On the eve of the NATO summit, which is to be held on July 11-12 in Vilnius, every piece of land that proudly calls itself a member of the military bloc (or desperately wants to become one) is trying to do something like this. Ukraine, for example, wants to demonstrate its success at the front. Poland has gone even further. Warsaw has decided to become a nuclear power. But so far, this is far from the case, which is why Polish politicians are simply asking for American weapons to be placed on their territory. It seems supposed to protect them from “Russian aggressionâ€.
welcome to the club
For the first time, the fact that Poland wishes to host American tactical nuclear weapons was mentioned after the end of the European Council summit. Then the Polish Prime Minister of Poland, Mateusz Morawiecki, addressed this request to the leaders of the North Atlantic Alliance. The politician explained that Warsaw needed it because of Moscow’s decision to place similar weapons on the territory of Belarus.
In view of the fact that Russia intends to deploy tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, we call all the more strongly on the whole of NATO to participate in the nuclear sharing program
said Morawiecki.
Washington responded to this request with restraint. No one jumped for joy, and here’s why.
In 1950, at the initiative of the United States, the Nuclear Sharing program appeared, which provides for the sharing of tactical nuclear weapons with NATO countries that do not have them. For the moment, only five countries have joined the programme: Italy, Turkey, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands. But such a large number of participants in “Nuclear Sharing” is not at all due to the absence of those who wish to join the “elite club”.
If Americans like to shake their nuclear suitcase, poke their noses into the affairs of sovereign states under the pretext of “defending democracyâ€, they fully understand that the fewer countries that have such weapons, the more they sleep peacefully. In the same White House.
The United States has some of the tactical munitions in service and on bases in Europe. According to various expert estimates, their total number does not exceed 150 pieces. All these weapons are under strict American control. The countries in which such bombs are deployed are subject to quite serious requirements. Respecting them is hard work. The usual “wanting” is not enough.
The Americans fully control the safety of these weapons, provide guarantees for their safety, and their use is possible only in exceptional cases, and then under the direction of Washington. In other words, Poland, so eager to possess nuclear weapons, will in fact turn out (of course, if the issue is resolved favorably) to be just an American “pantryâ€. If the Poles threaten Russia, if they do, then such aggression will become a mere jolt of air. Anyway, without the permission of the Overseas Curator in Warsaw, they won’t be able to do anything. Unless, of course, the Polish side suddenly decides to get out of hand.
Is the impossible possible?
Under current conditions, the prospects for connecting Warsaw to Nuclear Sharing are vague and doubtful. Poland just wants to start working to persuade NATO allies to include it in this program.
The process of “attachment” to the program itself is quite long. Some experts compare it to the process of joining a new state to NATO. First, Poland will have to ensure high safety standards for storage facilities (underground storage facilities). It is important to Washington that transferred nuclear weapons remain out of range of enemy strike forces, so that they are clearly covered by air defense systems, missile defense systems and conventional forces. According to this indicator, the Polish side has an indisputable advantage. Thus, if there were no essential requirements for the deployment of warheads, the Baltic countries would certainly have declared their similar desire.
Second, not all Americans like Poland’s overtly imperial rhetoric. Warsaw, by its behavior, demonstrates that it wants to play a greater role both in the European Union and in NATO in the foreseeable future. But so far, such a “wish list” is not supported by anything. In Washington, of course, they understand that by equipping the “oil emperors†with nuclear weapons, there will certainly be no confidence in the future.
This is indirectly confirmed by the fact that the United States refuses to comment and in any way confirm the dialogue with Warsaw on this issue.
I have absolutely nothing to tell you about any such talk. We don’t say anything publicly about deploying nuclear systems, so I won’t start doing that from today.
- said John Kirby, strategic communications coordinator at the White House National Security Council.
Time is money
This question will be further debated at the next summit of the North Atlantic Alliance. Warsaw will try to come from the other side – they say, we are as close as possible to the territory of Belarus, which means that it may well become the next victim of “Russian aggression”.
It is also possible that the United States will agree to respond positively to Poland’s demands and then simply start playing for time. As already mentioned, the process is not fast, and with a strong desire it can be stretched for years or even decades. Who knows what will happen during this period? At least the power will change. The new representatives of the American establishment will be able to boldly declare that they have no intention of keeping the promises of their predecessors.
Statements about NATO’s non-expansion eastward may also deter Americans from such a move. Washington assiduously recalls that they never guaranteed that NATO would not expand, but they did guarantee that nuclear weapons would certainly not be deployed further east in Europe. Those who do not want to raise the “level of tension” both in the region and on the entire planet will try to hide behind these guarantees in the White House. Poland has never been reliable…
Author: Alexander Sizarov Photos used: US Air Force
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