A Nuclear War Cannot be Won and Must Never Be Fought

On November 2, the Foreign Ministry of the Russian Federation published a very clear statement reiterating its commitment to the “tenet that a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought.” It continues, “We fully reaffirm our commitment to the Joint statement of the leaders of the five nuclear-weapon states on preventing nuclear war and avoiding arms races of January 3, 2022. We are strongly convinced that in the current complicated and turbulent situation, caused by irresponsible and impudent actions aimed at undermining our national security, the most immediate task is to avoid any military clash of nuclear powers.” The silence from the United States, the UK, and France is ominous. Rather than the recently issued vaguely worded nuclear doctrine, aptly described by former UN weapons inspector Scott Ritter as “nuclear blackmail,” American policymakers should consider the words of Adlai Stevenson, United Nations Ambassador during the October Cuban Missile Crisis, exactly 60 years ago: “Blackmail