WASHINGTON - Two weeks ago, Pentagon officials discussed a strategy to escalate US pressure on Iran with the intention of creating the impression that the United States is ready to go to war, according to an account by one of the participants.
A meeting at the Pentagon in mid-February was said by a participant to have [...]

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The Bush administration has selected the design for America’s first new nuclear warhead in nearly two decades.
US officials say the warhead will not add to the country’s nuclear arsenal, but will replace existing missiles.
Critics, though, argue this sends the wrong signal at a time when the White House is leading efforts to curb Iran and [...]

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A remarkable strategic debate has opened up in the Russian media about the merits and pitfalls of withdrawing from the Intermediate Nuclear Forces Treaty. As we reported in BMD Focus last week, Russia’s most senior generals have already publicly served notice that the Kremlin is prepared to pull out of the more than 19-year-old INF, [...]

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Mercosur, the “Common Market of the South,” is the largest trading bloc in South America. Mercosur’s primary interest has been eliminating obstacles to internal trade, like high tariffs, income inequalities, or conflicting technical requirements for bringing products to market. Yet Venezuela’s recent addition to the group has experts wondering if Mercosur will reorient itself as [...]

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Vladimir Putin’s February 11 visit to
Saudi Arabia was the first ever for any Russian or Soviet leader. Putin also visited US allies Jordan and Qatar. Coming from Munich where Putin delivered his most bellicose anti-American speech, he further delineating a Russian Middle Eastern policy at odds with Washington in an interview with Al Jazeera. [...]

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Iran, which may face additional United Nations sanctions after defying a deadline to stop uranium enrichment, was China’s leading supplier of crude oil in January.
Shipments from Iran, holder of the world’s second-largest oil reserves, rose 13 percent from a year earlier to 2.1 million tonnes, according to General Administration of Customs figures received Thursday. Imports [...]

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Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian on Friday warned China’s leaders that his island was “very likely to take more actions toward further independence” and that China itself was to blame.
China’s missile deployments and “very hostile posture toward Taiwan” would drive the island’s 23 million people toward more autonomy, Chen said in an exclusive interview with Deutsche [...]

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China’s military is engaged in a major buildup of submarines that includes five new strategic nuclear-missile boats and several advanced nuclear-powered attack submarines, according to the Office of Naval Intelligence.
The new nuclear-powered missile submarines (SSBNs), identified as Type 094s, will be outfitted with new 5,000-mile range JL-2 missiles that “will provide China with a modern [...]

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