Mikhail Gorbachev: US Military an 'Insurmountable Obstacle to a Nuclear-Free World'

[newthinking]

DER SPIEGEL

http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/gorbachev-calls-for-nuclear-free-world-on-hiroshima-day-a-1046900.html

Mikhail Gorbachev: US Military an 'Insurmountable Obstacle to a Nuclear-Free World'

Interview Conducted by Joachim Mohr and Matthias Schepp

In a SPIEGEL interview, former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev discusses morals and politics in the nuclear age, the crisis in Russian-American relations and his fear that an atomic weapon will some day be used.

EXCERPT:

SPIEGEL: Do you believe there is a danger of nuclear war?

Gorbachev: I'm very worried. The current state of things is scary. The nuclear powers still have thousands of nuclear warheads. Nuclear weapons are still stationed in Europe. The pace of reducing stockpiles has slowed considerably. We are witnessing the beginning of a new arms race. The militarization of space is a real danger. The danger of nuclear proliferation is greater than ever before. The Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty has not entered into force, primarily because the Americans did not ratify it. This would have been extremely important.

SPIEGEL: Mikhail Sergeyevich, during your inaugural speech as general secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in March 1985, you warned of nuclear war and called for the "complete destruction of nuclear weapons and a permanent ban on them." Did you mean that seriously?

Gorbachev: The discussion about disarmament had already been going on for too long -- far too long. I wanted to finally see words followed by action because the arms race was not only continuing, it was growing ever more dangerous in terms of the number of weapons and their destructive capacity. There were tens of thousands of nuclear warheads on different delivery systems like aircraft, missiles and submarines.

SPIEGEL: Did you feel the Soviet Union was under threat during the 1980s by the nuclear weapons of NATO member states?

Gorbachev: The situation was that nuclear missiles were being stationed closer and closer to our adversary's borders. They were getting increasingly precise and they were also being aimed at decision-making centers. There were very concrete plans for the use of these weapons. Nuclear war had become conceivable. And even a technical error could have caused it to happen. At the same time, disarmament talks were not getting anywhere. In Geneva, diplomats pored over mountains of paper, drank wine, and even harder stuff, by the liter. And it was all for nothing.

SPIEGEL: At a meeting of the Warsaw Pact nations in 1986, you declared that the military doctrine of the Soviet Union was no longer to plan for the coming war, but rather to seek to prevent military confrontation with the West. What was the reason behind the shift in strategy?

Gorbachev: It was clear to me that relations with America and the West would be a lasting dead end without atomic disarmament, with mutual distrust and growing hostility. That is why nuclear disarmament was the highest priority for Soviet foreign policy.

SPIEGEL: Did you not also push disarmament forward because of the financial and economic troubles facing the Soviet Union in the 1980s?

Full Interview:

http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/gorbachev-calls-for-nuclear-free-world-on-hiroshima-day-a-1046900.html

[DetlefK]

1. Nuclear weapons are the only reason Russia is still a world-power.

The Soviet Union was a major global force because it had land and industry and money and scientists and a large army and nuclear weapons. With this it wielded diplomatic influence.

Russia inherited some of the land, some of the industry, some of the army and all of the nuclear weapons.
The russian economy is down due to the low price of oil and the embargo from the Ukraine-crisis. Rich people, artists and scientists are leaving Russia in droves due to Putin's domestic policies.



Nowadays Russians prefer to forget that Russia was just one part of the Soviet Union, that the Soviet Union was an international alliance. They fail to see that Russia doesn't wield the same respect as the Soviet Union because it isn't as impressive as the Soviet Union. Yet, they demand that respect and feel under attack if they don't get it.
"The Ukraine doesn't want to come closer to Russia? This must be a conspiracy!!!"

[newfie11]

2. I so agree

The MIC in this country is out of control. The disaster in the Middle East right now is a result of our bombing Iraq. That of course was a set up deal by the oil boys, bush/cheney.

Then the following order coming down to the military, attack 7 (ME) countries in 5 years! Look how well that turned out!

Look what we have now! We are literally playing with fire!

The money spent on the MIC is mind blowing. at this point I'm not sure anyone controls the purse strings when it comes to the MIC.

If a foreign country built as many bases around the world (with and without missles) we would not just be talking about it.

[swilton]

3. Thankfully, Russia IS still a nuclear power

Without Russia, the US would have no one to stop it.