This is NATO’s concept of “nuclear sharing is caring”. The Bundeswehr is NATO’s (or more precise, the US’s) preforming agent. The Bundeswehr stores, guards and transports a variety of tactical nukes in peacetime. In the event of war, the Bundeswehr would use it’s assets (artillery, planes, whatever, depending on the type of nuke and the theatre/mission) to deploy them. On American command, under American supervision.
I spent the better part of 1986 guarding tactical nukes (artillery shells, W33 and W48 warheads) and training for WW III. At the time, the US had thousands of tactical nukes in Europe, stored at locations that would have been conveniently close to where they would be used. The standard scenario I trained for was more or less “5000 Red Army tanks thunder across the North German lowlands. Field artillery nukes them from around 20 km distance. Mind the fallout.”
Today there are dozens, to the best of my knowledge. Given where those seem to be stored, probably bombs for jet fighters with “nuclear capability”.
Anyway, the US president has to authorise their use and there is always US personnel on the ground; only they have the keys/codes/magic wand and the knowledge to arm the things and the authority to give the final go command.
However, tactcal nukes. Pretty much useless as a deterrent, that’s what strategic nukes are for.
This entire thing reads like someone watching Raiders of the Lost Ark and being confused who the good guys are supposed to be. Yeah, Indiana Jones has problems- he’s a tomb raider and a womanizer and he probably stole that horse from some hard-working Egyptian digger when he went off chasing the truck carrying the Ark. But the guys he’s fighting are fucking Nazis.
Yes. France has a completely independent nuclear deterrent based on ballistic missile submarines and a small number of air-launched missiles. The UK has its own ballistic missile submarines and warheads, but relies on Trident missiles. Where the UK might have a problem is that the missiles are pooled with the US Navy and require replacement and refurbishment in Georgia. It can’t now be unthinkable that Trump would refuse to allow the UK to renew its missiles, at which point the UK would effectively be disarmed.
So, his understanding is that NATO is a club with dues members must pay in order to be in good standing. That guy either draws from an extremely shallow pool of knowledge or is willfully ignorant (or some combination of the two I suppose).
Republican Senator Thom Tillis blamed Trump aides for failing to explain to the former president that the United States, as a NATO member, is committed to defending any member of the alliance that is attacked.
Or, they did explain it but he didn’t understand or care.
So once again, they are circling the wagons… they are so scared that they might be called out and harassed for doing the right thing, that they are willing to destroy the country. Stupid assholes.
The only thing Graham is afraid of is not getting his round of golf and lunch comped the next time he’s at von Clownstick’s country club (ok, there’s another thing he’s afraid of here).
Maybe, but there have been plenty of people saying that there is pressure and threats of violence aimed at members of the GOP, many of whom have started to throw their support behind trump more strongly. And tons of “centrists” are now retiring…
That was discussed on ‘The World This Weekend’ on Radio 4 yesterday and the consensus was that Trump sees himself, Putin and Xi[1] forming three huge spheres of influence around which the rest of the World orbits; where each can pick off neighbours without consequence so long as the interests of the others aren’t affected.
Because this has never caused problems before has it?
[1] That Russia has a GDP smaller than Canada, and per-capita GDP is less than Argentina never seems to occur to the Republicans.
