Former Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Mike Mullen said Sunday on ABC’s “This Week” that the U.S. government should consider the possibility of Russian President Vladimir Putin using a nuclear weapon.
Anchor Martha Raddatz said, “Clearly, the U.S. wants Russia and North Korea to remember what the U.S. has in its arsenal. Do you think there’s a possibility that Vladimir Putin would actually use a nuclear weapon, even a small tactical nuclear weapon?”
Mullen said, “It’s very difficult to know what Putin is thinking at any particular time. He’s obviously spoken to this. I think we need to make sure that we consider it as a possibility, both a tactical and, God forbid, the strategic force. We have it there to deter both he and China and others that might get nuclear weapons. I certainly hope that deterrence works.”
He added, “They’re the most devastating weapons ever created on Earth. We should remind that, as the country that’s actually used them in the 1940s, how devastating they are and do everything we possibly can to make sure that they don’t get used. But they are a part of Putin’s arsenal. He’s pretty well cornered and boxed in, so we would certainly to have to consider it’s a possible action he can take.”
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