Putin comments on U.S. IMF nuclear trreaty withdrawal

President Putin: "Of course, there are certain issues concerning the development of missile technology in the world and the restrictions which only the US and the USSR, then the Russian Federation undertook. But what are we concerned about? We are concerned that the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty was terminated. Now we are talking about the treaty on intermediate-range and short-range missiles."

In 1983 Ronald Reagan deployed the Pershing II nuclear missile in Germany (built in Orlando, Florida where I was then living and organizing protests at the plant where they were built called Martin Marietta) and cruise missiles in England and Italy.  The peace movement all across Europe was huge in opposition to these missiles.

Of course the former Soviet Union responded with their own nuclear missile deployments to counter Reagan's move on the chessboard.

By 1987 Reagan backed down and signed the INF Treaty (Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces) with the Soviet Union and both sides removed their missiles.

This dangerous and arrogant move by the Trump administration (read John Bolton and the rest of the neo-con crew) is a loaded-gun pointed at the head of Russia and Europe.  I can't imagine that European politicians will be happy about this but sadly many of them are in the pocket of the US corporate syndicate.  Let's see what they do in response.

I'd hope that the European people would wake up to this provocative display of  power by Washington.  Maybe NATO member states will decline to keep funding that steroidal military alliance that only works for corporate capitalism.

I'd also wish to see the many Trump supporters in the US realize that their desire to 'shake things up in Washington' is causing us to inch toward a nuclear confrontation that no one can escape from.

Bruce