A New Arms Race has Begun

As one Russian military analyst put it, “Russia is no longer capable of competing on the same level as the U.S., but you do not need to copy the same technologies or have the same number of missiles to respond. Russia can retain its basic ability to destroy the U.S. in retaliation for an attack; that’s the logic of MAD (mutually assured destruction).”

During his state of the nation address at the Kremlin last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin warned ominously that it was too early to speak of an end to the arms race. Indeed, he said, “the arms race has entered a new spiral today with the achievement of new levels of technology that raise the danger of the emergence of a whole arsenal of so-called destabilizing weapons.”

Alarming as Mr. Putin’s hawkish comments might appear, they should come as no surprise to the West. Ever since 2001, when the Bush administration reneged on the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty and announced its plans to build a missile-defence shield, the Russians have been working determinedly to upgrade their nuclear arsenal by developing weapons that can penetrate the U.S. barrier.

And they have made no attempt to hide their program. Back in 2003, President Putin announced ambitious plans to modernize Russian nuclear forces and the next year boasted that Russia was developing nuclear weapons that no other nation would have.

What about arms control and the agreement that President Putin signed with U.S. President George W. Bush in May 2002, each pledging dramatic reductions in stockpiles of nuclear weapons (to roughly one-tenth of Cold War levels)?

First…

Posted by Judy
Born and raised in Toronto, I'm now heading over to the UK to pursue an MA in Russian Politics, Security and Integration. I'm crazy about feminism, multilateralism, peacekeeping, the Toronto Maple Leafs and puppies.

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