Pirate's Cove

We all know that the news has always in the corner of “if it bleeds, it leads.” And they like to fear-monger, be apoplectic, ramp up the doom and gloom. That might not be the best thing to do in this case, starting with the Washington Post

The Ukraine crisis is now a nuclear crisis

Russia’s publicly announced nuclear alert has turned the Ukraine war from a crisis involving nuclear powers to an actual nuclear crisis.

With the caveat that we do not have many details about what the Russian alert entails, it is nevertheless a clear sign that President Vladimir Putin does not believe that the conventional military campaign in Ukraine is achieving the political outcomes he wants.

Putin has turned to nuclear weapons because they offer another way to increase pressure on both Ukraine and its international backers to come to the settlement that Russia wants regarding Ukraine’s status. Yet his decision raises serious risks of both deliberate and inadvertent nuclear escalation.

This is a scary moment, but it’s not unprecedented or that surprising. Here is why.

A long piece designed to put the scare in people, get them all worried and anxious. All so people will pay attention to the news, and hopefully buy some papers, maybe get an Internet subscription.

Yes, Russia could use nuclear weapons

“Nuclear war is part of our strategic culture. Yes, we would start one if our homeland, our way of life, was threatened, absolutely. Why wouldn’t we?”

That’s what a retired Russian diplomat told me on the sidelines of a track-two dialogue between US, Russian and Chinese experts back in 2012. And to be honest, for several years, I didn’t believe him. I took his comments as bragging, atomic machismo, if you will.

The context of the conversation was a response to a question to my Russian colleague on the subject of Moscow’s nuclear weapons doctrine and thinking. Russia for several years has believed in the concept of escalating nuclear tensions to deescalate tensions, or what defense scholars call “escalate to deescalate.” (snip)

Back in 2012, I pressed my Russian colleague, asking in what other situations Russia would use nuclear weapons, if any. He explained that “if anything threatens our ability to exist as a nation and prosper, it is my view that we would use nuclear weapons.”

I didn’t believe him then, but I do now.

With Russian President Vladimir Putin now putting his nation’s nuclear forces on alert status, Moscow is signaling to us that recent arms shipments, sanctions, lashings in the media, and pressure placed on the Putin government are rattling nerves.

This one is actually much better analysis that the Washington Post piece, which seems more like your typical know-it-all liberal reporter who knows nothing, but, is still fearmongering. And

• ‘Putin might do the unthinkable’: Former intelligence chief warns that the conflict in Ukraine has increased the risk of nuclear war.
• How to think about the risk of nuclear war, according to 3 experts
• Russia’s attack on Ukraine raises a harrowing question: How widespread would fallout from a nuclear bomb be?
• “Low-Yield” Nuclear Weapons Could Pose Greater Threat of Nuclear War

There are plenty of links, more than plenty. Surprisingly, Biden is the voice of reason to the media

Biden says Americans should not worry about nuclear war after Russian actions

President Joe Biden said on Monday Americans should not worry about a nuclear war after Moscow put its nuclear deterrent on high alert amid a barrage of Western reprisals over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

In response to a question about whether U.S. citizens should be concerned about a nuclear war breaking out, Biden said “no.” He was responding to a shouted question at the end of an event at the White House.

The media, especially the analysts, need to chill

(BBC) UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace told the BBC on Monday that the heightened alert was an attempt by the Kremlin to remind the world that it had a nuclear deterrent and to distract from what was going wrong on the ground in Ukraine.

“We will not do anything to escalate in that area… but at the moment this is a battle of rhetoric that President Putin is deploying,” he said.

This is what those who are truly in The Know are saying, it’s just rhetoric. Please stop trying to make this happen, media.