There has been a lot of discussion recently of Iranian involvement in Latin America, especially with the recent plot involving an assassination attempt against the Saudi ambassador to the United States. Of course, a lot of people are going to Latin America these days: the Russians, the Chinese— and even the Europeans. That’s because the region is abundant in natural resources, especially energy, and it offers the potential of emerging markets. Unfortunately, Iran is looking to make a less-than-friendly mark in Latin America, especially for the United States. Tehran has …
While China has a seafaring past, in modern times, it has not been known for its navy. The ground forces of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA)—the collective name for China’s armed forces—has long been the dominant military service in the People’s Republic of China. In fact, it has been said anecdotally that the country’s founder, Mao Zedong, was so focused on the army after taking power in 1949 that it was not until 1953 that he made his first tour of the Chinese navy, spending a few days, possibly reluctantly, …
One of the common “sky is falling” claims of Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) supporters like Hillary Clinton and John Isaacs of the Council of a Livable World is that unless this treaty with Russia is ratified, we’ll have nothing binding to make us continue reducing our nuclear weapons arsenal. Those claims are just plain false, and the Obama Administration should acknowledge that fact –now. Today, the levels of strategic nuclear weapons in the U.S. and Russia are governed by the Bush-era Moscow Treaty or as its technically known, …
The Left is desperately trying to convince us that Senate ratification of the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) is inevitable, but, as Henry Sokolski points out, the real debate is only beginning. The Left has accused the treaty’s opponents of (among other things) suffering from a “bias problem,” implying that the perceived consensus in support of the treaty somehow overrides the value of an honest inquiry into its terms. Others say it is just a matter of the Right’s being politically contrarian, or just not liking arms control. In …
Over at National Review Online they asked experts to weigh in on the situation with Iran and Heritage Expert Peter Brookes was asked to share his thoughts. Hey, Mr. President, how’s that engagement policy with Iran working out for you? Not so well, from what I can tell. While you were busy hoping for a breakthrough, holding fast to the Pollyannaish foreign-policy notion that “if we’re nice to them, they’ll be nice to us,” the situation in Iran has only gotten worse over the last year — and precipitously so. …
Last week, I wrote a column in the New York Post, questioning the Obama administration’s proposed plan for missile defense in Eastern Europe which will replace the Bush-era ground-based interceptors (GBI) in Poland and radar in the Czech Republic. I especially questioned the ability of the new Obama system to defend the United States against an Iranian ICBM until their land-based SM-3 comes on-line around 2020. This Saturday, the Director of the Missile Defense Agency, Lt. Gen. P. O’Reilly, responded, writing in part: Contrary to Brookes’ assertion, with our long-range …
What a shock: Iran has another undeclared nuclear facility that is likely supporting a nuclear weapons program. Yes, that’s right; press reports indicate that earlier this week Iran finally got around to notifying the U.N.’s International Atomic Energy Agency of a previously undisclosed nuclear-enrichment facility on a military base near the city of Qom. Here are seven things to note about this disturbing development, based on what we know this morning: 1. An additional enrichment facility allows Iran to make more enriched uranium faster. 2. If this facility is up …
First came the May brouhaha between House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and CIA Director Leon Panetta over the agency allegedly misleading Congress about interrogations, which the recently-minted head spook refuted at the time. But like a double-agent, Panetta has now changed sides, reportedly telling Congress that the CIA withheld information from the Hill on another post-9/11 intelligence program, targeting al Qaeda. According to the media, the CIA conceived the program, but it was never “operationalized”; that is, it was never put into practice. Moreover, then-Vice President Dick Cheney reportedly directed that Congress not …
Since 2003, when negotiations began over Iran’s nuclear program, there has been no shortage of warnings, reports and punitive sanctions voiced, written or imposed by the international community. (A quick count shows at least three punitive European Union sanctions, four US sanctions, five U.N. resolutions, 20 IAEA reports, and an untold number of informal warnings.) Unfortunately, none have succeeded in slowing–much less stopping–Iran’s atomic ambitions, which many increasingly believe has a military dimension. But despite this track record, President Nicholas Sarkozy of France issued yet another ultimatum, stating: “Group of …
