WASHINGTON DC

IN WHAT APPEARS to be a last act of bravado before he exits the stage, US President Joe Biden has decided – if decided is the word – to finally give permission for Ukraine to launch what are termed long-range missiles into Russia.

Some are trembling; others are hailing it as a chance to snatch victory from defeat’s jaws. A few are cautionary in their outlook.

“We should indeed be a little cautious about how we view this,” says German missile guru Braun Von Werner. “These weapons can travel about 300km. Russia stretches across 9,000km of territory. Even Moscow would be well outside their range. The problem is their psychological significance. British Storm Shadows have already been fired. They have an even shorter range. These kinds of missiles are useful for tactical interdiction of supplies and depots behind the Russian front. But they are not war-winners and have no strategic effect. What they have achieved is, they have given Putin an excuse to unlock his tactical nukes and threaten their use. If enough of these NATO missiles are fired, he just might lob a nuclear artillery shell into Ukraine, or something similar at a NATO country. Unlikely, but not impossible. It depends on what Trump does when he gets into office. Still, this is an escalation of the situation when both sides are tired and would like to bring matters to a conclusion. Mistakes get made in such situations. Given his state of mind, one has to ask if a man essentially deemed cognitively unfit to even stand as a candidate for the US Presidency, should be making decisions like this. I’d be afraid over the next couple of months. Just a little bit.”