The time has come for the White House and the American left to cease ignoring the overwhelming evidence of the hostile intent clearly illustrated by Russia’s massive arms buildup, its aggressive invasions and deployments, and the prewar training exercises it has engaged in.
In addition to a massive increase in spending on arms, its invasions of Ukraine and Georgia, and its massive military exercises, Moscow has abrogated the terms of a key arms control treaty that was a vital centerpiece of détente during the first Cold War: The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty.
Despite the Kremlins’ clear violation, there has no response from the White House. In frustration, Rep. William “Mac” Thornberry (R-Texas), chair of the House Armed Service Committee, and David Nunes, (R-California) Chair of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence issued a letter to President which reads in part:
“Dear Mr. President:
“We write to you again because of our urgent concern about the failure of your Administration to confront Russia’s violation of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty. The United States must finally impose penalties for Russia’s near-decade long pattern of violations that undermine this seminal arms control treaty and place it on the verge of collapse.
“The INF Treaty is the only arms control treaty that succeeded in eliminating a class of nuclear arms. Its provisions are simple: a flight test or production or possession of a ground-based ballistic or cruise missile of the defined-ranges is illegal ad defeats the Treaty’s object and purpose.
No erection problems arise viagra 100mg generika once you have taken the Tadalis pill. What are actually The Disadvantages of Working with These products? For many women, using these improvement pills cheap cialis viagra offers a possible option to surgery, and a lot of individuals have already felt positive effects. If they do not work, you may have to consider taking generic cialis sales this drug. This is used to maintain or achieve full erection at any point within this time best viagra in india period.
“While your Administration finally stated in 2015 (as a result of pressure from our committees) what had been well-understood before then—that Russia was illegally flight-testing intermediate- range ground-launched cruise missiles(GLCMs)—neither the State Department nor Defense Department imposed consequences on Russia. Despite testimony on at least trwo occasions by Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Rose Gottemoeller that Russia would face economic sanctions for its illegal behavior, no such sanctions have been imposed. And, despite the testimony of senior Department of Defense leaders that the Pentagon would develop a series of military responses to ensure Russia understood the cost of its illegal activity, and Congress passed and you signed a law to require that such responses be implemented, we understand that your Administration is not permitting the military to pursue the options recommended to you by former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Martin Dempsey.
“It has become apparent to us that the situation regarding Russia’s violation has worsened and Russia is now in material breach of the Treaty…”
The Putin government has clearly and blatantly turned back the clock to the worst era and practices of the first Cold War. In addition to violating the INF Treaty, it has resurrected Moscow’s prior practice of developing massive nuclear warheads, which could only be used not to deter or fight wars but to wholly eliminate other nations from the face of the earth.
Recently, Moscow revealed its new RS-28 Sarmat missile, appropriately dubbed Satan-2 by NATO. It is capable of delivering a 40 megaton warhead, 2,000 times as powerful as the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima. According to an analysis by the Daily Mail a single missile could deliver a payload that could wipe out an area the size of France or Texas.
It is most notable that these developments of treaty-busting intermediate range missiles and the Satan-2 occurred at a time when the United States was slashing its defense budget, and at a time when Washington had not modernized its nuclear deterrent for many years, and NATO nations continued to under-invest in their defense. Russia was faced with no threat or need for enhancing its nuclear weaponry. However, notes a NATO report “Russia is roughly half-way through a major ten-year State Armaments Programme, which foresees the procurement of large amounts of new or upgraded weapons systems and other military hardware, across all services of its armed forces, over the period 2011-2020. The programme initially foresaw a total expenditure, for the armed forces, of 19 trillion roubles, or 647 billion US dollars at the average nominal exchange rate of 2011. This comes in addition to expenditures on personnel, exercises and operations.”