Thinktank reports on messy ‘nonpolar’ world and urges new psychological warfare
The United States is still powerful enough to shape an agenda for international activity but too weak to implement it globally as it faces uncertain prospects in Iraq, an escalating confrontation over Iran’s nuclear ambitions and a robust challenge to its military hegemony from an [...]

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Moscow (CNSNews.com) - Iran is urging Russia to launch a gas exporting grouping similar to the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), but Moscow has yet to throw its support behind the controversial idea.
Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, announced that Iran was prepared to cooperate with Russia to create a gas cartel.
“Iran and [...]

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MOSCOW, January 31 (RIA Novosti) - Russia’s Defense Ministry will spend over 860 billion rubles ($32.42 billion) of federal budget funds in 2007, 23% more than in 2006, a ministry official said Wednesday.
Military spending will account for 16% of overall federal budget expenditure. Under this year’s budget, signed into law by the president at [...]

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Russia feels bullied over legitimate business with Iran
BERLIN: The United States is urging its allies to go beyond UN sanctions against Iran over its atomic programme and choke off foreign investment but is meeting strong Russian and European resistance, Western diplomats said.
“A number of countries, especially Russia, feel the United States is bullying them to [...]

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From the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction to terrorism, from human rights to democratization, the Islamic Republic of Iran cuts across a wide range of American concerns. The American leaders routinely characterize Iran’s meddling in Iraqand its nuclear ambitions as a grave threat, while often musing about the eventual necessity of using military force [...]

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Iran’s civil society is experiencing major breakdowns, the country’s reformist press and Web loggers are reporting. Signs of growing economic instability include high inflation, rising prices, food shortages, and long lines at gas stations.
In the first week of January, 150 deputies at the Majlis, Iran’s Parliament, openly criticized President Ahmadinejad’s handling of such issues. The [...]

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BAGHDAD, Iraq Jan 31, 2007 (AP)— Citing Iranian involvement with Iraqi militias and Tehran’s nuclear ambitions, the Bush administration has shifted to offense in its confrontation with Iran building up the U.S. military in the Persian Gulf and promising more aggressive moves against Iranian operatives in Iraq and Lebanon.
The behind-the-scenes struggle between the two nations [...]

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We asked ourselves, “Why would China be revealing these apparently new, and to some frightening, capabilities at this time?”
We discovered a mixture of reasons after questioning several current and former officials of the State and Defense Departments in the US along with former National Security Council staff members and some well known “China watchers”. We [...]

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Hugo Chavez came one step closer to becoming a full-fledged dictator on January 17. As the Associated Press reported, “Venezuelan lawmakers gave their initial approval to a bill granting President Hugo Chavez the power to rule by decree for 18 months so that he can impose sweeping economic, social and political change.” The vote in [...]

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Iran could be only two or three years away from being able to produce a nuclear weapon, the head of a leading international security think tank in London said.
John Chipman, of the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), said Iran had stockpiled 250 tonnes of uranium hexafluoride (UF6), which, when enriched, would be enough for [...]

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Yesterday Chinese leader Hu Jintao set off on an epic tour of Africa, during which he will visit eight African countries in twelve days. It is expected that, in addition to signing trade agreements, Mr. Hu will lobby for the deployment of Chinese peacekeepers on the continent, particularly in war-torn Darfur, where Chinese state-owned oil [...]

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Iran’s schools are nurturing a siege mentality in children with textbooks showing preparations for war and depicting Israel and the West as the enemy, an Israel-based think tank said on Tuesday.
One textbook gave 13-year-olds a basic overview of light arms while one early reader book depicted the murder of a Palestinian toddler by an Israel [...]

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From the rubble of the Soviet Union, a new Russia has arisen. Where is it headed?
Russia’s response to the 9/11 attack on America was similar to most other nations: sympathetic and supportive. Moscow even surprised some by offering the U.S. military access to former Soviet bases in Central Asia in the war in Afghanistan.
Some believed [...]

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Beijing’s decision to launch a ground-based ballistic missile to destroy one of its weather satellites on Jan. 11 has left many scratching their heads about what it seeking to accomplish.
The decision to test this sophisticated new weapon was not random, but rather part of a strategy to gain military respect and manifest China’s dissatisfaction with [...]

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Both Russia and China have exceedingly different foreign policy aims than the United States, and domestic complexities inevitably have distanced Moscow and Beijing from Washington on a series of pressing international matters. The common aspiration to produce a multipolar world has driven Russia and China to effectively align against the United States incorporating a skilled [...]

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World war III: Judging from recent actions, the U.S. can no longer rely on either Europe or Russia for real help as we try to bring a renegade Iran to heel. This must be kept in mind as Iran’s threat grows.
Iran is moving steadily forward in pursuit of its three main goals: (1) becoming a [...]

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North Korea and Iran are cooperating in developing long-range missiles, the deputy director of the Pentagon’s Missile Defense Agency said yesterday.
Army Brig. Gen. Patrick O’Reilly said during a speech that North Korea test fired a long-range Taepodong missile in July, and Iran is working on a space launcher that would help [...]

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Russia uses its vast oil and gas resources to trigger shifts in power equations, effectively eroding the West’s post-Cold war gains.
THE year 2007 will see the confrontation between Russia and the West over the energy resources of the former Soviet Union gain new intensity. Throughout the past year the West watched with mounting alarm as [...]

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Axis Of Evil: Iran has announced the conversion of its most powerful missile into a satellite launch vehicle. A missile that can put an object in orbit can also put a warhead on a target far away.
As its centrifuges whirl away enriching uranium into weapons-grade material suitable for use in warheads destined for use against [...]

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The government of Venezuela plans to buy anti-missile systems from Russia, local media reported quoting the country’s Defense Minister Raul Baduel. The cost of the deal to acquire Tor-M1 rockets is estimated at $290 million.
Tor M1 is the only system in the world, which is capable of detecting and tracking up to 48 targets and [...]

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The Russians are going ballistic over the possibility the United States will deploy a missile-defense system in Central Europe in the coming years.
The United States insists the defense shield is to guard us - and our friends and allies - against the growing North Korean and Iranian threats. But Russia denounces these systems as “destabilizing.”
Washington [...]

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