JRN Blog
5 February 2005
The high-minded man must care more for truth... |
...than for what people think. - Aristotle, Ethics |
Anthony LoBaido sent me a list of questions,
which I have abbreviated and answered. LoBaido: Why did Putin get on a nuclear
submarine to conduct nuclear war drills against the United States? JRN: People mistakenly think that Russia and America
are no longer nuclear rivals. Russia did not disarm after 1991, despite promises
to do so. For example, President Yeltsin said that Russia was calling a halt to
submarine construction. But submarine construction continued. He said that
Russia was going to eliminate its biological weapons programs, but defectors
have since reported that the programs are continuing. Russia’s nuclear arsenal is built for war with one
adversary, and that adversary is the United States. President Putin is a former
KGB officer, a dedicated communist and a champion of the Russian General Staff.
He participated in recent war exercises to send a message to the Russian armed
forces. He is signaling his support for the troops. He will fight for higher pay
and better weapons. This serves to increase the prestige and morale of the
Russian armed forces. LoBaido: Why
is Putin saying that Russia will build a missile that can get passed our missile
defenses? JRN: Actually, Putin has said that Russia already
has such a missile – the Topol-M (SS-27 road mobile ICBM). Russia is planning
to build a large number of these missiles in the next two years. The Topol-M is
a highly maneuverable missile, designed to evade interception by ABMs
(anti-ballistic missiles). Flight tests for this missile began on 20 December
1994, nearly three years after the fall of the Soviet Union. Putin has frequently touched upon the maneuverability of
the Topol-M. In doing this, he strengthens the hand of those in Congress who
oppose national missile defense. If such defense is arguably too expensive to be
practical, then America’s ABM system may be scrapped. To guard against this
possibility, the Bush administration has been careful to emphasize that U.S.
national missile defense is not meant to stop missiles from Russia. It is merely
a safeguard against more primitive ICBMs built by North Korea and China. LoBaido: What does the U.S. government
need to do? JRN: The U.S. government needs to recognize that
Russia and China are dangerous long-term enemies of the United States, along
with many smaller countries including Cuba, North Korea, Iran, Syria, Vietnam
and most CIS countries. When these countries pretend to be America’s friend,
they are attempting to deceive us. LoBaido: Where is the media on this
matter? JRN: The media often reports many facts related to
Chinese and Russian moves, but these facts remain unconnected in the public’s
mind. The pundits and experts also seem to be confused, even those who have
partially begun to notice an emerging problem with Russia. So far there is no
consensus on the threat from Russia and China, and America will not be able to
enact appropriate countermeasures without a consensus. The media’s position is
therefore crucial, but the media does not have the breadth of understanding or
sufficient expert knowledge to bring the facts together in terms of a
comprehensive analysis. LoBaido: Do the American people care? JRN: The American people are busy working, shopping
and living out their private lives. Most of us have seen the Tonight Show
segments in which Jay Leno asks people basic questions about history or
geography. I happened to see this last week. Two urban professionals were unable
to name the country that bordered California. Others were unable to name the war
in which foreign troops invaded Washington, D.C. and torched the White House.
I’m sure that “the people” would care if they knew what was at stake. But
in reality, most “people” are ignorant and therefore must follow the man (or
woman) with the most plausible-sounding slogans. LoBaido: What do the great prophets tells
us about the future? JRN: If we judge by history, we know that periods of
prosperity sometimes involve a collapse of authoritative values and a relaxing
of national vigilance. Whenever this occurs, great wars and revolutions tend to
follow. There are interesting passages in the book of Isaiah, if you are
interested in Biblical prophets. LoBaido: Which prophets do you put the
most credence into? JRN: All people have dreams and visions. Sometimes
these are divinely inspired, sometimes not. There are many documented cases of
precognitive dreams, though these are only known after the fact. Nobody can say
whether a specific dream is going to come true until it actually comes true.
This is a difficult area of inquiry, and it is easy to go off the deep end (so
to speak). LoBaido: Why is the U.S. intelligence
community so lacking? JRN: Our society has become casual, especially about
security matters. We have a hard time believing there are enemies out there. We
take our invulnerability and superiority for granted. Also, our elite
institutions are permeated with a form of liberalism that tends to distort the
analysis of intelligence bureaucrats. All these cultural factors contribute to
an overall intelligence fiasco. LoBaido: What can be done to correct the
elite universities? JRN: The only corrective to serious intellectual
error – on the philosophical level – is the corrective of tragedy. I believe
this is where we are headed. LoBaido: What is going on behind the
scenes in China? JRN: I haven’t been behind the scenes in China,
but there are many indications that the Beijing leadership is holding to a
Marxist-Leninist agenda and is determined to overthrow Western “capitalist”
civilization in favor of a new “socialist” civilization. For example,
President Hu has sent teams to Russia and North Korea in order to study
socialist economics in practice. LoBaido: What is the future dynamic of the
U.S.-China relationship? JRN: Conflict is inevitable. The Chinese leadership
knows and accepts this. The U.S. leadership refuses to accept that China’s
leaders are hostile. This is the dynamic in a nutshell. LoBaido: What about the grand alliance
against America? Can and will America survive and even thrive? JRN: In an age of mass destruction weapons no nation
is guaranteed survival. The outcome of future wars is not known. That being
said, the United States is the world’s strongest country – economically,
politically and militarily. Defeating the United States will not be easy, even
for a large coalition of hostile countries. A great deal depends on the
strategic leadership of the United States, and the moral condition of the
American people. Even the strongest position can be frittered away by stupid
moves and bad behavior. LoBaido: Is nuclear war a possibility? JRN: The only thing needed for a nuclear war is that
someone gives an order to launch the missiles. That is all that has to happen. LoBaido: What does the Bible say about
this? JRN: There are passages in the Bible that some have
interpreted in terms of a future nuclear war. As I have said elsewhere, I am not
a Bible scholar. LoBaido: Can we avert a nuclear war? JRN: Yes, we can often avoid a specific conflict.
But we cannot avoid all conflict. World war may be postponed, but it cannot be
avoided forever. Men will never establish universal peace because they are
fools. LoBaido: Will Europe stay allied to
America? JRN: America’s alliance with Europe is breaking
down. Moscow’s agent networks, criminal mafias and economic
organizations are succeeding in their effort to create a neutral,
socialist Europe that will acquiesce in America’s economic and diplomatic
isolation. Because of the success of intensive anti-American propaganda, and
because of the cultural rottenness of Europe, a break with Europe is probably
inevitable, though it will not be permanent. LoBaido: We differ on the issue of the
transnational elite. What do you say about the Bilderbergers and CFR? JRN: The Bilderberg meetings are hardly sinister. If
you want to understand this issue please read Jon Ronson’s book -- Them:
Adventures With Extremists. LoBaido: What about America’s woman’s
movement? JRN: A feminist is a woman trapped in a woman’s
body. The self-hatred and misogyny of feminism is going to catch up with it one
day. Of that I am confident. For now hardly anyone has noticed that woman are
taught to despise womanhood. This is vaguely distressing, especially for young
children – and it is disorienting for the sexes. Undoubtedly a period of
calamity will right this situation, but it won’t be nice. I would look forward
to a much better cultural situation, especially with regard to sexual culture,
in the 22nd century. End |