The United States risks catastrophe if it seriously considers nuclear war with Russia. A weak and outdated American nuclear arsenal offers no promise of victory. A senseless, unwinnable war is the worst-case scenario.

“You’ve got to know when to hold ’em,
Know when to fold ’em,
Know when to walk away,
know when to run.”

It is likely more Americans are familiar with the song I am quoting than will be with the words of Sun Tzu, who said, “He will win who knows when to fight and when not to fight,” but the idea and theme are the same, and it just shows us that there seldom are new ideas; there is truly nothing new under the Sun. My American Christian friends might appreciate, “That which hath been is that which shall be; and that which hath been done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.” (Ecclesiastes 1:9)

Almost all modern ideas are just modern repackaging of old ideas, whether good ideas or bad ideas. The West resurrects historically discredited and bad ideas (because it lacks any sense of history or gleaning truth from history since the West believes that any pre-modern history is primitive barbarism incapable of providing wisdom or insight), while Russia is a faithful steward of old ancient wisdom passed down through the traditions of the great civilizations of Greece, Rome, and Byzantium.

One ancient lesson is to never go to war unless it is necessary and then only if the likely gains outweigh the likely risks and if you can actually win.

A quick glance at American nuclear forces will reveal that the American nuclear arsenal is geriatric and comprised largely of Cold War legacy systems that are older than the average American. It isn’t the sort of arsenal that any rational person would want to enter into a nuclear war with, although few rational actors would actively seek a nuclear war as a first or second resort, as such weapons are for last resort use. Elements of the American arsenal are older than the Soviet Politburo members were in the 1980s. Our nuclear arsenal is now proper fodder for comedy the way American comedians made light of the advanced age of the old Soviet leaders in the early 1980s.

Let us begin the assessment with the land leg of the nuclear triad

The Minuteman III (the only ICBM of the American land leg of the nuclear triad) was first deployed in 1970, based on further development of the original Minuteman I that began in the mid-1950s, and is clearly about as cutting edge and modern as First World War dreadnoughts were in 1944; that is to say, their best days are long since behind them; their prime is over.

The Minuteman III is based on 1960s upgrades of 1950s designs and technology. I would wager US........

© New Eastern Outlook