US Prepared to Increase Readiness of Nuclear Triad in the Face of Threats from the Axis of Evil.
The US Air Force is reportedly preparing its fleet of B-52 nuclear-capable bombers for 24-hour alert at Barksdale Air Force Base.
The alert would see the strategic bombers equipped with nuclear weapons stationed out on nine concrete pads at the end of the runway called the ‘Christmas Tree,’ and ready for immediate take-off. Nearby barracks are being restored and readied for crews. If the alert is given It seems very likely that the US will follow-up with forward deployment of nuclear weapons on US warships. Today, Japanese Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera told his US and South Korean counterparts that the threat from North Korea has grown to a “critical and imminent level” and that the US, Japan and South Korea must address the matter. While the reported alert order is likely in response to increased tensions with North Korea, there are other countries that are likely driving this increase in readiness as well. German intelligence reports from September and October warned that Iran tried 32 times to obtain nuclear and ballistic missile related technologies that they were cheating under the nuclear deal and other international restrictions. Iran's nuclear and missile cooperation with North Korea continues on a daily basis in violation of the international ban on its programs.
Additionally, Russia’s road-mobile, nuclear-capable, SS-26 Iskander-M Short Range Ballistic Missile (SRBM) system is widely viewed as an attempt to negate or cheat on the Intermediate Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF) of 1987. The landmark INF Treaty excluded or prohibited weapons with ranges of between 500-5500 kilometers, observers believe that Russia is hiding the true range of the Iskander series missiles. The Iskander launch vehicle has similarities with a ‘legal’ conventional system allowed under the treaty and Russia has moved the Iskander system into its militarized Kaliningrad Oblast on the Baltic Sea. Observers also believe that Russia’s recently tested RS-24M Yars Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) is nothing more than a variant of Russia’s banned Topol M ICBM and a violation of the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) of 2010. As well, Russia continues to increase its strategic warhead stockpile also in violation of START 2010, with 259 more strategic nuclear warheads than it is allowed by agreement. Chinese unilateral, aggressive claims on the South China Sea, and its bullying of its neighbors particularly, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and India are also matters of concern in US strategic posture necessitating changes in readiness and alert levels.
Needless to say, the political forces aligned against US President Donald Trump at home and abroad will be hysterical over the changes in American nuclear posture. This will be especially true of those Democrats at home that allowed the US strategic opponents to cheat on treaties and the cheating to go unchecked. There will be a huge outcry by those abroad who do the cheating and bullying namely North Korea, Iran, Russia and China. But they have brought it on themselves.
