A tabletop war game analysis by the US Strategic Command last week has raised concerns about nuclear war.
The game, which was overseen by US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, witnessed Russian forces use a nuclear weapon on a NATO territory. This led to the US resorting to a retaliatory nuclear strike. The game was considered notable because of the defense department's unusual move to brief journalists about the details of the game. The main point that the department discussed was the problematic notion of the possibility of fighting and winning a war with nuclear weapons.
A senior Department of Defense official told reporters Friday that their Russian counterpart used a low-yield nuclear weapon and during the exercise US responded with a nuclear weapon.
Although the stimulation was a routine exercise, the chosen path of defense and attack is raising concerns about the possibilities of using a nuclear weapon during a war.
Russia says there can be no winners in a nuclear war
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told the US that there can be no winners in a nuclear war.
Ryabkov told the media: "The US is embarking on a highly dangerous game instead of focusing on efforts to strengthen the arms control system that would also cover nuclear weapons."
According to several experts, it is very rare for the Pentagon to detail such nuclear exercises. There are suggestions that the US was marketing the new weapons that were deployed in the past few weeks.
Advocates of such weapons believe that this can be a deterrent to Moscow's action if such events occur. But arms control can be one of the most vital aspects of future theories while dealing with nuclear weapons. Experts believe that there can be no low-yield or limited warfare when it comes to using nuclear weapons.
The deployment and the INF treaty
The US military recently deployed a low-yield nuclear warhead. The addition to the arsenal with reduced destructive power continues to alert the rest of the world to the changing nature of the arms race.
According to a statement to a news agency, the Pentagon said that with the deployment of the new warhead, America will be safer because this would mean that a nuclear war would be less likely.
The US has continued to invest and research ballistic weapons and nuclear technology in the past few months as China and Russia move ahead with several other deployments which have also raised concerns. After exiting the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces treaty, America has justified its actions for its growing arsenal as a way to protect itself.
