Why Russia Believes It Can Win a Nuclear War

For Americans who are old enough to remember the cold war, this one fact we know: the cold war is over and we won; end of story. Or is it? Whether we call them Communists or Socialists, the hardliners still remain in control beneath the surface in Russia. The boys at the KGB didn’t trade in their side arms for love beads and peace signs in the wake of perestroika. The images of freedom seekers being shot as they tried to get over the wall in East Berlin remain fresh in my mind. I am utterly unconvinced that the mind-set behind that kind of oppression has changed. Remember what the Marxists espouse—the opulent, capitalist order of the west must be destroyed.

The Russia portrayed in the media today is a nation in serious economic crisis whose people are going hungry. This image, however, is false. While her people do suffer economic hardship and America continues to radically downsize its military force, a hidden economy is building a Russian war machine second to none. Russia has been building as many modern, high technology attack and nuclear missile submarines as they have decommissioned. They have been building as many ships, bombers, fighters, and tanks as they did at the height of the Cold War—all using advanced technology stolen or purchased from the U.S.

According to Col. Lunev, the highest ranking military intelligence officer ever to have defected from Russia, in the midst of their supposed economic crisis, Russia continues to build a state-of-the-art war machine. Last year, Yeltsin commissioned Peter the Great, the largest ballistic missile cruiser ever built. She has also unveiled her stealth bomber. By this December, they will have deployed 20 mobile Topol-M intercontinental ballistic missiles. The Topol-M can change its trajectory in mid flight and is multiple warhead capable.

Unlike America, Russia has also deployed 10,000 to 12,000 Anti-Ballistic Missiles (ABMs), disguising them as Surface to Air Missiles (SAMs), according to William T. Lee, a former CIA Russian analyst. Huge underground nuclear-hardened bunkers have also been constructed to be used in case of war. The largest of these is in Yamantau Mountain in the Urals, east of Moscow and is as large as Washington, D.C. "Yamantau," claims Col. Lunev, "is a huge underground city which could be used in time when many Russian cities are destroyed, but the military and political elite will survive and live until our planet will try to restore itself."

Military leadership in Russia believe that war with the U.S. is only a matter of time. Soviet military textbooks throughout the 60s, 70s and 80s endorsed the view that a nuclear war could be won by the one who plans best and strikes first. Steps such as moving key factories underground and stockpiling supplies would be followed by strategic strikes in the West, especially the U.S. These strikes would target communications, airfields, command centers and various other targets difficult to take out with missiles. One of Col. Lunev’s jobs before his defection was to seek out critical locations to set up suitcase nuclear bombs. According to him, some of these bombs may already be in place in the U.S. The use of nuclear and conventional forces would then follow.

Most Americans believe that a nuclear war would surely destroy the entire planet, and therefore, no one would ever start one. But, Russia believes that nuclear war is winnable. Peter Vincent Pry, former CIA analyst whose primary task was analyzing Russian strategic forces and watching for signs of a surprise attack, says that the danger of nuclear war is increasing rather than decreasing. Our vulnerability lies in the fact that a nuclear attack can happen in a matter of minutes and we have no ABM defense. With the element of surprise, Russia’s nuclear weapons can be used with surgical precision to disarm America with relatively minor collateral damage.

The United States has long been a restraining force, using its might to ensure freedom and to protect Western ideals and democracy. In the aftermath of such a conflict, if American power was to become neutralized, nothing would stand in the way of world conquest by powers such as Russia and China. It would be suicidal for our nation not to take these concerns seriously. We must respond by increasing our national security and rebuilding our defense. Even more important, we must turn our nation back to God. For with God we have both our greatest defense and offense. V ks