest the building of more bombs that kill and the building of more nuclear power plants…..now no one gives a crap. My concern never waned.

So just how many nukes does the US have on hand?

In a reversal of Trump administration policy, the State Department on Tuesday disclosed the number of nuclear weapons in the US stockpile, the AP reports. It said this will aid global efforts to control the spread of such weapons. The number of US weapons, including those in active status as well as those in long-term storage, stood at 3,750 as of September 2020, the department said. That is down from 3,805 a year earlier and 3,785 in 2018. As recently as 2003, the US nuclear weapon total was slightly above 10,000. It peaked at 31,255 in 1967.

The last time the US government released its stockpile number was in March 2018, when it said the total was 3,822 as of September 2017. That was early in the Trump administration, which subsequently kept updated numbers secret and denied a request by the Federation of American Scientists to declassify them. “Back to transparency,” said Hans Kristensen, director of the Nuclear Information Project at the Federation of American Scientists. He said the Biden administration was wise to reverse the prior administration’s policy.

Kristensen said disclosing the stockpile number will assist US diplomats in arms control negotiations and at next year’s Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty conference, which will review the disarmament commitment made by nuclear powers who are treaty signatories, including the United States. The Biden administration is conducting a nuclear weapons posture and policy review that is expected to be completed early next year. At the Conference on Disarmament last February, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said, “President Biden has made it clear: the US has a national security imperative and a moral responsibility to reduce and eventually eliminate the threat posed by weapons of mass destruction.”

And yet those are NOT enough….the US is building more weapons as an upgrade or so we are told.

I was against nukes in all forms since the late 60s and my position has never faltered…..but I seem to walking that path pretty much alone these days.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Who Do These Dicks Think They Are?

A new president and a new chance to find a way to keep Iran from achieving nuke weapons.

Trump decided to bow out of the nuke deal that the Obama admin had reached with the government of Iran….and the whole region got just a little more dangerous.

Of course after 30 years of lying and threatening Israel has made it even more dangerous since Trump left power.

As the US prepares for a meeting with Israeli officials news has come out that demands will be made…..

Cohen will present the Biden administration with a list of components that Israel believes must be included in any renegotiated deal.

Those would include: Iran halting the enrichment of uranium and production of advanced centrifuges; an end to its support of armed groups, especially Lebanon’s Hezbollah; an end to its military interventions in around the region; and an end to its targeting of Israelis overseas.

https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/israel-mossad-biden-us-iran-nuclear-deal

Demands?

Since when does the nation of Israel dictate our foreign policy?

If they do not get their demands and the US returns to a deal with Iran then Israel is willing to expand the conflict and the do something stupid.

Israeli officials have made their opposition to the Biden administration returning to the Iran nuclear deal known. Some have even threatened a military strike on Iran if President Biden revives the deal, known as the JCPOA.

An Israeli source affirmed this to Breaking Defense in an article published on Monday. “Israel needs to know — and fast — whether Washington plans to stop Iran’s race to the bomb or take some action to do this,” the source said, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

The source said that Israeli intelligence is monitoring Iran’s nuclear facilities closely. Israeli airstrikes on Syria were also mentioned, which have ramped up in recent months. “This pressure will continue and grow, as a preparation for a direct attack on targets in Iran,” the source said of airstrikes in Syria.

Tzachi Hanegbi, an Israeli minister from the Likud party, made the most direct public threat against Iran. Hanegbi said that if the US returns to the JCPOA that “Israel will again be alone against Iran” and will attack Iran’s nuclear program.

Breaking Defense, its source, and Haneegbi all push the narrative that Iran is racing towards a bomb when that is not the case. One example they use is the fact that Iran recently increased uranium enrichment to 20 percent, which is still vastly lower than the 90 percent needed for weapons-grade uranium.

Despite the hype, the 20 percent enrichment has a civilian purpose. It allows Iran to make fuel rods for its Tehran Research Reactor, a facility that was built by the US in the 1960s that can produce medical isotopes.

Another crucial piece of context left out of the Breaking Defense article is the reason why Iran started enriching uranium at 20 percent. Iran’s parliament passed a bill to increase enrichment after the November assassination of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, the prominent Iranian scientist who was killed in an apparent Israeli plot. So it was Israeli aggression that led to the increased enrichment.

