Russia’s new military doctrine, which is to come into force in 2010, has provoked a heated debate, first of all because it stipulates preemptive nuclear strikes.
Moreover, it says that nuclear weapons may also be used in local conflicts in case of critical threats to Russia’s national security.
It is funny that the article speaks of NATO and even Japan (!) as potential foes that might justify use of nukes by Russia, but one country is not mentioned at all despite the obvious implications of Russia's doctrine.
There is no mention of China.
Russia is not a global power. Russia is a major power that would have some weight if it was the size of Ukraine, but which is virtually defenseless given the fact that it spans two continents. Russia can hurt Georgia or sterilize the planet with nukes. Anything in between is pretty much out of their reach.
And the biggest "in between" that Russia must contemplate is the threat China poses to Russian control of the Far East. Get real, Russians. NATO is not threat to you and Japan is not a threat. I can understand why a weak Russia would not want to openly name China as the major conventional military threat, but I hope that in private you aren't so foolish as to believe a conflict over Latvia could lead to nuclear war with NATO.
The dog that did not bark can rip your leg off.
