Translated material
Moscow and Pyongyang: What is common?
Around Russia
Moscow and Pyongyang: What is common?
February 13, 2013 Alexander Golts
I do not cease to be surprised that life sometimes lies up plots that cannot be invented by the sophisticated author of adventure novels. North Korea conducted another nuclear test exactly when the US Secretary of State Rose Gottemuller introduced Russian colleagues to Washington’s new proposals in the field of strategic weapons. A few days before, numerous leaks regarding these proposals appeared in the American press. Based on a report prepared by the Pentagon, the State Department and the CIA, the White House proposes to reduce the number of nuclear warheads on strategic media to 1000-1100 units. American strategists believe that it is the number of nuclear ammunition that provides reliable nuclear deterrence. Syria and Iraq fell out of the list of possible objects of a nuclear attack-it is more or less clear that there is no nuclear weapon. Russia is reduced by the number of nuclear weapons, therefore, Americans need fewer warheads for aiming on our missile mines.
Such a solid reduction in nuclear arsenals, Americans believe, will lead to significant saving of the military budget. If this reduction occurs, the United States will be able to abandon 300 ground missiles ($ 720 million per year) and not build two atomic submarines (another 16 billion savings).
The Americans in their naivety believed that Moscow should like these proposals. After all, domestic nuclear arsenals are not reduced at all due to contracts with the United States. Just standing on duty, strategic missiles led 2-3 warranty periods and should be eliminated. And Russia does not have the opportunity to put into operation the same number of missiles that were removed from combat duty. Now Moscow has 1492 warheads, which is less than the ceiling in 1550 warheads established by the Prague Agreement of the START. And the number of Russian warheads in the coming years will not grow, but to decline. Former Minister of Defense Anatoly Serdyukov informed the State Duma that the ceiling in 1550 warheads could be reached at best in 2018, and the ceiling according to carriers-not earlier than 2028.
To preserve the semblance of nuclear parity, the Kremlin started the creation of a “heavy” liquid fuel rocket on which you can place a dozen warheads. And now the Americans are offering to reduce the "ceilings" of nuclear weapons and thereby save not only themselves, but also give the opportunity to save Russia. However, who said that the Kremlin wants to save?
When it comes to the pride of Putin V.V., who dares to regret several tens of billions of dollars. The press claims that the head of the foreign policy, Sergei Lavrov, extremely cooled to the American proposals that Joseph Biden's vice-president Joseph Biden outlined him in Munich.
Almost all domestic experts are sure: the Kremlin will ignore the gifts of Washington. It will ignore even if the Americans simultaneously go to serious concessions on the problems of missile defense and abandon the fourth stage of deployment of the missile defense, during which it was supposed to create interceptors that could destroy intercontinental ballistic missiles. The fact is that the role of nuclear weapons in the eyes of Russian chiefs is by no means limited to deterrence, that is, guaranteed to cause unacceptable damage to anyone who conceived aggression. No, the Kremlin sees in possession of nuclear weapons confirmation of its status of the “great power”. The ability to destroy all living things on the planet is perceived as a unique dignity in Russia.
And here the approaches of Moscow surprisingly resemble the approaches of Pyongyang, which yesterday for the third time blew up a nuclear device. Kim Jong -un, a third -generation representative of medieval despots, condemn their people to the Holodoror in order to get the DPRK to get the status of a nuclear power. And just like the Kremlin chiefs, the Pyongyansky khan is sure that nuclear weapons, like a gin from Aldladin’s lamp, will provide him with any problems. After all, now humanity should be fed, dictated and pleased with the dictator so that, God forbid, does not arrange a worldwide catastrophe. In Russia, I remember, this was called ten years ago "expanded deterrence." But the theory did not receive development. Because no one in the world believed in the recklessness of Vladimir Putin, in the fact that, for the sake of his prejudices, he was ready to burn all of humanity. But the chief Russian boss did not bent to learn from the North Korean comrades. On his team, the Duma embedded such laws that there was no confidence in Putin's rationality. In an effort to resemble the DPRK, Putin's Russia has recently been greatly successful ...