World War 3: Doomsday clock inches closer to midnight as nuclear war imminent between these countries; experts says threat level for US is...

India.com

4 days ago

The Doomsday Clock is just 89 seconds shy of midnight. (File)
The symbolic Doomsday Clock is closest to midnight–the hour when a global catastrophe such as a nuclear war could erupt on the planet– it has been since its inception about 78 years ago, after the US decimated the Japan's Hiroshima and Nagasaki with atomic bombs on August 6 and August 9, 1945, respectively– the only battlefield use of a nuclear weapon in history. How close are we to a nuclear war?
Earlier, in January this year, the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists moved the Doomsday Clock, closer to midnight than its ever been in its 78-year history, signifying how close the world to a nuclear war in wake of the ongoing conflicts, especially the imminent war between the United States with China and Russia– the top three nuclear armed superpowers in the world today.
The symbolic clock is just 89 seconds shy of midnight, which signifies an unprecedented threat level, higher than what was witnessed during the peak of the Cold War, when the US and USSR had nuclear weapons armed and aimed at each other. Why US faces a higher nuclear threat?
According to Rebeccah Heinrichs, a nuclear expert and a senior fellow at Hudson Institute as well as the director of its Keystone Defense Initiative, the US is facing an unprecedented nuclear threat because this is the first time when its faced with two major nuclear-powered opponents, Russia and China, both of whom are rapidly developing new nuclear capabilities, and actively working together to counter Washington.
'The current nuclear threat environment is more than the pressure faced by the US during the Cold War . At that time, the US had only one nuclear rival in Soviet Union, but today China and Russia have have heavily invested in their nuclear capabilities, with the only goal being to thwart a US nuclear strike or make a preemptive one,' Heinrichs told Fox News. Which countries face the highest nuclear threat?
As per experts, the US, Russia and China face the highest level of nuclear threat despite being three of biggest superpowers on the planet and the ones with largest nuclear stockpile. Smaller players like North Korea, and India and Pakistan are unlikely to resort to nuclear weapons, unless faced with an existential threat, while there are also concerns over Iran's alleged nuclear ambitions and Israel opting for the nuclear option, they say.
Several western experts have blamed the increased threat level on Russia's alleged flouting of international nuclear treaties and China's insistence on expanding its nuclear arsenal, while other believe that the US under Donald Trump and his tariffs, is pushing Washington's rivals to enhance their nuclear capabilities.
Despite growing nuclear threats from North Korea and concerns over the Iranian nuclear program, the threat level is limited to the three biggest players in the nuclear field: Russia, the US and China. The increased threat is attributed to Russia's refusal to abide by international nuclear treaties and China's insistence on expanding its nuclear arsenal. Is World War 3 imminent?
Last month, Russia media reports, citing experts and analysts close to the Kremlin, claimed that NATO is preparing for a major conflict with Russia, amid heightened tensions between Moscow and the US-led Western powers due to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war. Experts believe that such a conflict could potentially trigger World War 3 as Russia's allies like China would step in military, resulting in a global conflict.
Its believed these reports are designed to prepare the Russian citizens for a major war with NATO, including a nuclear conflict.