Democrats have warned that a “rogue” leader could someday take control of America’s atomic arsenal
Lawmakers push to limit US president’s nuclear authority
FILE PHOTO: A mushroom cloud rises after a nuclear detonation at a US military test site in Nevada, June 24, 1957 © AP / US Department of Energy
US Democrats in the House and Senate have introduced a bill that would force the White House to seek Congressional approval before ordering a nuclear strike, insisting the president should not have unilateral authority to start a nuclear war.
Introduced by Senator Ed Markey and Representative Ted Lieu on Friday, the ‘Restricting First Use of Nuclear Weapons Act’ would prohibit any US president from “launching a nuclear strike without prior authorization from Congress,” as well as reaffirm lawmakers’ war powers under the US Constitution.
“No president has the right or the constitutional authority to unilaterally declare war, let alone launch a nuclear first strike,” Senator Markey said in a statement, while Lieu added that “no one person should have the ability to launch a war that would end life as we know it.”
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Both lawmakers went on to accuse Russian President Vladimir Putin of “nuclear threats,” arguing that the risk of nuclear warfare “has never been clearer” amid the conflict raging in Ukraine. Moscow has dismissed such charges, however, with Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov recently stating that the US and its allies are “prone to hysterical reaction” on the subject of nuclear arms.
In their joint statement, Markey and Lieu also marked the anniversary of the April 15, 1969 shootdown of a US spy plane by North Korean forces over the Sea of Japan, claiming that an “intoxicated President Richard Nixon” ordered a nuclear strike in response. They noted that the order was “disregarded,” but said the incident nonetheless “exposed the dangerous possibility of a rogue US president ordering a nuclear strike without Congressional authorization.”
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While an American reconnaissance craft was shot down by the DPRK in 1969 and the Nixon administration contemplated a nuclear strike in retaliation, there is little evidence to support the claim that the president ordered an attack while drunk.
The two Democrats have introduced similar bills on several occasions in recent years, each seeking to rein in the president’s authority to launch nuclear strikes, but they have failed to pass. Though President Joe Biden vowed on the campaign trail to work toward a policy which would only see Washington use nuclear weapons in response to nuclear attacks, he later backtracked, instead reaffirming a longstanding US policy of using the bomb to deter conventional and other non-nuclear threats.
https://www.rt.com/news/574780-democrats-president-nuclear-powers/
BEIJING (Sputnik) - China has begun operating the world's first intelligent ultra-large oil tanker powered by methanol, the China Central Television (CCTV) reported on Monday.
The tanker, designed to transport crude oil, was successfully put into operation in the city of Dalian in China's northeastern coastal province of Liaoning, the report said. State-owned company Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Co Ltd independently designed and built the vessel, it added.
The tanker is approximately 333 meters (1,092 feet) long and can carry around 2.1 million barrels of crude oil, the CCTV reported. Designed to produce low emissions and having intelligent control capabilities, the tanker will serve the route to the Middle East, among others, according to the report.
The vessel is powered by a dual-fuel methanol engine, which reduces carbon dioxide emissions by 92% compared to conventional fuel, the CCTV reported. It is equipped with an intelligent ship platform, an intelligent liquid cargo ...
A car bomb has killed a senior General Staff member, officials have confirmed
Source: The Investigative Committee
A Russian general has been killed in a car bomb blast in Moscow, the Investigative Committee has reported.
Officials identified the victim as Lt. Gen. Fanil Sarvarov, head of operational training at the General Staff. According to the statement, an explosive device had been planted beneath the vehicle he was traveling in, and detonated on Monday morning in the southern part of the Russian capital.
The blast also damaged several other vehicles and seriously injured Sarvarov’s driver, media reports stated.
Russian officials said one line of investigation is an assassination carried out by Ukrainian intelligence services, noting that Kiev has previously used explosive devices in targeted killings of officials and public figures.
Last December, a bomb hidden in an e-scooter killed Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov, commander of Russia’s Nuclear, Chemical, and Biological Defense ...
The Israeli regime appears to be laying the groundwork for a permanent military presence in large parts of the Gaza Strip, according to a new satellite imagery analysis that documents extensive construction, infrastructure expansion, and continued destruction of Palestinian property since a ceasefire took effect in October.
Research released by Forensic Architecture, a multidisciplinary research group, and published by the Drop Site News outlet on Saturday showed that the regime had built at least 13 new military outposts inside Gaza since the ceasefire came into force on October 10, while accelerating the expansion and consolidation of 48 existing outposts.
The findings suggested that Israeli forces were not merely holding temporary positions, but physically reshaping the territory in ways consistent with long-term control.
The analysis, based on satellite images from October 10 to December 2, indicated that the regime now maintained a dense network of military infrastructure east of...
