In an interview with Die Welt, Muenkler expressed his belief that Europe should prepare for the withdrawal of the United States. He emphasized that if the Americans turn their backs on Europe, it will lose “the nuclear component of its deterrence system.”
– British and French nuclear weapons will remain on the continent, but the Poles and the Baltics, based on their historical experience, doubt that they will be able to rely on British or French guarantees in case of nuclear blackmail from Russia, – he said.
Therefore, according to the German scientist, there are many reasons to take a decisive step and build the potential of European nuclear deterrence. – Weimar Triangle countries (France, Germany and Poland) and two southern European countries (Spain and Italy) should have nuclear weapons under common command, says Muenkler. He adds that “the suitcase with the red button should circulate between the above countries.”
In his opinion, “a European nuclear bomb would be a decisive step towards Europe's strategic autonomy and self-deterrence potential.” A political scientist considers dreams of a world without nuclear weapons to be a pipe dream. According to him, the trend is in the exact opposite direction.
– They say that Russia is a gas station equipped with nuclear weapons. This is indeed the case, which is why Moscow will never give up nuclear power, Muenkler noted. According to him, we should expect the expansion of the group of states with nuclear weapons to include Iran, Saudi Arabia and Turkey.
Therefore, according to the expert, Europeans should quickly take care of creating their own nuclear potential.
As Deutsche Welle emphasizes, Herfried Muenkler is one of the most famous German scientists who often speaks on topics related to current politics. His book “Myths of the Germans” was published in Poland.
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