Russia 'playing with fire' with nuclear sabre-rattling - Pentagon
Source: Channnel NewsAsia
WASHINGTON: Russia is "playing with fire" with its nuclear sabre-rattling and the United States is determined to prevent it from gaining a significant military advantage through violations of the Intermediate Nuclear Forces Treaty, the deputy U.S. defense chief said on Thursday.
Deputy Defense Secretary Robert Work, speaking to lawmakers in the House of Representatives, also said modernizing and maintaining U.S. nuclear forces in the coming years would consume up to 7 percent of the defense budget, up from the current 3 to 4 percent, and could squeeze other programs unless additional funding was approved.
Speaking to the House Armed Services Committee, Work said Moscow's effort to use its nuclear forces to intimidate its neighbors had failed, actually bringing NATO allies closer. He also criticized what he called Russia's "escalate to de-escalate" strategy.
"Anyone who thinks they can control escalation through the use of nuclear weapons is literally playing with fire," Work said. "Escalation is escalation, and nuclear use would be the ultimate escalation."
Read more: http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/world/russia-playing-with-fire/1941100.html
DreamSmoker
(841 posts)Yet nothing on the Nuke Status of North Korea.......
cstanleytech
(26,319 posts)because not even the Chinese really want N Korea to be using them at all especially not since the radiation if N Korea launches them and the potential nuclear retaliation from the US towards N Korea could drift over to China itself.
Elmer S. E. Dump
(5,751 posts)Comrade Grumpy
(13,184 posts)bemildred
(90,061 posts)Fred Sanders
(23,946 posts)Russian military Budget 93.76 US$ BN
American military 682 US$ BN
7 times more than Russia, and throw in all of Europe....
red dog 1
(27,863 posts)Putin has been saber-rattling for quite a while; and I hope he doesn't start WW3.
sadoldgirl
(3,431 posts)who started to play with the matches first, but then
this is what the Pentagon li living on.