Finland, Sweden and Estonia are talking of a major war in Europe, as Russia is alleged to have placed nuclear weapons in space.
The use of hypersonic missiles and drones in the Ukranian conflict, and the obliteration of Gaza is a deadly escalation of events which could culminate in the use of chemical and tactical nuclear weapons.
The brutal escalation defies logic and reality. Europe is grimly witnessing miscalculation of the situation due to political arrogance and the illusion of power. In a similar vein, the conflict between two heavily armed nuclear powers cannot be solved militarily; both sides possess first and second strike nuclear capabilities.
Both countries are dominant military strategists who supremely believe that they will emerge intact after a limited or fully fledged nuclear exchange. Denial of reality will lead this planet to become a vast crematorium under the deadly shadow of atomic weapons. In a nuclear assault both Nato and Russia will be reduced to ashes.
It is a grim reality that both countries have developed military doctrines and deployed nuclear weapons designed to incinerate their respective forces on land, at sea and in the air. Who will attend to the survivors when in reality today we are unable to provide oxygen for those who are infected with Covid19? This ultimate folly will, in its wake, erase in a flash all life on Earth and every vestige of civilisation that took thousands of years to nurture.
Nuclear roulette is a dangerous strategy; one miscalculation could result in an atomic inferno that will be impossible to control. Both Russia and the US are masters at nuclear brinkmanship. The control of foreign relations by nations creates a pressing demand for belligerents to adhere to civility in their international relations.
The Covid-19 pandemic has caused catastrophic consequences in every corner of the world. Atomic radiation caused by a war in Europe and North America will envelop the entire world in its tentacles, making the pandemic look like a tea party. Direct top-level talks between the two nuclear scorpions is the only way to achieve lasting peace.
Seasoned diplomats, not political hawks, will be able to restore sanity in the conflict zones. To question the existence of sovereign nations is indeed bizarre and absolutely absurd. Despite numerous reasons to mistrust the statements of many political leaders, diplomacy is the only instrument that can prevent a slide into anarchy.
Unless political sanity prevails, there exists a distinct possibility that nuclear madness will overwhelm diplomacy as an instrument of dominance
* Farouk Araie, Benoni.
** The views expressed here are not necessarily those of Independent Media.
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