Alwaght- Study by the US intelligence community on the Russian and Chinese “survivability” after a nuclear attack could sign preparing for a US preemptive strike, former pentagon analysts say.
Russian Sputnik news agency quoted some former pentagon officers and analysts as evaluating a recent request by US Congress for evaluation of the “survivability” of Russian and Chinese leaders after a nuclear attack as unnecessary.
The reported sections of the US 2017 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) shows that such a comprehensive study mandated by Congress will be carried out by the US intelligence agencies as well as by the Strategic Command (STRATCOM), which is in charge of the American nuclear forces.
"No other nation-state has any intent of attacking us except if they should survive our initial ‘preemptive attack,’ they can be expected to retaliate the best they are able,” retired US Army Major and historian Todd Pierce said.
He rejected claims that such studies have defensive goals and instead said such research could only be explained by a desire to explore the possibility of wiping out the leaderships of both major nations in a sudden surprise attack.
"That’s the reason for this study: to ensure we wipe out their command and control with a first strike,” Pierce said.
"Here is typical American double talk when we are in the process of planning offensive military operations, and that is all we plan because,” Pierce stated.
Pierce recalled that Congressman Mike Turner had stated in an email to Bloomberg News that the United States needed to understand how China and Russia intended to fight a war and how their leadership would control a potential conflict in order to be able to deter such a threat.
Former CIA officer Phil Giraldi told Sputnik that the study Congress had called for fell into the realm of comprehensive but not serious assessments routinely made by military intelligence bureaucracies.
"I think it's routine contingency planning as I see no evidence that it was initiated personally by any of the identifiable hawks,” Giraldi said.
On Friday, US President Donald Trump issued an executive order calling for a review of the readiness and modernization needs of the US nuclear arsenal. Previous President Barack Obama approved a $1.7 trillion 30-year program to modernize US nuclear forces.
