Cold War redux

As this column is being written, national security advisor John Bolton is in Moscow discussing with Russian officials the statement by President Trump that the United States will be withdrawing from the nuclear treaties limiting medium range nuclear weapons. When President Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev signed the Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces Treaty it became the sign the Cold War was over.

U.S. intelligence agencies claim Russian development has continued of cruise type missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads. The geography of Europe is such that an intermediate missile fired from western Russia can easily target any city or military facility in western Europe. In an article by Lucian Kim claims that on NPR.com, Vladimir Prolov, a foreign policy analyst in Moscow reports that Russian President Vladimir Putin has wanted to end this treaty so Russia can openly arm itself with Intermediate Nuclear Weapons. However, Putin wanted the U.S. to be the one to cancel the treaty instead of Russia.

The threat of U.S. nuclear missiles and missile defenses in Poland is a threat which gives the U.S. and NATO a major advantage that is currently lacking. The same article by NPR claims the U.S. has fallen into a trap which makes the U.S. the aggressor in the nuclear arms race while removing the limitations on Russian nuclear expansion.

The U.S. withdrawal from the treaty will hurt the U.S. in the eyes of the international community, and it means the U.S. and Russia will be in a new arms race. Vladimir Putin on Monday commented on the developing U.S. hard line in relations with Russia.

There is no doubt that the treaty has lost its original intent and goals, but a sudden U.S. withdrawal is a clumsy diplomatic move that will bring unintended results while improving Russia's profile as it expands nuclear arms in a supposed reaction to U.S. aggression displayed with the withdrawal from the treaty.

Jack Dragoni attended Boston College and served in the U.S. Army in Berlin and Vietnam. He lives in Chaffee, Missouri.