Was The Cold War Ever Lukewarm?
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An upgraded cold war? The Russian news agency Interfax has reported that a high-ranked General in the Russian military has called the country to change its military doctrine, which was last updated in 2010. According to him, these changes should include a clear statement of the United States and its NATO allies as Moscow’s number one enemy, and to define the conditions that will lead Russia into opening a preemptive nuclear attack against the 28 members of this military alliance.
Russia’s military doctrine, a strategic statement with which the government interprets the military threats and offers possible responses, is to be corrected to the threats relating to the “Arab Spring”, the civil war in Syria and the conflict in Ukraine. However, it should be pointed out that the Russian ministry of defense is also sounding other voices who call for a different priority.
According to the General’s statement, “First and foremost, the likely enemy of Russia should be clearly identified in this strategic document, something absent from the 2010 military doctrine. In my view, our primary enemy is the U.S. and the North Atlantic bloc.”
The doctrine from 2010 does state NATO’s expansion as a threat to Russia’s national security and approves of Russia’s right to use nuclear weapon as a defense but it is still a long way from declaring NATO as an enemy to Moscow and provide scenarios of a preemptive nuclear strike.
The general said that the accusations of the west against Russia for arming the Ukraine’s seperatists as well as NATO’s declaration of its intention to establish permanent military presence in eastern Europe, has given rise to past concerns: that the denial of the NATO alliance being formed as a means for attacking Russia has not been completely honest.
Today, the only NATO military base is stationed in Poland, but the latter’s calls to turn NATO’s military presence in their territory permanent have not yet been pronounced, in fear of Russian resistance. NATO has suggested helping Ukraine in order to increase its military capability due to fear of Russia expanding towards Poland.
So once again memories of the cold war – the global conflict between the United States and Russia – return. The relationship between the two countries, which was streaked with mutual suspicions, has escalated to near nuclear war. The cold war seems to have defrosted only slightly and it’s safe to say that it is not expected to be over until both parties stop making suspicious moves, whether it’s the U.S.’s attempt to aid NATO’s expansion or Russia’s aggressive moves, such as taking over the Crimean Peninsula.