Iran has maintained that it is willing to return to compliance with the JCPOA if the Biden administration lifts sanctions. Any more attacks from Israel could prevent Iran from decreasing enrichment levels.

(antiwar.com)

Seriously?

These asswads would start a war because they did not get their way?

At what point does the US say “F you”?

When did Israel become our State Department?

I believe that it is beyond time for the US to cease its protection of an apartheid state let them come up from behind the skirt of the US.

Sadly I think that the Biden admin will bow to the Israeli lobby money and not do anything to anger Israel.

Why do I say that?

Look at what Biden’s SecState had to say (even praised Trump)…..

A new administration has taken over Washington with talk of justice, respect and diversity. However, when it comes to Israel-Palestine the news isn’t so encouraging.

Joe Biden’s foreign policy team says it wants to return to the Iran deal, but reassures the Israel lobby that that won’t happen any time soon, and when it comes to actual Palestinian rights or freedom (the “peace process”), it clearly wants as little friction with the Israeli government and Israel’s friends in Washington as possible.

…

Blinken repeatedly praised Trump policy on normalizing relations between Israel and the UAE, Bahrain, Morocco and the Sudan as opening a pathway to Palestinian peace.

Biden’s secretary of state praises Trump’s achievements on Israel

What part of those deals would lead to peace?

The land grab, the destruction of crops and theft of water rights say that Israel has NO intention of treating the Palestinians with respect and peace.

I will be watching to see how much Israeli money will influence and control our foreign policy.

Watch This Blog!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

“You WILL Withdraw!”

Countries are taking the initiative and signing a new ban on nuclear weapons….50 nations have signed this treaty…..and to say that the US is pissed would be an understatement.

A treaty aimed at destroying all nuclear weapons and forever prohibiting their use has hit an important benchmark, with Honduras becoming the 50th country to ratify the accord — the minimum needed for it to enter into force as international law.

The United Nations announced late Saturday that the ratification threshold had been achieved, a little more than three years after the treaty was completed in negotiations at the organization’s New York headquarters. Secretary-General António Guterre…

Read more at: https://www.deccanherald.com/international/world-news-politics/fifty-nations-ratify-nuclear-weapons-prohibition-treaty-allowing-enforcement-as-international-law-906959.html
Of course countries like Russia, China, US et al have not bothered to sign onto the treaty…..as a matter of fact the US in its arrogance has demanded that nations withdraw from the treaty….

The US is urging countries that have ratified a UN treaty that bans nuclear weapons to withdraw their support for the pact. The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) is approaching ratifications from 50 countries, which is needed to bring the treaty into force.

The TPNW requires all ratifying countries “never under any circumstances … develop, test, produce, manufacture, otherwise acquire, possess or stockpile nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices.” The TPNW also bans the transfer or use of nuclear weapons and requires its participants to promote the treaty to other countries.

The Associated Press obtained the US letter to the signatories of the treaty. The letter says Washington’s NATO allies and the five original nuclear powers, the US, Russia, China, France, and the UK, all “stand unified in our opposition to the potential repercussions” of the TPNW.

The letter says the TPNW “turns back the clock on verification and disarmament” and says it threatens the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT). The NPT was created to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons beyond the original five powers in exchange for those powers to reduce their arsenals.

“Although we recognize your sovereign right to ratify or accede to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, we believe that you have made a strategic error and should withdraw your instrument of ratification or accession,” the letter reads.

The Associated Press spoke with Beatrice Fihn, the executive director of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, about Washington’s letter. Fihn dismissed the claim in the letter that the TPNW would interfere with the decades-old NPT as “straightforward lies, to be frank.”

“They have no actual argument to back that up,” Fihn said. “The Nonproliferation Treaty is about preventing the spread of nuclear weapons and eliminating nuclear weapons, and this treaty implements that. There’s no way you can undermine the Nonproliferation Treaty by banning nuclear weapons. It’s the end goal of the Nonproliferation Treaty.”

(antiwar.com)

No argument other than “Do as we say”!

What gives the US the right to interfere in the policies of sovereign nations?  We are starting to look and sound like annexation of the Israeli policies.

Our arrogance knows no bounds these days.

Will the US resort to ‘blackmail” to kill this treaty…the same type of “blackmail” they used on Sudan to force them into a treaty with Israel?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”