Kim’s is Big, Trump’s is Bigger, is Putin’s Biggest?

Yesterday Russian President Vladimir Putin addressed his country in the state of the nation speech. One topic he presented is what he is calling “invincible” nuclear weapons. The weapons are claimed to be able to overcome any US missile defense systems. Furthermore, they can reach “anywhere in the world.” In addition to the continued boasting as CNN puts it, Putin displayed an animated video of missiles targeting Florida.

It is unclear if this is hatred towards the famous Florida character, Mickey Mouse, or a heartfelt blow to United States President Donald Trump, who owns several properties and resorts in the Sunshine State. Putin said the West should not take this lightly and that it is not a bluff. More interesting than the motivation behind the animation is that Putin introduced his possession of nuclear tipped cruise missiles. Experts are already making comparisons from Putin’s new weapons and the America operation, Project Pluto. Project Pluto was shut down decades ago due to safety concerns. For more information and a dialogue on the comparison of that project to Putin’s statements, view:  https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/russias-new-nukes-are-similar-to-a-risky-project-the-u-s-abandoned/.

President Putin made a splash with his state of the nation speech. The most head-turning comment was his claim of the weapons he introduced can render the US and NATO defenses useless. Whether or not these weapons are as powerful as he claims will be discovered in time. What we know now is that President Putin is in an election cycle, where he is expected to win in coming weeks. Perhaps the Russian ruler’s statements were political propaganda more than scientific fact. Either way it is clear that Putin has thrown his hat in the center of the ring of nuclear power conversation. Recently there has been a bombardment of tweets from the US President directed towards North Korea’s “little rocket man.” One tweet regarded the size of their nuclear buttons. While Trump claims his is bigger and better than that of the North Korean leader, it appears that Putin has made a claim that his is bigger than Trumps. I imagine the American President’s twitter fingers are itching at a potential post. While his tweet may be in the drafts column for now we can only sit and wait to find out whos button truly measures the largest.

The Real Reason North Korea Wants Nuclear Weapons

            Although the North Korean regime depicts the image of the United States and the West completely destroyed, the main reason behind their push for proliferation is because they are scared. They’re scared of an invasion or US intervention. They’re scared because the US doesn’t have a great track record with keeping its word on agreements regarding disarmament. In recent history, Iraq and Libya serve as perfect examples. The US signed an agreement with Saddam Hussein in which he gave up his WMDs¹. In the end we still said he had WMDs, invaded Iraq, and toppled his government. With Libya the US signed a disarmament agreement with Muammar Gaddafi. Eventually we toppled his government too¹. Kim Jong Un simply fears ending up like Hussein or Gaddafi. He fears that any agreement the US signs won’t stop the US from overthrowing the North Korean government if it so chooses. He has decided that nuclear weapons are the best way to avert that option.

            It all goes back to the theory of nuclear deterrence. If North Korea has deliverable nuclear weapons, it should, in theory, deter the United States’ desire to invade or attack North Korea because they fear nuclear retaliation. In general, nuclear weapons aren’t used for first strikes or warfighting. They’re used to deter the enemy from using them in the first place. A lot of the theory depends on second strike capability. It’s the idea that if we are attacked first will we still have the ability to strike back with such destruction that the enemy will not want to attack in the first place. It can be argued that North Korea definitely doesn’t have a proper second strike capability, but what really determines what is too much destruction for the US? 50% of the country’s major cities, or just one major city on the west coast? Who can say what would be too much for the American people? It is safe to assume that the American people will react negatively to any kind of attack. In the end, it isn’t about North Korea’s ability to completely destroy the US. Kim Jong Un wants nukes out of fear. After all, if North Korea initiated a first strike against the US, that country would cease to exist. They want that even less.

¹ Mosher, D. (2018). North Korea is not building nuclear weapons to destroy the US — the real reasons are much more surprising. Business Insider.