By Brian Tincher
Special Contributor to In Homeland Security
Lost amid the intense discussion concerning Cuba the past few days was the moves by Russian leader Vladimir Putin to bolster his nation’s military stance against the west.
According to an Associated Press report from Vladimir Isachenkov, Putin signed an updated “Military Doctrine” in response to what he sees as a direct threat by NATO in neighboring countries.
NATO responded by saying that all actions by that organization were legal compared with Russian involvement in the Ukraine. Putin is not weak or inexperienced, and his persona is one of a tough leader.
The new doctrine stipulates that Russia would consider using nuclear weapons as a response to the use of nuclear or other weapons of mass destruction against it or its allies, and also in case of aggression involving conventional weapons that “threatens the very existence” of the Russian state.
Putin, on the heels of the G-20 Summit in Australia, has few friends in the world and the Russian economy is beginning to suffer from ongoing sanctions by the west which includes restrictions on six of Russia’s largest banks.
The Ruble is still well below the U.S. Dollar in value, but according to Reuters, has strengthened lately as Russia begins to pressure exporters not abandon their foreign earnings.
The government in Moscow must get their economy back on track, just as any country would, but they also need to get the west to relieve the economic pressure that sanctions bring.
Russia is a well-equipped nuclear nation and the threat of military action, even preemptive action, could start a more direct doctrine of potential military action. Putin now has that possibility—on paper.
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