Source: Foreign Policy
by Matthew Kroenig
“When U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin met in Anchorage, Alaska, on Aug. 15, Putin was greeted by a flyover of an American B-2 strategic bomber. Such flyovers can be a show of respect for a visiting statesperson, but Putin’s reptilian brain likely also registered fear as the stealthy aircraft roared overhead. He knows better than anyone that the world’s most advanced nuclear bomber could end his life within seconds. This show of nuclear force followed closely on the heels of Trump’s order to reposition nuclear submarines to the ‘appropriate regions’ in response to threats against the United States made by former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. Some analysts have criticized Trump’s nuclear saber-rattling as dangerous. But in fact, Trump can and should ramp up nuclear threats as part of a successful negotiation strategy to bring Russia’s war in Ukraine to an end.” (08/18/25)