Nusrat Mirza
Mike Turner, the Chairman of the United States House of Commons Intelligence Committee, has issued a cryptic warning of a “serious national security threat” facing the US. Speaking to CBS News (the American BBC), Turner stated that Russia is developing a nuclear-capable weapon that could take down satellites, thereby disrupting communications. While the American administration maintains that there is no proof of the deployment of such a weapon, the White House has emphasized that the threat is not immediate.
However, congressional leaders are scheduled to receive a briefing on the matter. Russia has categorically denied such threat, but Turner remains concerned and believes that the President of the United States of America (USA) should address the nation to provide confidence regarding this serious national security threat.
This represents a new type of security threat to America, perhaps exaggerated by the top congressman for unknown reasons. Despite America’s geographical distance from Russia, China, and other countries that have faced destabilization since the post-1945 world order, both Russia and China are actively developing weapons to overcome this distance. Supersonic glide missiles have been tested using both lower and upper space to threaten the USA’s mainland. However, USA does not consider such weapons as a threat to the United Nations, as perhaps it possesses more potent weapons to counter and deter adversaries.
The US is facing threats from Iran as well. Iran’s extended hands are operating in Lebanon as Hezbollah, in Yemen as the Houthis, and supporting militant groups in Iraq and Syria. Among them, Yemen’s Houthis pose severe threats, as Red Sea traffic is unsafe, with approximately 15% of the world’s oil and cargo ships passing through this route from Asia to Europe and America. Twelve communication cables pass through the Bab al-Mandab Strait. If these cables are damaged, all internet and communication services will be disrupted.
Additionally, as confirmed by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Iran has enriched uranium to 83%. However, enrichment to 93% would enable Iran to develop an atomic bomb. It is speculated that amidst the Israel-Hamas conflict and global unrest, Iran could emerge as a nuclear power. The United States may be hesitant to attack Iran, as Russia has been supporting this newly emerging nuclear power. On the other hand, the media is speculating that Europe and the USA are working toward regime change in Iran.
Another threat emerged in the first week of February 2024 when the USA and the Philippines, in an effort to pressure China, commenced military drills just 24 nautical miles away from China’s land. The drills lasted for two days in disputed waters and involved an aircraft carrier strike group led by the USS Carl Vinson. The US stated that the drills would enhance our ability to coordinate maritime domain awareness and other shared security interests. Armed Forces of the Philippines Public Affairs Chief Xerxes Trinidad told AFP that they took place between the Recto Bank and Scarborough Shoal, where clashes occurred last month. Beijing condemned them as “provocative military activities” aimed at “flaunting their military might.” China’s foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said the exercises were “detrimental to management and to pressurize China.”
The US considered that China would remain defensive in the South China Sea, and it did. However, China also became offensive. It organized a super task force fleet of twenty warships weighing 200,000 tons along with four Nuclear Submarines, sailing toward the western coast of the US from the Pacific Ocean. It was, in fact, a message to the USA: if they come to China’s coast, China will go to theirs, and their mainland ultimately wouldn’t be as safe as it was after World War II in 1945.
However this has created a serious situation, as the drill was supposed to end in two days, so it concluded on time. China’s maneuvering of the Super Fleet and its movement toward the American West Coast has created news, and the media sensationalized it. This movement was unprecedented, but the US took it lightly, perhaps due to reasons related to the American Election of 2024. Some US senators believe that China has a presence in Cuba, though this presence has not been discussed, and details of it have not been mentioned.
In Ukraine, the US is again on the back foot or has reduced the burden. UK concluded a defense pact instead of America or NATO which is considered a sign of weakness for America. Having discussed the above situation, one must keep in mind the American plan to restore the challenged American primacy over the world. It seems that everything, except one, is going according to plan. The United Kingdom (UK) is out of the European Union, and migration from the West to Asia and Africa has started, but it seems to be modified; the West needs manpower for the world war, but inflation is increasing as per plan, and wars in Ukraine and Gaza are in progress. The last stage of the plan is World War III, the symptoms of which are evident. Another problem that has emerged is the increasing unrest in America. Will the American administration be able to control it? If not, the American plan to re-establish its primacy will fail, and this country will come under severe threat.
The author is the Editor of Monthly Interaction.
