A Pointed Warning to Germany and Europe from a Nuclear Weapons Expert
The Sept. 13 weekly online meeting of the International Peace Coalition featured an important contribution from Dr. Ted Postol, MIT professor emeritus and one of the world’s foremost experts on nuclear weapons. He began by stressing that the very fact that Secretary of State Antony Blinken would even suggest considering “the use of tactical nuclear weapons”, means he doesn’t know what he is talking about. Blinken’s “cavalier” attitude towards the “overwhelming likelihood of the destruction of modern civilization as we know it,” shows his ignorance and almost unbelievable recklessness. “I realize it’s very strong language, but it’s just hard to comprehend that anybody could be so reckless, especially someone who is in a position where decisions he makes have serious consequences for the security of — really of the modern world. It’s that bad.”
Ukraine’s war on Russia has been lost, Postol said, and the failed invasion of Kursk has only worsened the situation for the Ukrainians. Pulling their elite troops and air defenses off the front line in Donbas to effect the incursion has resulted in important advances westward for the Russian forces, as the Ukraine forces left behind are “mostly unwilling and untrained”, many of whom are “running or surrendering, and near collapse.”
Turning to the case of Germany, he noted that if the country effectively hosts U.S. “tactical nuclear weapons by 2026” on long-range missiles, as currently planned, it would make itself — in the event of a direct war between NATO and Russia — the target of Russian counter-attacks. “The German people need to understand this”, he said, “because the leadership of the German government has done a tremendous disservice to the people.” Not only in terms of a potential nuclear war, but also by accepting the destruction of the Nord Stream pipeline and the collapse of industrial capabilities.
Dr. Postol then showed a series of maps and graphs which he had quickly “prepared at the urging of Helga Zepp-LaRouche”, to show some of the effects that even small tactical nuclear bombs dropped on Germany would have, both in the vicinity of the target, and as a result of the radioactive mushroom clouds getting blown by the wind and dropping their radioactive waste along the way. For obvious reasons, the examples on his illustrations of the weapons used, of the targets chosen and of the weather conditions can only be hypothetical.
Dr. Postol underscored that “I am not telling people what to do here. It is the decision of the Europeans and the Germans in particular”, as to whether they will accept the current course of confrontation. But he wants them to be aware of the potential irreversible consequences, and to let their leaders know their choice. The German people “have a right to prevent this”, he concluded.
The full presentation by Dr. Postol in English is available here, and the German Schiller Institute will soon publish a German version of his research on its website.
