by Peter Zeihan on September 18, 2023

If you’re looking for something to ponder over a glass (or two or three) of nice whiskey, you may want to save this newsletter and video for then…

Now that you’ve returned with your spirit of choice, we’ll be looking at the history of arms control treaties and today’s lack thereof.

Towards the end of the Soviet period, arms control treaties with the US peaked under Gorbachev, but each US President has handled these differently. Treaties fell off under Clinton, had a bit of a resurgence under George W. Bush, and have since fallen off. Today, the post-Cold War arms treaties have all but vanished (at least in practice).

Now, onto the really stressful stuff – cue the 2nd glass of whiskey. Without these treaties, several concerns arise…can Russia maintain its nuclear arsenal? What happens if things go nuclear? What if they launch a nuclear weapon and it fails?

There are too many moral and strategic dilemmas to even think through, but we should probably have some sort of roadmap to guide us through these scenarios. Unfortunately, policymakers have no established procedures for specific situations like a failed nuclear strike attempt, which is quite a conundrum.

Please click below to watch video

YouTube Video Link: https://youtu.be/APkMfDp_ClQ

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