US National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard gave a stark warning on Tuesday in a trip to Hiroshima that “warmongers” are taking the world perilously close to nuclear war. Her remarks, delivered in a video looking back on the devastating consequences of the atomic bombing of 1945, were an indirect but sharp appeal for diplomacy.
Even though Gabbard did not say what threats she was speaking of, her comments come at a time when tensions are high with Russia. President Vladimir Putin has long suggested the use of nuclear weapons in response if the West keeps backing Ukraine. Gabbard, an ex-congresswoman who has made herself a name for provocative Russia comments, posted haunting imagery from Hiroshima, reminding everyone of the devastating consequences of the initial nuclear bomb.
The US dropped an atomic bomb made of uranium over Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, killing 140,000 individuals by the end of the year. Three days later, Nagasaki was hit by a plutonium bomb that resulted in further 74,000 deaths. Japan surrendered on August 15.
Addressing from the Hiroshima Peace Memorial, Gabbard underscored how nuclear weapons today exponentially exceed the capability for destruction of the bombs in 1945. “One nuclear weapon today could kill millions of people within minutes,” she recounted.
She condemned political leaders for increasing world tensions, implying that their individual access to nuclear bunkers had detached them from the danger threatening common citizens. “It’s up to us, the people, to speak out and call an end to this madness,” she called on them to do.
Her comments come as White House frustration with Putin’s intransigence on a ceasefire grows. Diplomatic efforts could soon come to an end, Secretary of State Marco Rubio has warned. Gabbard’s confirmation as intelligence chief last week was contentious considering she made sympathetic comments toward Russia before and criticized the eastward expansion by NATO.
Her trip to Hiroshima also precedes the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombings, which the US never officially apologized for.
