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The world woke up to two starkly different messages in quick succession: Vladimir Putin publicly celebrated a test of Russia’s feared Poseidon nuclear-capable underwater drone, and President Donald Trump ordered the Pentagon to resume U.S. nuclear testing. The timing is unmistakable — these are moves in a high-stakes game of deterrence and messaging between the great powers.
Mr. Trump made his instruction public just as he prepared for diplomatic engagements in Asia, saying the United States must test “on an equal basis” with rivals that have been accelerating their programs. The announcement marked a sharp break with three decades of U.S. restraint and shoved the debate over deterrence back into the national spotlight.
What Putin touted as a triumph — a nuclear-powered, hard-to-detect underwater drone with terrifying implications for coastal cities — is exactly the sort of asymmetric escalation that demands an answer. Russian claims about speed, depth and devastating yield raise real alarm bells; this system was designed to make Western defenses think twice.
Critics immediately wailed about an arms race and the collapse of arms control norms, but those warnings come from the same crowd that ignored decades of Russian and Chinese modernization until it was inconvenient for their narrative. The reality is that weakness invites aggression, and Americans should remember that deterrence — not hand-wringing — has kept the peace.
Conservatives should be unapologetic about backing a president who refuses to let adversaries dictate America’s strategic choices. This isn’t warmongering; it’s posture. A visible, credible willingness to test and modernize weapons systems forces adversaries to account for consequences and gives American negotiators leverage at the table.
The left-wing media and Beltway elites are already painting the move as reckless and reckless only if you accept surrender as an option. Their reflex is predictable: every sign of strength gets recast as danger. But Americans who love liberty know the difference between measured strength and needless aggression — and this administration’s critics are cheap at both.
There is a responsible path forward: measured, transparent tests of delivery systems and warheads to ensure our deterrent works — not a panic that forces us into strategic paralysis. Even Pentagon officials noted uncertainty about the specific scope of the president’s order, which suggests Washington can calibrate the response rather than stumble into catastrophe.
Patriots should rally behind a policy that protects our families, shores, and freedoms. If showing strength today prevents a shooting war tomorrow, then prudence lies with the strong. Let the elites tremble at the thought of real deterrence; hardworking Americans know it’s better to be prepared than to beg for mercy.
