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US agrees to tell Russia Britain's nuclear secrets

Renae

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Information about every Trident missile the US supplies to Britain will be given to Russia as part of an arms control deal signed by President Barack Obama next week.
Defence analysts claim the agreement risks undermining Britain’s policy of refusing to confirm the exact size of its nuclear arsenal.
The fact that the Americans used British nuclear secrets as a bargaining chip also sheds new light on the so-called “special relationship”, which is shown often to be a one-sided affair by US diplomatic communications obtained by the WikiLeaks website.
Details of the behind-the-scenes talks are contained in more than 1,400 US embassy cables published to date by the Telegraph, including almost 800 sent from the London Embassy, which are published online today. The documents also show that:

WikiLeaks cables: US agrees to tell Russia Britain's nuclear secrets - Telegraph


It's going to take years to recover from the disaster that is Obama.
 
I have a hard time believing Obama or his staff would jeopardize a 70 year relationship with the U.K., without the U.K.'s knowing it.
 
I have said from early on that Obama was Anti-American and this proves it.

No one in their right mind would do this and expose out allies to this.

Obama has got to go, the sooner the better.
 
Happens all the time, but I can see why this would make a diplomatic crisis initiating material.
 
I have a hard time believing Obama or his staff would jeopardize a 70 year relationship with the U.K., without the U.K.'s knowing it.

A series of classified messages sent to Washington by US negotiators show how information on Britain’s nuclear capability was crucial to securing Russia’s support for the “New START” deal.
Although the treaty was not supposed to have any impact on Britain, the leaked cables show that Russia used the talks to demand more information about the UK’s Trident missiles, which are manufactured and maintained in the US.
Washington lobbied London in 2009 for permission to supply Moscow with detailed data about the performance of UK missiles. The UK refused, but the US agreed to hand over the serial numbers of Trident missiles it transfers to Britain.

Sadly, Obama asked for permission, was denied, did it anyway.
 
I'm sure the Brits will have something to say though...
 
Well well well, seems wikileaks isn't so evil anymore eh?
 
I have a hard time believing Obama or his staff would jeopardize a 70 year relationship with the U.K., without the U.K.'s knowing it.

70 year relationship? i think we've been going around with them in the global playground a lot longer than that.
 
70 year relationship? i think we've been going around with them in the global playground a lot longer than that.

Since WWII our two country's have been close - very close, aka, "special relationship".
 
Obama should not have authorized giving the Russians ANY information about missiles that do not belong to the US.

However, I'm not really sure what giving them serial numbers will do. So they have a better idea of how many Trident missiles the UK 'might' have. How does that help Russia?
 
Obama should not have authorized giving the Russians ANY information about missiles that do not belong to the US.

However, I'm not really sure what giving them serial numbers will do. So they have a better idea of how many Trident missiles the UK 'might' have. How does that help Russia?

Knowing how many the enemy has helps you account for them.
 
Obama should not have authorized giving the Russians ANY information about missiles that do not belong to the US.

However, I'm not really sure what giving them serial numbers will do. So they have a better idea of how many Trident missiles the UK 'might' have. How does that help Russia?

Britain has no independent Sea Launched Ballistic Missiles. The US is the only source. Giving the Russians the serial numbers of the Trident SLBMs sold to Britain tells the Russians the exact size of the British nuclear force. This information is likely to percolate internationally. It is useful in plotting first strike and counterstrike operations.
 
Knowing how many the enemy has helps you account for them.

I would argue that accounting for them is a good thing for everyone. It's not like Russia can neutralize the nuclear arsenal of both the UK and the US.
 
Knowing how many the enemy has helps you account for them.

We're past the Cold War, there isn't a threat that any country (except maybe Iran or North Korea) would actually use nuclear weapons. Who cares if they know how many Britain has, it really doesn't matter that much.

And more then that, I agree with Ockham, I'm not going to take this story at face value, I would look to see if we told the British we were going to do this before.
 
I would argue that accounting for them is a good thing for everyone. It's not like Russia can neutralize the nuclear arsenal of both the UK and the US.

I'd say you should keep posting. You're lack of serious points and flawed logic do more to discredit you then any post by another. Such fatalistically naive comments like yours get's people dead. NOT KNOWING is the great deterrent.
 
We're past the Cold War, there isn't a threat that any country (except maybe Iran or North Korea) would actually use nuclear weapons. Who cares if they know how many Britain has, it really doesn't matter that much.

And more then that, I agree with Ockham, I'm not going to take this story at face value, I would look to see if we told the British we were going to do this before.

And the First World War would end all wars too.

History can only teach if you bother to listen to her.
 
And the First World War would end all wars too.

History can only teach if you bother to listen to her.

Is there any reason to think Russia might want to start a nuclear war with the US and the UK (and by extension all of NATO)?

History shows no one is really willing to start a nuclear war.

Furthermore, current events indicate that the least politically stable countries with nuclear weapons are Pakistan, North Korea, and Iran. Russia is not part of that list.
 
On one hand, trading worthless information for tangible gains was a good move. On the other, pissing off our ally by giving away when asked not too is stupid. I'll have to wait for the British reaction to weight the cost benefit analysis. The important lesson to be learned is that it is foolish to rely on secrets when your security sucks.
 
Well well well, seems wikileaks isn't so evil anymore eh?

They just helped damage our relationship with Britain. Yeah, they are swell I tell ya.
 
I'd say you should keep posting. You're lack of serious points and flawed logic do more to discredit you then any post by another. Such fatalistically naive comments like yours get's people dead. NOT KNOWING is the great deterrent.

They know all they need to know: There's enough nukes around to end civilization as we know it.

This cold war fetish needs to end. When is the right going to stop looking at Russia as someone we need to defeat?
 
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I'll have to wait for the British reaction to weight the cost benefit analysis.

Truth is, we can never know the full extent to which this damages our credibility with our allies. And that's all our allies, not just the UK. We can be sure, however, that this sort of thing does make us look extremely untrustworthy.

Even if the UK doesn't come out in decry this publicly, I'm sure we've lost a lot of implicit trust we used to have.
 
They know all they need to know: There's enough nukes around to end civilization as we know it.

This cold war fetish needs to end. When is the right going to stop looking at Russia as someone we need to defeat?

I'm going to take the unusual step of siding with my conservative colleagues.

If this turns out to be true, **** Barack Obama.

Right or wrong our boys have died alongside yours in Iraq and Afghanistan, we committed to help you, and now Obama has turned around and screwed us.

I am half British, and I will not stand for this crap.

I thought we were allies man, this ain't cool. (this obviously not directed at you).
 
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