John Bolton said in a recent interview that the United States must make it "clear" to Russian President Vladimir Putin that using a nuclear weapon in Ukraine "would be signing a suicide note."
Bolton, former White House national security adviser and former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said on British radio station LBC News: "We need to make clear if Putin were to order the use of a tactical nuclear weapon he would be signing a suicide note. I think that's what it may take to deter him if he gets into extreme circumstances."
Bolton added: "You can ask Qassem Soleimani in Iran what happens when we decide somebody is a threat to the U.S."
The U.S. killed Soleimani, a high-ranking Iranian military commander, in a 2020 airstrike.
Last week, Bolton criticized President Joe Biden for comments about Russia using nuclear weapons in an interview with CBS News.
"I think any time we contemplate the potential use of nuclear weapons, we've got to take it seriously. But I also think we've got to be very clear-eyed about it," Bolton said. "And I think the president's comment overstated the gravity of the situation we're in right now."
Bolton added: "I was particularly disturbed when he said, 'You know, I can't imagine the use of a tactical nuclear weapon that doesn't lead to Armageddon.' And it's that chain of causality from one demonstration use of a tactical nuclear weapon that Vladimir Putin is currently threatening all the way up to an exchange of nuclear salvos between Russia and the United States."
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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