New Threat of Russian Nuclear War?

YELTSIN'S RUSSIA PREPARES FOR WAR
by Jeffrey R. Nyquist
February 15, 1999
Click here: NewsMax.com: Articles http://38.201.154.103/articles/?a=1999/2/15/34330

Russia is preparing for nuclear war against America. Though Russia has been in economic turmoil, Moscow has been spending billions on vast underground nuclear war bunkers, new biological and chemical weapons, as well as road and rail-mobile ICBMs.

Yeltsin's military continues to deploy 10,000 to 12,000 ABMs (Anti-Ballistic Missiles) and 18 battle management radars, even though such deployment violates the 1972 ABM Treaty.

At the same time, the Russian Navy continues to improve its surface and submarine forces, deploying the largest ballistic missile cruiser of its kind -- the "Peter the Great".

Why is a supposedly bankrupt country spending its precious capital on war preparations?

A recent defector from the main intelligence directorate of the Russian General Staff, Colonel Stanislav Lunev, says that "Russia remains terrified of the power of America."

Lunev points to recent Russian military exercises as evidence of this paranoia. Earlier this year, the Russian Air Force practiced nuclear bombing runs over the Polar icecap. These bombers would take such a route if they attacked the United States in a nuclear war.

What is the thinking behind these exercises? According to Colonel Lunev, Russia's military is doing everything it can "to prepare for a war that it considers inevitable."

Despite Moscow's military preparations, America continues to bankroll the Russian economy. In April of 1996 the U.S. refused to cancel a $1.5 billion aid package to Russia despite Moscow's ongoing -- and expensive -- construction of a gigantic underground base in the Urals. Yamantau Mountain, the site of the base, is so deeply buried that it cannot be destroyed by nuclear attack.

According to the New York Times, the Yamantau facility is the size of metropolitan Washington.

Officially, the Russian government refuses to disclose the facility's purpose and American officials, including arms control inspectors, are not permitted to go there. The Russian press has alternately described Yamantau Mountain as a nuclear waste storage facility, a repository for Russian national treasures, and as an underground warehouse for food. Western specialists speculate that Yamantau Mountain is a secret weapons production plant.

Whatever it is, the Kremlin freely spends billions on it. But this is not all they're spending billions on.

In a move that defies Russia's bankrupt image, the Kremlin is upgrading Moscow's civil defense network of underground towns, tunnels and bunkers. This network includes a nuclear-proof city built beneath Moscow's Ramenki district, capable of housing 30,000 people.

According to Richard F. Staar, former U.S. Ambassador to the Mutual and Balanced Force Reduction Negotiations in Vienna, the "former" Soviet Union has stored at least 362 million metric tons of grain in nuclear blast and fallout shelters. University of North Carolina economist Steven Rosefielde estimated that these supplies could feed the entire population of Russia and its CIS partners for three years.

Despite treaty obligations prohibiting the production of biological and chemical weapons, Russia is also spending vast sums to engineer a super-plague which is resistant to antibiotics. Moscow has also been caught manufacturing deceptive new binary chemical munitions, which can be disguised as industrial chemicals. These binary munitions are said to be as powerful as VX gas, which is 100 to 1,000 times more lethal than sarin gas. On 16 February of last year, the Washington Times reported that Russia was violating its chemical arms treaty with the U.S. by manufacturing a new binary nerve agent called A-232. At the same time Russia is developing a nerve gas said to be five times more lethal than VX.

In the nuclear missile area, Russia continues to develop and deploy new types of road and rail-mobile ICBMs. Of special interest is the SS-27 Topol-M, or "Sickle" missile. Developed and first tested in 1995, this 45-ton behemoth has an off-road movement capability and a throw-weight sufficient to support multiple warheads. Even more impressive is the rail-mobile "Scalpel" missile. It has a throw-weight and accuracy comparable to the American MX missile, and could be deployed in underground rail tunnels or bunkers, like those found at Yamantau Mountain.

In response to these Russian moves, the United States has spent no money on missile defenses. But according to William T. Lee, a former American intelligence official, Russia has deployed 10,000 to 12,000 Anti-Ballistic Missiles (ABMs), disguising them as Surface to Air Missiles (SAMs). To assist these missiles in the tough job of intercepting incoming American warheads, the Russians have deployed 18 battle management radars. In October of last year the Washington Times reported that several American supercomputers were illegally shipped to Russia. These machines could be a vital part of any ABM battle management system.

Also, the Russians continue building submarines at a surprising rate. In November of 1992, less than six years ago, Boris Yeltsin promised to halt Russia's production of nuclear submarines. Yet Russia continues to build submarines that are faster and quieter. Though the Russian submarine fleet will be smaller than it was ten years ago, it will be more effective because of qualitative improvements. Even so, it will still be the largest nuclear submarine force in the world, with 80 ships.

Looking at the big picture, Russian preparations for war appear to be deliberate and systematic. Moscow spares no expense in its quest for superiority over America. Evidently, war is an important consideration in the thinking of Russian policy-makers. In fact, the Kremlin is so primed for war that in January of 1995 Russia's nuclear forces were put on alert in response to the launching of a Norwegian weather rocket.

According to Peter Vincent Pry, a former CIA official, Russia's military leaders believed the Norwegian launch was the beginning of a nuclear attack on Russia. Bombers and missiles were put on notice, and Yeltsin was said to be within minutes of ordering a crushing attack on the West.

The facts demonstrate that Russia is preparing for nuclear war. The Kremlin bosses are obviously willing to sacrifice Russia's whole consumer economy to meet the challenge of preparedness.

On the American side there is only disarmament. We are slipping behind, day by day. In this context, one Russian dissident has stated: "The West believes...there will be a quiet life, but there won't be...."

To learn more read:
Russia and China Prepare for War February 9, 1999
Defector Reveals War Plans. February 8, 1999
The Y2K – Russia Information Package.

© 1999, NewsMax.com

NOTE: http://www.NewsMax.com is Chris Ruddy's new website


[I cannot verify this information, the website links shown do not work yet for me, and the concluding inference that America should more heavily arm itself is oxymoronic with respect to the nature of nuclear war. The only solution is complete nuclear disarmament as the first step towards the general disarmament requisite for Global Peace2000] [dcw]Feb16'99