Pentagon: Nuclear war with Russia or China is real possibility

SANAA, Feb. 3 (YPA) – US Strategic Command Chief Admiral Charles Richard said he did not rule out the possibility of a nuclear war with Russia or China.

“There is a real possibility that a regional crisis with Russia or China could escalate quickly to a conflict involving nuclear weapons, if they perceived a conventional loss would threaten the regime or state,” Richard wrote in the February issue of “Proceedings,” the US Naval Institute’s monthly magazine.

“Consequently, the US military must shift its principal assumption from “nuclear employment is not possible” to “nuclear employment is a very real possibility,” and act to meet and deter that reality,” according to the Admiral

“While the Pentagon has focused on counterterrorism, Russia and China have begun to implement aggressive policies, challenging international standards by means of force that we have not seen since the height of the Cold War,” the officer said.

According to him, such actions should not remain without a reaction from Washington. “Their aggression needs to be curbed. Failure to respond will reinforce their belief that the United States is unwilling or unable to respond, which could further provoke them.”

E.M