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There’s a line in the 1983 movie “WarGames” where Joshua, a computer-generated character inside the Pentagon’s main war computer, has this to say about nuclear war: “A strange game. The only winning move is not to play.”
A new video game called “Defcon: Everybody Dies” ($17.50 direct download, $26.25 boxed copy, not rated, [...]

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Which leads us to the second point. We should assume that other countries in Asia will also “go nuclear.”
Even before the North Korean nuke, the South Koreans have had the capacity to “become” a nuclear power at the issuance of an order and the flick of a switch. After all, if deterrence [...]

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North Korea turned a defiant face to the world yesterday, threatening to conduct more nuclear tests and to retaliate against any “harassment” by America.

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Preventing North Korea from selling nuclear materials would depend on China and Russia.
WASHINGTON — The sanctions demanded by U.S. officials in response to North Korea’s announcement this week that it had tested a nuclear device would focus on closing pathways to proliferation of weapons technology.
But U.S. officials say any such effort would [...]

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WASHINGTON, Oct 11 (IPS) - Encouraging Japan to build nuclear weapons, shipping food aid via submarines, and running secret sabotage operations inside North Korea’s borders are among a raft of policy prescriptions pushed by prominent U.S. neo-conservatives in the wake of Pyongyang’s nuclear test.

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From shipbuilding to RAM, a nuke strike on North Korea’s neighbors would take out huge layers of high-tech production. Luckily, it’s unlikely to occur.
Now that North Korea has nukes, will it use them? It’s clearly unlikely. The North for years has had the capability of incinerating much of South Korea with conventional [...]

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The Chinese see their country matching the US in terms of global influence within the next 10 years, while a majority of Americans, Chinese and Indians see the US losing its status as the world’s unrivalled superpower within the next half century, according to an international poll released on Wednesday.

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Few countries have been more affected and influenced by the United States’ defense transformation than China – and with good reason. The US increasingly regards China as the key peer challenger to its primacy in the Asia-Pacific region. China, for example, was singled out in the 2006 Quadrennial Defense Review as having, [...]

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Ever since the fall of the Soviet Union there have been worrying signs of a virulent strain of radical nationalism in Russia. The popularity of Vladimir Zhirinovsky’s ultranationalist and inaptly named Liberal Democratic Party, the rise of neo-Bolshevik racist groups that combine Nazi and communist imagery, and the rising tide of racially [...]

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For about 45 minutes, we discused how since taking office in 2000, former KGB chief-turned Russian President Vladimir Putin has built strong personal, political and military ties to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il. Putin has sold Iran and North Korea billions of dollars worth of arms [...]

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After North Korea conducted a nuclear weapon test on October 9, analysts were quick to argue that the test was opposed by Beijing and that in response to the test it was likely that China would modify its policy toward North Korea to one that more closely resembled that of the United [...]

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A Chinese-Russian alliance is forming. The Chinese client state is North Korea; the Russian and Chinese trading partner is Iran. Like China, Russia is a capitalism-utilizing dictatorship with a history of Marxism and a belief in its eventual historical conquest. Like Russia, China is a Machiavellian political actor willing to play both [...]

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ISTANBUL, TURKEY – Days before North Korea reported that it had conducted its first-ever nuclear test, it stated why it would defy the world to join the nuclear club.
“The US extreme threat of a nuclear war and sanctions and pressure compel [North Korea] to conduct a nuclear test,” the Foreign Ministry in [...]

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SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea warned on Wednesday that increased U.S. pressure over the regime’s reported nuclear test could be considered an act of war, and South Korea suggested it would build up its conventional arsenal to deal with its belligerent neighbor.

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What a pacifist constitution really means.
The nuclear weapons test in North Korea may set off a regional arms race, warns Slate’s Fred Kaplan. A new military threat could help Japan’s new prime minister revise his country’s pacifist constitution and make a push toward nuclear armament. What are the exact limits on Japan’s [...]

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South Korea’s military is checking its readiness for nuclear war in the wake of North Korea’s claimed atomic test, Yonhap news agency reported today.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff reported to Defence Minister Yoon Kwang-ung the need for verifying and improving troops’ capabilities, Yonhap said, citing unnamed military officials.

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Who would have ever imagined that poor Venezuelans might one day live in Iranian-built housing? Or that Iranian cement would become part of economic development in Venezuela?
Or that Venezuelans will soon be riding Iranian-made cars, buses, bicycles and even small planes, all assembled in Venezuela?

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The US military does not believe that air strikes on Iran are either workable or advisable, and an attack would not likely hit all major Iranian nuclear sites since US intelligence doesn’t know where they are, argues Frida Berrigan.

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MARK COLVIN: The Prime Minister John Howard and his predecessor Paul Keating don’t agree on much, but both said today that North Korea’s actions had delivered a blow to the nuclear non-proliferation treaty.
Mr Keating says he’s worried the nuclear tests could spark a regional arms race.
He’s concerned that Japan could respond to [...]

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JERUSALEM — When Israeli newspapers shook the newsstands in late September with word that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Saudi Arabian officials — perhaps even the Saudi King — had held face-to-face talks, not everyone was shocked at the revelation. The two countries have no formal relations. In fact, the official enmity [...]

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As premier Pyongyang-watcher Nicholas Eberstadt explained last week in the Wall Street Journal: “There is an eerie similarity between the ‘conference diplomacy’ involving North Korea today and earlier episodes of ‘conference diplomacy’ in Europe between World Wars I and II. While the particulars are obviously different - Germany was the strongest state [...]

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