Guest
Emergency Press Conference: The Danger of Nuclear War Is Real, and Must Be Stopped; featuring Scott Ritter, Col. Black and Helga Zepp-LaRouche Billington: This is Mike Billington. I'm with the Executive Intelligence Review (EIR) and the Schiller Institute. I'm speaking with Colonel Richard Black, an Army and Marine veteran who also served as head of the US Army's Criminal Law Division at the Pentagon. He then also served in the Virginia legislature, first as a representative in the House of Delegates and then as a state Senator. So, Colonel Black, you are, I know, aware of the Ukrainian drone attacks on the Armavir Nuclear Early Warning Radar, approximately 180km from Ukraine, and a second unsuccessful attack, which occurred yesterday on the same site, as well as another attack on the Orsk Nuclear Early Warning Radar, which is 1800 kilometers from Ukraine, a long way from Ukraine, on the Kazakhstan border. Several knowledgeable military and intelligence analysts like yourself, have warned as forcefully as they can that this directly challenges the clearly stated nuclear doctrine of the Russians, that the use of their nuclear weapons would potentially be activated by “any attack by an adversary against critical government or military sites of the Russian Federation, disruption of which would undermine nuclear forces response actions.“ Of course, this is exactly what Ukraine has just done. What is your analysis of the level of danger that the world faces as a result? Col. Black: Thank you for having me on today, Mike. I'd just like to add, because I'm always sensitive to the impression that someone might get that I'm perhaps not entirely patriotic about our country and our service members. I fought with the First Marine Division. First I flew 269 combat missions by helicopter and then fought in some of the most fierce battles, actually the bloodiest battle of the whole Vietnam War for the Marine Corps. This was on the ground as a forward air controller. My last battle, both of my radioman were killed right beside me, and I was wounded. I was a Marine officer, then a Marine Company Commander later on. I then went back to school, onto law school, became an Army JAG (Judge Advocate) Officer. I ended up spending several years in Germany, at Kaiserslautern, where I interfaced very heavily with the German authorities. We were prepared, and I was personally prepared, to die fighting in the defense of Germany during the Cold War, during a very, very tense period. So I don't hesitate to sacrifice, or to risk my life. And I've done it, literally on hundreds of occasions now. With that. Let me shift now. We've had three of these drone attacks deep into Russia. It is very likely that the United States was involved, that we provided precise information to assist the Ukrainians, assuming that they had any role at all. But certainly there were these drone attacks, one of them apparently very, very damaging to the Russian early warning system. From what I understand, the Russians do not have the type of satellite early warning system that we have. They may have some satellite technology that's helpful, but for the most part their nuclear early warning system is in “over the horizon,“ or “up to the horizon“ type of intercept. They have somewhere between 10 and 15 minutes notice if the West fires a massive array of nuclear weapons aimed at Russia. There is a very, very brief time during which they can respond. Now they have a very well defined nuclear doctrine. Russia's nuclear doctrine is exclusively defensive, and it provides for scenarios under which nuclear weapons can be used. One, of course, is if Russia is simply attacked by nuclear missiles. Another one is if the Russian state is threatened by superior weapons, conventional or otherwise, which is actually an existential threat to the cohesion of the Russian nation. The most important, however, is that under their doctrine, they would be able to use nuclear weapons if they believe that nuclear missiles are being launched against it. In other words, if an attack is aimed at crippling its nuclear forces, if they believe there are missiles being launched which is aimed at crippling its nuclear forces. They can respond. Now, if you look at where we are right now with the three drone attacks directed at their eyes and ears against nuclear attacks, this clearly would trigger the nuclear doctrine of the of Russian state. Now, in addition, if there's actually a cohesive movement towards a preparation for nuclear war -- I'm not saying that we have made some sort of a decision, but we certainly are laying all the groundwork in case a decision was to be made. We're attacking their early warning systems by blinding them.
