Could Russia's Economic Meltdown Lead To Loose Nukes? -- The Hill
Senior lawmakers alarmed by Russia's collapsing economy fear some of the nuclear power's atomic arsenal could fall into the wrong hands.
While officials say there's no immediate reason to think Russia's weapons could be sold off to the highest bidder or stolen, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) intends to hold hearings next year on what Moscow is doing to keep its nukes safe.
“We’re going to be taking on that whole issue in Armed Services Committee and we’ll be figuring out what needs to be done,” McCain, who will chair the panel in the next Congress, told The Hill. “Particularly, the state of the nuclear inventory.”
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My Comment: I asked that question when the Soviet Union was collapsing .... and I asked the same question in 1993 when the Russian constitutional crisis erupted in bloodshed .... in both cases the answer (from people who know these things) was the same .... no. Flash forward to today .... the restrictions and protections on Russia's nuclear weapons are even more extensive (thanks to U.S. cooperation since the fall of the Soviet Union) .... so the possibility of even one nuclear device disappearing is inconceivable. But I will concede that if history is any indication .... even the inconceivable has a habit of becoming conceivable .... much to the surprise of those who believed that it would never happen. I look forward to Senator McCain's hearings .... and I hope that it will be done in a non-political and open minded manner.
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