With tensions raging in the Middle East and the nearly three-year war between Russia and Ukraine showing no signs of end, the world is already on edge. Now, some experts believe we are getting dangerously close to nuclear war. The warning comes after Russian President Vladimir Putin recently announced changes to the nation's document governing conditions for using nuclear weapons. Those changes include expanding "the category of states and military alliances" to which nuclear deterrence is carried out, and listing new "military threats" that would justify nuclear deployment.
Putin's action is seen as a warning to those (like the U.S.) that continue to support Ukraine in the war with Russia. But Russia is not the only nation that poses a potential nuclear threat to the west. North Korea has nukes and has threatened to use them in the past, and Iran has bragged about expanding its nuclear program in recent years. "Go back to the Cuban missile crisis," says Ret. Brig. Gen. Rob Spalding, in an interview with Fox News. "Back then, we had kids practicing to duck under desks, we were mobilizing forces, we were flying U2s and bombers, and that was the closest we ever believed we had come to nuclear war...I would say that we're probably even closer than we were then."
Spalding cautions that current U.S. leadership doesn't seem to grasp the seriousness of this threat. "I'm not saying that we need to coddle Vladimir Putin, but my God, he has thousands of nuclear weapons and he's basically said multiple times that he's willing to use them," says Spalding. "And every time we seem to want to push just a little bit more just because he hasn't used them yet."
Photo: AFP