(Fox News) Recent talk about a potential European Union move to establish its own nuclear weapons program is being met with skepticism by some top U.S. experts on the matter.
The talk has gained momentum following the election of Donald Trump as U.S. president, and provocative moves by Russia such as its reported covert deployment of a land-based cruise missile that could target Europe with nuclear arms.
“It’s premature for a whole host of reasons,” Brian Taylor, a political science professor at Syracuse University, and an expert on Russia and post-Soviet politics, told Fox News of the notion of an EU nuclear program. “No one really knows what the U.S. policy is going to be on NATO. President Trump, during his campaign, said multiple times that he wasn’t certain NATO was a good deal for the U.S. But (U.S. Defense Secretary) Jim Mattis and (Secretary of State) Rex Tillerson said the U.S. commitment to NATO allies remains strong.”
Russia’s bold moves in recent years, Taylor said, have been triggered by its views that Western nations are bent on “undermining pro-Russian governments and extending NATO.”
And so, he said, “Russians see their [own aggression] as a justified response.” […]
Read More © Fox News
