I’m not with her when it comes to nukes

“On the issue of war and nuclear weapons, it is actually Hillary’s policies which are much scarier than Donald Trump, who does not want to go to war with Russia.”

This isn’t my opinion – this is the opinion of Green Party candidate Jill Stein. These words shocked some people. Several people I know were flabbergasted with the notion that Donald Trump is less likely to start nuclear war. These were the people who said things like “Trump will launch nukes at every foreign nation that offends him.”

In my opinion, Jill Stein is correct. First and foremost, I would like to say this is not an endorsement of Trump. This is merely my opinion on which candidate has been more hawkish. Several things Hillary Clinton has said have caused me concern. The main issue is her push for a no-fly zone over Syria. The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Joseph Dunford said this about it, responding to questions from the Senate Armed Forces Committee: “Right now, Senator, for us to control all of the airspace in Syria it would require us to go to war, against Syria and Russia.”

Now, that can change, but as of right now a no-fly zone is off the table. Also I highly doubt Russia would agree to such a proposal. Russia sees itself as in the right; after all, they see the Assad government as the legitimate government of Syria. Russia was invited by the Syrian government to help in the civil war. From Russia’s point of view, everything that has happened is legal. I doubt the legality of the actions worry Russia much, anyways. The Russians seem more concerned with ensuring that Bashar al-Assad stays in power.

But I digress. Trump has received flak for his positions on Russia. Some say that he is a puppet of Vladimir Putin. Others say Trump speaks a bit too fondly of Putin. Trump himself says he wants to work with Russia on matters that affect the world. In the end, it does not matter if the conspiratorial version is true or not. None of these options lead me to believe Trump is willing to start a war with Russia. While Russia is not the only power in the world which has nuclear weapons, it is the only power with which war is a realistic possibility.

I do not want to sound conspiratorial, myself – I do not think that war with Russia is highly likely even if Clinton wins. However, when comparing the things Clinton has said what Trump has said, I think the chance of nuclear war is higher under her than it is under him.