Is the US Planning Nuclear Strikes on Russia, China?

The Republican dominated US Congress has ordered the country's intelligence agencies and the Pentagon’s Strategic Command (STRATCOM) to evaluate the probability of Russian and Chinese leaders surviving in the event of a nuclear attack on their countries.
 
The comprehensive study will evaluate whether the Russian and Chinese leadership could survive a nuclear attack and continue to operate in a post-strike environment, according to a section of the 2017 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The study proposal has been fronted by Republican Representative Michael Turner and drew bipartisan support from members who are reportedly concerned about China’s increasing military confidence and suspicion of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s objectives.
 
Even though it was passed by Congress before the inauguration of Donald Trump, lawmakers were assured that it would receive the backing by the new president once in office.
 
The document which appears to be a detailed war plan will include, “an identification of which facilities various senior political and military leaders of each respective country are expected to operate out of during crisis and wartime,” as well as the “location and description of above-ground and underground facilities important to the political and military leadership survivability. The report also points out that, "key officials and organizations of each respective country involved in managing and operating such facilities, programs, and activities” should also be identified.
 
The disclosure of the plan comes days after Trump issued an executive action calling for massive expansion of the US military, including its nuclear arsenal, to prepare for war with “near-peer competitors". The order calls for a nuclear force “to deter 21st century threats” and, menacingly, to “achieve Presidential objectives should deterrence fail.” It further calls for a plan “to achieve readiness objectives” for the use of the nuclear arsenal “by 2022.”
 
China Reacts
 
In response to the saber-rattling by Trump and other US officials, China has reportedly deployed long-range missiles to the Russian border from where they could reach the US. The Global Times semi-official English language newspaper in China recently carried an editorial urging the country to strengthen its nuclear arsenal to ‘"force" the US to respect China in the wake of the new President’s tough talk.
 
The Editorial pointed out that, “China bears the heavy task of safeguarding national security. Nuclear deterrence is the foundation of China's national security, which must be consolidated with the rising strategic risks.”
 
It said a military clash with the US is “the very last thing that China wants” but nuclear weapons must be at the cornerstone of its deterrent. Meanwhile China has also recently flight tested a new variant of a long-range missile with 10 warheads. The missile was fired from the Taiyuan Space Launch Center in central China and flew to an impact range in the western Chinese desert.
 
Russia’s Doomsday weapon
 
As US officials continued issuing provocative outbursts, Russia’s Pravda newspaper has reported that Russian Federation conducted exercises to repel a nuclear attack on Moscow and strike a retaliatory thermonuclear attack on the enemy. In the course of the operations, Russia tested the Perimeter System, known as the "doomsday weapon" or the "dead hand". The system assesses the situation in the country and gives a command to strike a retaliatory blow on the enemy automatically. Thus, the enemy will not be able to attack Russia and stay alive.  Russia and China have tested or deployed weapons in reaction to belligerent remarks by US officials and this points to a renewed cold war by the nuclear powers.
 
What is certain is that a nuclear war is no longer a theoretic issue but a stark reality the world has to contend with. Lest we forget, the US was the first country to manufacture nuclear weapons, and is the only country to have used them in combat and now seven decades later, the world faces the specter of another nuclear war, once again ignited by the US.