Doomsday Clock Advances As US And Allies War Hawks Out-Hawk Each Other – OpEd

The latest geo-political developments indicate that 2023 and beyond may prove to be the most challenging period for those concerned with the maintenance of global peace as well as for the survival of humanity.  

Acknowledgement of this comes from the resetting of the Doomsday Clock at 90 seconds to midnight due largely but not exclusively to the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the increased risk of nuclear escalation. 

Previously set at 100 seconds in 2020 the new Clock time is also influenced by the climate crisis and the breakdown of global norms and institutions needed to mitigate risks from advanced technologies and biological threats such as COVID-19.

According to Mary Robinson, former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights:

“The Doomsday Clock is sounding an alarm for the whole of humanity. We are on the brink of a precipice. But our leaders are not acting at sufficient speed or scale to secure a peaceful and liveable planet. From cutting carbon emissions to strengthening arms control treaties and investing in pandemic preparedness, we know what needs to be done. The science is clear, but the political will is lacking. This must change in 2023 if we are to avert catastrophe. We are facing multiple, existential crises. Leaders need a crisis mindset.”

What is missing in her comment is that the major factor behind this development is that the West led by the United States is determined to accelerate the momentum towards war with Russia and China thus multiplying the risk of global nuclear conflict. 

Western War Hawks

The mindset of the war hawks in Washington and its allies can be discerned from these two most recent reports since the resetting of the Doomsday clock

• German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock speaking at a Council of Europe meeting in Strasbourg declared that “we are fighting a war against Russia and not against each other”.  This admission is contrary to the earlier German government claim that it is seeking a peaceful end to the conflict.

Since then Germany has abandoned its previous policy of not providing weapons to conflict zones through its decision to deliver Ukraine with Leopard tanks. This has been followed by announcements by other NATO members and the US that they will deliver similar weaponry to enable Ukraine to win its war against Russia

• US four star general, Mike Munihan, head of American Air Mobility command has ordered the 50,000 members and 500 planes under his command to get ready for war with China which he predicts will take place in 2025. In his signed leaked memo which has been widely reported by American media and has made news in media all round the world  he advised his commanders to report all major efforts to prepare for the China fight to report to him by Feb 28. Further he directed all personnel to prepare by firing “a clip” at a 7-metre target, and to “aim for the head”.

Russia’s Response

In response to the German and NATO escalation, Konstantin Gavrilov,  the head of the Russia Delegation to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in a statement noted on behalf of the Russian Government: 

“We know that the M1 Abrams & Leopard-2 tanks, as well as the Bradley and Marder infantry fighting vehicles, are armed with uranium-core armour-piercing projectiles, the use of which leads to [radioactive] contamination of the area, as happened in Yugoslavia and Iraq.

If such shells are delivered to Kyiv, we will consider this as the use of dirty nuclear bombs against Russia, with all the ensuing consequences.” 

What was left unsaid in the official statement is that ensuing consequences may include Russia’s use – by intention or miscalculation – of nuclear weaponry in the battlefield in Ukraine, thus effectively resetting the Doomsday Clock at zero. 

China’s Response

China has not commented on Gen Munihan’s memo. Perhaps China’s military leaders are aware that talk is cheap but they surely will have read of it and will be taking notice. 

The Rest of the World  

The rest of the world should not take lightly the ratcheting by the West’s war hawks, which together with western mainstream media for several years now, have been brainwashing the West and allies to hate China, and now Russia. 

This hate campaign is now being upped several notches so as to soften the ground for military strikes against Russia and China. 

Supporters of US and European war hawks in Europe and Asia should be alerted that they will be the main victims of a US strategy that has sucked NATO into the Ukraine War, and is determined to start another one over Taiwan, with Japan, Australia and others drawn in to take down China. 

Two war fronts, without involving US soldiers and expenditure, is the Biden dream strategy aimed at the maintenance of US hegemony. Through this incidentally, the US can continue being the world’s foremost military arms and weapons manufacturer and merchant. 

It is not surprising that the strongest stocks in the US in recent years have been that of  military and defence stocks such as Boeing,  Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, General Dynamics and Raytheon. 

Nothing is sacred to preserve US supremacy in the world of politics and economics. 

Not even the possibility of a nuclear war!