Thomas Semanic
3-3-18
Dr. Muck
Russia’s Nuclear Program
On March
1st, 2018 Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that Russia has developed
new nuclear technology that can reach the United States. New nuclear weapons
that can evade any missile defense system. They have unstoppable drone
submarines that can be used to destroy foreign ports. Here, Putin has
purposefully raised tensions against a decades-long nuclear standoff between
Washington and Moscow. This threatens the relationship between Russia and the
West. During his speech, he even showed an animation of these new missiles
hitting Florida as if he is provoking a response from the United States. This
kind of weapon moves so quickly and flies so low to the ground that it could
dodge any U.S and European missile defense systems. Putin continued to call the
U.S out saying that this new technology makes American missile defense
“useless,” but US officials still say it needs further testing and is not yet
operational. The U.S has tried to calm the situation by saying they are not
surprised what Putin has said/done and assured everyone that they are fully
prepared if necessary. Putin also discussed his aggravation with the U.S and
NATO how the international organization has left them out. He does not want to
allow anybody to contain them in any way, shape, or form. He sounds like a
Soviet Union guy who is still upset about how things turned out at the end of
the Cold War. Another reason the author brings up about why this announcement
and belligerent language is being brought up now is that Russia’s election are
coming soon. Putin wants to prove to the people that he is strong and capable
of leading Russia until 2024. If Putin can continue to convince the people of
Russia that the rest of the world is out to get them, he can paint himself as
the savior of Russia. Though the U.S claims they are not worried, it is
reported that the U.S has at least 20 nuclear weapons in Germany, but U.S
officials consistently decline to confirm that. The U.S has also placed
multiple missile defense systems in Eastern Europe, worrying Russia that
Western powers threaten its territory.
This
situation definitely has me worried. I definitely think Putin is trying to
revive Cold War affairs and poke the United States/the West in general. With
the U.S defense budget skyrocketing, the threat of North Korea’s nuclear
program, and the rise of China, the entire situation has me worrying about a
bigger Cold War II. I think our response to Putin’s speech and the new weapons
they have should be to brush this off, act not surprised if we happen to be. If
we were to give this a lot of attention to this it would give off the
impression that we are worried, that we are weak and would not be able to
respond to a Russian attack. We want to give the impression this is no big
deal, that we can stop any aggressive move Russia has to offer. At the same
time we need to be more aggressive with Russia regarding economic sanctions now
due to this act of aggression as well as meddling in the 2016 elections. If we
and our allies can unite against them and hurt them in an economic way, they
will change their habits just like they did in 1991 when the Cold War ended. If
they do not have the money to support a massive defense system they will have
to back down and the people will rise against Putin if they are broke. Putin is
very attuned to domestic public opinion so he will be paying attention. There’s
no doubt Russia will be a problem of ours for years to come but under the
current administration I am not sure how diplomacy would go. For certain this
administration needs to take a more aggressive approach to Russia and realize
they are a threat and not our friends.
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