Janne M. Korhonen
Finally listened The Wargame podcast. Very much recommended for MÖPs and #defence nerds. ESPECIALLY important for discussions about independent #NB8 #nuclear #deterrent & #strategy. Just listen to how much real, veteran British politicians rely on it! podcasts.musixmatch.com/podcast/the-...

The Wargame Podcast Transcript...
Dec 8 at 10:10amWeb
Show threadJanne M. KorhonenDec 8
I've mentioned previously that one big reason to obtain independent #nuclear capability is to pressure your _allies_ to come to your aid: to tell them that if you're left alone, you may have no other options than to escalate to Armageddon. Gratifying to hear this is EXACTLY how the Brits play it.
Show threadJanne M. KorhonenDec 8
As the podcast presenter Deborah Haynes said above, it was striking - even to me - just how much mileage the British veteran politicians and security and military experts, who played the Cabinet in this exercise, got from their rather modest nuclear arsenal. I believe they were right.
Show threadJanne M. KorhonenDec 8
The possession of *independent* nuclear arsenal means that your country can no longer be credibly threatened with maximalist aims, like total conquest. Because even for the Kremlin, there aren't political objectives important enough to lose Moscow, St. Petersburg and a few other large cities for.
Show threadJanne M. KorhonenDec 8
And the knowledge that pushing a nuclear-armed country too far risks nuclear retaliation *will* limit the adversary's aims well short of maximal. Nuclear weapons are no panacea, nor can they substitute for conventional defence. But they *are* THE backstop.
Show threadJanne M. KorhonenDec 8
It is therefore a grotesque *and* a dangerous situation that countries that need such backstop the most do not have it. It makes Europe less safe. Because the Kremlin may well make yet another strategic miscalculation, possibly one that leads to a disastrous escalation.
Show threadJanne M. KorhonenDec 8
And the risk of such a miscalculation is greatly increased with the current U.S. administration and its new National Security Strategy. jmkorhonen.net/2025/12/05/w...

When the umbrella starts to le...
When the umbrella starts to leak: Securing NATO’s Eastern Flank after the new U.S. security strategy

The new U.S. National Security Strategy shifts the United States to an unreliable ally at best – an active threat at worst. Europe and in particular NB8 countries on NATO’s Eastern Flan…

The unpublished notebooks of J. M. Korhonen
Show threadJanne M. KorhonenDec 8
PS. By the end of the exercise, the Brits were considering sending the 16 Air Assault Brigade to northern Norway to threaten Murmansk, to place a strategic dilemma for the Russian team. Not a great idea. One of the most difficult terrains in the world to advance. One road. For >200 km.