The UK is the closest ally of the US. The two nations have fought wars jointly for the last 100 year. The recent statement by the defense secretary Micheal Fallon that the UK could launch a preemptive Nuclear Strike at its enemies even if it was not under attack has muddied the atmosphere.
Fallon in a talk on BBC's Today program said: "In the most extreme circumstances we have made it very clear that you can't rule out the use of nuclear weapons a first strike." The repercussions of this statement are ominous and do not portend anything good for the UK.
It appears that Fallon whose statement was supported by The British PM's office is not aware of geopolitical reality.
Many decades back the Russian leader Nikita Khrushchev had said that it just required 5 H-Bombs to wipe England off the face of the world map. England is a small country and does not have strategic depth of size and area. From the talk of Fallon, it is clear that he was talking about Russia as a target. Russian reaction
The Russian's have reacted and criticized the statement. There is no response from Putin, but Frants Klintsevich, first deputy chairman of the defense committee in Russia's upper house of parliament reacted and said that such a statement deserves a tough answer.
He went on to state that if Britan attacked a nuclear power, it would be " literally wiped off the earth by a retaliatory strike given it's not- too- vast territory."
Loss of world power status
Britain was the greatest power on earth just a 100 years back with a global empire. But after World War II., Britain is reduced to insignificant power which matters only when it is allied with the USA.
Such statements as made by the defense secretary are perhaps just a tonic to keep Britain's dream as a world power alive.
Fallon's comments probably are meant for domestic consumption only as the leader of the opposition Jeremy Corbyn has criticized the Trident nuclear submarine program. The British maintain four nuclear power submarines.
A renewal program extending the life of these submarines will cost the government $ 288 billion.
Donald is silent
Donald Trump is quiet and has made no comment on the statement of Fallon about the preemptive nuclear strike. He is a hard-nosed politician now and is well aware of the power of a nuclear weapon. He has not tweeted anything supporting this comment.
The fact is England is too small a nation to survive a retaliatory strike and men like Fallon must talk some sense. What Nikita Khrushchev stated five decades back hold true today.
