
(RepublicanReport.org) – Jens Stoltenberg has been the secretary general of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) since 2014. Recently, Stoltenberg had an exclusive interview with The Telegraph, in which he talked about the alliance countries and the prospect of showing the world NATO’s nuclear power.
On June 16, the secretary general said the alliance countries have been facing an increasing threat from Russia and China. To keep the countries in check, Stoltenberg said NATO must be more transparent about its nuclear capacity as a deterrent. He said it’s that very “transparency [that] helps to communicate…that we, of course, are a nuclear alliance.”
While the secretary general admitted that NATO’s goal is to live in a “world without nuclear weapons,” that’s not the case right now. Since that is not reality and because “Russia, China, and North Korea have nuclear weapons,” the group must remain a nuclear alliance.
It used to be that nuclear exercises were completed by those in NATO who have nuclear weapons and those who can support nuclear weaponry. The group is now very open about its nuclear power. While the exact number of nuclear weapons dedicated to deterring enemies from attacking NATO countries is top secret, The Telegraph estimated that the UK and the US have about 40 and 1,700 deployed at any one time, respectively.
The NATO nuclear planning group is discussing exactly how many “nuclear warheads should be operational and which should be stored.” Stoltenberg said because of Russia’s aggressive actions and China’s recent investments in modernizing its weaponry — including its nuclear arsenal — NATO may soon face “two nuclear-powered potential adversaries.” The alliance must be ready.
While some members have struggled over the years to dedicate 2.5% of their GDP to NATO defense, the secretary general indicated that was changing. He expects more than 20 out of the 32 members to have already reached that goal, and Britain will likely reach it by 2030. Stoltenberg said that now that global tensions are high, the countries will do their part to stand together.
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