New Missile Crisis Threatens to Plunge the Globe Into a State of Turmoil

It Has Been 63 Years Since the Cuban Missile Crisis, and Now a New Missile Crisis Threatens to Plunge the Globe Into a State of Turmoil

Michael Snyder

In 1962, the U.S. was absolutely determined to keep Russian missiles out of Cuba, because any Russian missiles launched from Cuba could potentially deliver nuclear warheads to major U.S. cities on the east coast in just minutes.  After all these years, now we are facing another missile crisis.

The Russians are considering sending Kalibr cruise missiles that are capable of carrying nuclear warheads to Venezuela, and the U.S. is considering sending Tomahawk cruise missiles that are capable of carrying nuclear warheads to Ukraine.  Meanwhile, the Middle East is on the verge of being destabilized as well.

On Tuesday, news that Russia may send “its most advanced hypersonic missiles to Venezuela” caught a lot of people by surprise…

Russia could send its most advanced hypersonic missiles to Venezuela as tensions with the United States escalate.

Alexei Zhuravlyov, deputy chairman of Russia’s parliamentary defense committee, told Russian news outlet Gazeta.Ru there were “no obstacles” to providing the Oreshnik or Kalibr missiles to the “friendly” nation.

“Russia is actually one of Venezuela’s key military-technical partners. We supply the country with nearly the entire range of weapons, from small arms to aviation. The details and volumes of deliveries are classified, so the Americans might be in for a surprise. I see no obstacles to providing our friendly nation with new systems such as the Oreshnik or the well-proven Kalibr missiles. No international commitments restrict Russia in this regard,” Zhuravlyov said.

The Russians must not do this.

Kalibr cruise missiles are capable of carrying nuclear warheads, and they can travel at speeds of up to 1,864 mph.

When they are in the air, U.S. officials would not be able to determine if they are carrying nuclear warheads or not.

The reason why Venezuela wants Russian missiles so badly is because the U.S. has been openly threatening the regime of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

The U.S. has accumulated a very large force in the region, and according to the New York Times President Trump is surrounded by advisers that are urging him to take action to remove Maduro from power…

The Trump administration has developed a range of options for military action in Venezuela, including direct attacks on military units that protect President Nicolás Maduro and moves to seize control of the country’s oil fields, according to multiple U.S. officials.

President Trump has yet to make a decision about how or even whether to proceed. Officials said he was reluctant to approve operations that may place American troops at risk or could turn into an embarrassing failure. But many of his senior advisers are pressing for one of the most aggressive options: ousting Mr. Maduro from power.

Maduro fully understands what is going on, and he is desperate for the Russians to help him.

But if the Russians give cruise missiles to Venezuela, I think that President Trump will definitely give cruise missiles to Ukraine.

And if Ukraine starts firing Tomahawk cruise missiles at Moscow and other major Russian cities, that will put us right on the brink of nuclear war.

So hopefully the Russians will realize that sending cruise missiles to Venezuela would be a really bad idea.

Meanwhile, I am extremely concerned by what I am seeing in the Middle East.

Hezbollah has been rebuilding its forces, and Israel has been responding with targeted airstrikes.

But that hasn’t been enough to deter Hezbollah, and Fox News is reporting that the IDF is now “weighing broader operations”…

As Hezbollah rebuilds its forces and Lebanon is accused of failing to enforce the ceasefire terms brokered last year, Israel’s defense minister has fired off a warning to Beirut.

On Sunday, Defense Minister Israel Katz said, “Hezbollah is playing with fire, and the president of Lebanon is dragging his feet,” he said. “The Lebanese government’s commitment to dismantle Hezbollah’s weapons and remove it from southern Lebanon must be realized. Enforcement will continue and deepen — we will not allow a threat to the residents of the north.”

His warning comes as Fox News Digital has learned that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) is weighing broader operations against the Iran-backed terrorist group after repeated violations of the truce.

If Hezbollah would just abide by the terms of the ceasefire, conflict could be avoided.

But that was never going to happen, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is warning that his nation is ready to do whatever is necessary…

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday said Hezbollah was looking to rearm and that Israel would do whatever is necessary to prevent that from happening.

“Hezbollah is constantly taking hits, but it’s also trying to rearm and recuperate,” said Netanyahu at the start of the weekly cabinet meeting,

“We expect the Lebanese government to uphold its commitments, namely, to disarm Hezbollah. But it’s clear that we’ll exercise our right to self-defense as stipulated in the ceasefire terms,” he said.

I think that it is just a matter of time before Israel and Hezbollah start going at it again.

And I think that the same thing is true for Israel and Iran.

Instead of backing down, the Iranian government has announced that it intends to construct eight new nuclear power plants…

Tehran will build eight nuclear power plants, with help from Russia, on its northern and southern coastlines, AEOI chief Mohammad Eslami said on Sunday, according to Iranian media.

The Iranians insist that their nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only.

But everyone agrees that they have enriched uranium far beyond what is needed for peaceful purposes…

Iran still has hold of uranium enriched at 60 percent, and it is “very, very important” for international investigators to work out how it’s being used, Grossi told The Associated Press last week. Tehran could build as many as 10 nuclear bombs with its stockpile, should it take the step to weaponizing the material, he said.

If Iran keeps going down this path, war is inevitable.

At the same time, the U.S. and Russia both continue to make moves that are bringing us closer to a major showdown.

We are living in such perilous times, and yet most of the population still has no idea what is really going on out there.