24A045 About Using Nukes by Jim Davies, 11/19/2024 

Toward the end of Russia's Nuclear Doctrine in September, I noted that as well as ending the possibility of "victory" in an exchange of nuclear bombs, the criterion for their use has recently related to the integrity of states. This was re-iterated by Dmitry Medvedev, a former President of Russia and now the "hawk" on Mr Putin's team.

The significance of this is starting to sink in. I'd not seen it before.

The threat is not "we'll use our nuclear arsenal if you invade us and conquer X% of our land area" or "Y% of our people", but if you make it so that our state can no longer function. In other words, if our government is rendered powerless, if you take away our ability to rule, we'll vaporize all of you.

Since Team Putin is certainly very intelligent, that means they would do it even while knowing that retaliation will vaporize them personally, a bit later the same day. Along with tens of millions of their fellow countrymen as well as us. And perhaps most of the rest of humanity, for radioactive air will circulate worldwide and food supplies will be disrupted everywhere.

It means, therefore, that "if we cannot hang on to power, we'll destroy civilization and much of the human race." It's a notice of intended mass-murder-suicide. Like Samson.

And since the FedGov has roughly the same number of nukes at its disposal we are free to presume that it would use exactly the same criteria, even though whoever is in charge in D.C. hasn't spelled it out that clearly.

That is of course crazy, irrational. But then, government is irrational; and there is alas no shortage of crazed people who will sacrifice their own lives along with others' for some purpose that's irrational - which is to say, religious. It's very hard to believe, but this suggests that the demigods who strut around in smart suits and say solemn things are as kooky as the killers of 9/11.

But wait: might it be that they are bluffing? In his latest threat Medvedev did complain that the West is not taking the Russian warnings seriously. Could that be because they really don't mean it? Perhaps, but in that case, why go to the trouble and expense of actually maintaining their nuclear arsenal? And what goes for Moscow certainly goes for Washington D.C. I can see but a single reason to bluff: they are both using the threat of nuclear war to intimidate their respective populations.

Or assume they are not bluffing. That means they all really would commit mass murder-suicide than lose their ability to rule.

In either case, our view of the ruling class should take a very steep dive. I had thought my opinion of government could not get any lower, but clearly I was wrong. Ever since nukes were invented the fear has been that they might fall into the hands of madmen; but now it seems they already have.

The "TOLFA method" of one-by-one re-education to cause everyone to abstain from working for government is what's recommended here; no violence, or frontal assault of some kind, has ever been proposed. No threat to their ability to rule will be evident until it's too late to do anything about it, and there won't be any hostile State at which to take aim.

Now we have an extra reason to see why that is the only way the job can be done. The ruling class will disappear not in a fiery blast but with a whimper.