Former MI6 spy chief claims we’re facing risk of WWIII with Trump’s finger on nuclear button
Sir John Sawers said there was a huge risk of a 'great military clash' if Russia or China misread a situation or the new President 'over-reacts to something'
THE world risks armageddon with Donald Trump’s finger on the nuclear button, the former head of MI6 claimed yesterday.
Speaking yesterday, Sir John Sawers said there was a huge risk of a “great military clash” if Russia or China misread a situation or the new President “over-reacts to something”.
The widely respected spymaster said: “I don’t think Trump quite yet knows what the pressures will be on him when he becomes President.
“We’ve seen that when he feels slighted, when he feels criticised, he reacts quite fiercely.
“If you translate that into global affairs, it could have consequences which are dangerous for everyone.”
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The terrifying comments came as the US tried to recover from a second night of carnage as anti-Trump protests swept across cities from Portland, Oregon to Milwaukee.
The new President-elect took to Twitter to praise the protesters’ “passion” – before insisting: “We will all come together and be proud!”
Washington DC and the wider world also waited with baited breath to see who the property billionaire would be appointing to his top team in the White House. Separately EU bureaucrats admitted trade talks with the White House would probably now be “frozen” for a while.
In the UK, Mr Sawers conceded that Donald Trump could build bridges with the Kremlin after a dismal deterioration in Russian-American relations under Barack Obama.
But he warned the threat of a nuclear war had got worse.
Speaking to the BBC he said: “The biggest threat is a military clash between the great powers that could have widespread devastation.
“It’s been a risk ever since nuclear weapons were invented we are getting back into a world which is quite dangerous and I think that is the biggest threat.”
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He added: “Generally the worst case scenario is that after a honeymoon period with Vladimir Putin and Xi Jingping that the relationship between America and other great powers turns more confrontational - either because Moscow or Beijing misread a situation or that a Trump administration overreacts to something.
“There are always going to be regional conflicts that have to be dealt with. But the one thing the world cannot afford is a conflict between America and Russia or America and China. That’s the biggest thing that has to be managed.”
Asked if Mr Trump’s temperament was an issue, Mr Sawers said: “Well, there’s a bit of that.”
Donald Trump is the only US president ever to reach with White House with no political or military experience. But he vowed to blow ISIS off the face of the map and earlier this year he vowed to re-authorise waterboarding for terror suspects as well as things that are “a hell of a lot worse”.
Experts claim he is likely to boost military spending by at least $1 billion after calling for 90,000 more Army soldiers, a 350-ship Navy, 100 more fighters and greater nuclear and missile defences
But he has sparked worldwide alarm by questioning whether the US would come to the defence of Baltic states in the Nato Alliance - and questioning America’s interests in Ukraine.
On Wednesday, the Centre for Economics and Business Research warned Mr Trump’s tough stance on trade could usher in a damaging era of protectionism – adding the fallout in the “worst case” could trigger World War III. CEBR chief Douglas McWilliams said: “International relations will be more fraught and there is always the risk that a President who combines inexperience and volatility will miscalculate.”
Former CIA director John Woolsey yesterday called for calm – and insisted Mr Trump was different in person to the person that has shocked millions on the campaign trail.
Mr Woolsey, the billionaire’s national security adviser, also urged Baltic states such as Estonia to be reassured that the US did not want Russia to invade. He conceded: “We have to put diplomatic effort behind that early on.”
He added: “From my experience, brief though it is, [Mr Trump] doesn’t sound nearly as exciting in the conference room as he does from the podium.”
In London yesterday the Pound flew to a five week high – becoming the best performing major currency of the week – on hopes Donald Trump’s Election will turbocharge trade talks between the US and Brexit Britain.
Sterling went above the $1.26 mark – moving back towards levels last seen before Theresa May declared she would trigger Article 50 and begin EU divorce talks by the end of March.
But experts in Europe worried that the Trump presidency could clobber business on the Continent by unleashing a new trade war. The President-elect campaigned on a promise to slap punitive tariffs on Chinese imports.
EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom yesterday admitted talks with the US about the controversial TTIP trade deal would now be “frozen”. She said: “There will be a national pause, of course, while we wait for the next administration; then, for quite some time TTIP will probably be in the freezer.
“Then what happens when it’s defrosted, I think we will need to wait and see.”
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