Steven Pifer
Security, Eurasia
NATO needs an answer to Putin’s saber-rattling.
At a May 3 NATO change-of-command ceremony, Secretary of Defense Ash Carter questioned the Kremlin’s tactic of nuclear saber-rattling. Moscow’s jarring rhetoric about nuclear weapons aims to intimidate the West. It has led to unwise suggestions for how the United States and NATO should respond, ideas that should be ignored. Carter, however, should go beyond what he said and more specifically rebut the Russian leadership’s misguided notion of nuclear brinksmanship.
In parallel with its aggression against Ukraine, the Kremlin has sought to rattle the West, including with nuclear threats. President Vladimir Putin …read more
Source: The National Interest
