The Pentagon shares the fears of certain representatives of the command about the possibility of a nuclear conflict with Russia or China, but does not want an escalation of confrontation on such a scale.

This was stated during a briefing by the press secretary of the US Department of Defense John Kirby.

Earlier, the head of the US Strategic Command, Admiral Charles Richard, announced the possibility of a nuclear war with Russia or China.

“The head of the Pentagon (Lloyd Austin -

RT

) definitely considers nuclear potential and its modernization a priority.

He also stated that we do not want to escalate to a conflict of this magnitude, ”Kirby said, answering a journalist's question about the admiral's words.

“The minister’s job is to protect American citizens.

This implies a wide range of ready-to-use capabilities, including strategic nuclear capabilities. "

Beijing is "a growing challenge" for the Pentagon, he said, and Moscow "is a threat on many fronts."

Kirby believes that these issues will be included in the global overview of nuclear forces.

As a Pentagon spokesman noted, the US Secretary of Defense aims to prepare a Nuclear Policy Review to better understand the state of modernization of forces, the need for innovation and research and development for their further improvement. "

“I think he shares Admiral Richard’s opinion on the importance of these potentials,” added a spokesman for the department.

The head of US Strategic Command, Admiral Charles Richard, wrote about the possibility of a nuclear war with Russia or China in an article for the February issue of the official publication of the United States Naval Institute.

According to him, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, there was no need for the Pentagon to think about the possibility of rivalry, a crisis situation or "a direct armed conflict with an adversary with nuclear weapons."

“Unfortunately, the current environment deprives us of this luxury,” said Richard.

He stressed that while the efforts of the US Department of Defense were focused on the fight against terrorism, Russia and the PRC allegedly began to “actively test international norms and global peace for strength, using such instruments as force and threat by force, and in forms unseen since during the Cold War ".

“Such behavior destabilizes the situation and, in the absence of control, increases the risk of a crisis or conflict situation between the great powers.

We must actively counter their aggression;

concessions to their endeavors are fraught with strengthening their belief that the United States is unwilling or unable to retaliate, which will give them even more self-confidence, ”writes the American admiral.

  • Minuteman III rocket launch

  • Reuters

  • © ICBM US Air Force

As Richard noted, the strategic potential of Russia and China - "rivals" of the United States - "continues to grow, which makes us think seriously."

Meanwhile, candidate for the post of first deputy head of the Pentagon Kathleen Hicks said that the US administration plans to adjust the National Defense Strategy and nuclear doctrine ("Nuclear Policy Review").

According to her, the ongoing military modernization of the armed forces in China and "destructive Russia" are special challenges for the US military.

Hicks also noted the importance of effectively containing these states.

She believes that it is not in the interests of the United States and its allies to see how the Russian Federation and the PRC are building up their nuclear arsenals.

Trump's legacy

Recall that the US National Defense Strategy (NDS) was published in January 2018, when Donald Trump was in power in the White House.

This is a concept document developed by the Pentagon, in which Moscow and Beijing were named as Washington's main rivals.

As stated in the summer of 2019, Mark Esper, who was then and.

about.

head of the Pentagon, the NDS is a "policy document" of the American side, which speaks of "competition between the great powers."

“Russia and China remain our competitors in the long term,” he stressed.

Esper also noted that, based on the strategy, the task of the Pentagon is "to contain conflicts and, if necessary, to fight and win on the battlefield."

The Nuclear Posture Review (NPR) was published in February 2018.

The document emphasizes the need for "regional containment" of Russia, China, North Korea and countering the "nuclear ambitions" of Iran.

As the authors of the review note, while Washington allegedly reduced its nuclear arsenal, Moscow and Beijing were "moving in the opposite direction."

NPR also reported that Russia and China are seeking to challenge "traditional US military superiority in the western Pacific."

As the document says, the Russian Federation "must understand that any use of nuclear weapons, albeit limited, is unacceptable."

However, at the same time, it is indicated that the American side may use its nuclear arsenal in response to a "significant non-nuclear strategic attack", in particular if it affects the infrastructure, population or command posts of the United States and its allies.

As Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko said in the spring of 2019, this US nuclear doctrine leads to a decrease in the threshold for the use of nuclear weapons in the world.

"The threshold for the use of nuclear weapons is being reduced as a result of the adoption of a new strategy in the United States, which actually blurs the line between national conflict and conflict with the use of nuclear weapons," RIA Novosti quoted the diplomat as saying.

Military lobby

According to Sergei Sudakov, Corresponding Member of the Academy of Military Sciences, the latest statements by the American side make it clear that the goal of the new authorities is "to create a full-fledged image of the enemy" for Washington.

“These enemies are traditionally Russia and China.

However, the United States needs to demonstrate in detail to the American public why the Russian Federation and the PRC need to be so violently contained, "the analyst said in a conversation with RT.

  • Pentagon spokesman John Kirby

  • © Glenn Fawcett / dvidshub.net

As the political scientist-Americanist Malek Dudakov noted, similar anti-Russian and anti-Chinese rhetoric was observed under the 45th US President.

In addition, the Pentagon under Trump over the past year paid special attention to the issue of building up nuclear potential, the analyst recalled.

“A lot of money was allocated for this.

The US military has become very interested in the idea of ​​developing nuclear weapons.

Against this background, media reports appeared that employees of the administration of the 45th President of the United States discussed the issue of resuming nuclear tests, "the expert said in an interview with RT.

With Biden's coming to power, the agenda "changed a little," Dudakov said.

“The new US President has decided to extend the Strategic Offensive Arms Treaty (START III) for five years - until 2026.

However, we can already see that the US military continues to lobby and beg the new administration to pay more attention to the development of nuclear weapons.

The fears of the American military that Russia and China are overtaking the United States in the production of promising nuclear weapons have not disappeared.

Moreover, they will only grow, ”the analyst said.

This is evidenced, in particular, by the article of the American admiral, in which he calls for restraining the "aggression" of Moscow and Beijing, Dudakov said.

“There is nothing new in his wording.

The accusations against other global powers are obvious here.

They are being promoted to scare the politicians in Washington and trick them into spending more money on nuclear rearmament.

The question now is only how much the Biden administration will take all this and, in general, how relevant it is for it, ”the expert noted.

Dudakov believes that, despite the loud statements of Kathleen Hicks, who is aiming for the place of the first deputy head of the Pentagon, the essence of the National Defense Strategy and nuclear doctrine "will not be seriously changed."

“It is already clear that the redeployment of the military contingent from the Middle East to Southeast Asia, where the confrontation between the United States and China is taking place, will continue.

In general, everything that is stipulated in the documents of 2018 will be developed, ”the analyst noted.

Sudakov, for his part, predicted that the Biden administration, under pressure from the military, is likely to expand the range of criteria for the use of nuclear weapons.

“And the more new cases are indicated in which cases the United States can use nuclear weapons, the worse it will be for the global security structure,” the expert said.

Sudakov summed up that the international security system is now unstable, so in such conditions "it is very easy for one of the nuclear powers to cross the line."

“Of course, we are not talking about the fact that a nuclear conflict can happen in the short term.

However, the theses of the American admiral and representatives of the Pentagon should be regarded as another signal that the United States wants to regain the palm in the world and call itself the number one country.

And states such as Russia and China strongly hinder them in this.

Therefore, the American side is ready to intensify confrontation with the Russian Federation and the PRC, ”the expert concluded.