On August 14, the anniversary of the end of last summer’s Lebanon war, Hizballah secretary-general Hassan Nasrallah warned Israel of a “big surprise” if it initiated a new conflict in the South. Analysts immediately began speculating over the nature of the promised surprise. But what is most important to note is that Hizballah, a year [...]

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The renewed focus on nuclear programs by countries in the Middle East stems from concerns that Iran will acquire nuclear arms. An Iranian nuclear weapon may result in an accelerated effort to develop nuclear arms in many of the countries in the region.
The most likely candidate for entering the race for nuclear arms is Turkey.
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With the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the United States stood tall - militarily invincible, economically unrivaled, diplomatically uncontestable. and the dominating force on information channels worldwide. The next century was to be the true “American century”, with the rest of the world molding itself in the image of the sole superpower.
Yet with [...]

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Moscow complained this week that the United States and Europe accepted Georgia’s interpretation of a missile incident that occurred on August 6, when a Russian-made anti-radar missile (a Kh-58, called AS-11 Kilter by N.A.T.O.) fell on Tsitelubani, South Ossetia. Sweden, Latvia, and Lithuania joined the United States in a panel of experts whose mid-August report [...]

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There is a school of thought that argues that President George W. Bush is likely to strike at Iran before he leaves office. The sense is that Bush is uniquely indifferent to either Congress or public opinion and that he therefore is likely to use his military powers in some decisive fashion, under the expectation [...]

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The redeployment of commando units close to Israeli lines on the slopes of Mt Hermon has raised temperatures in Israel. Military sources comment that these Syrian units, especially trained for cross-border raids, are now in position to make a grab for Israeli territory or a surprise attack on the Israeli army position at the meeting [...]

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Right now, the list of Moscow’s unilateralist actions is probably only exceeded by those of the White House over the past six years. Take an obvious example: Russia uses its veto power on the UN Security Council to support Serbia and crush Kosovo’s hopes of independence, just as the United States uses its privilege to [...]

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It has emerged that two RAF jets have intercepted a Russian bomber over the north Atlantic.
Typhoon interceptors shadowed a Russian Tupolev-95 “Bear” reconnaissance aircraft last Friday.
It is the first time the £60m Eurofighter has been scrambled on a genuine alert since it took over defence of Britain’s airspace in June.
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WASHINGTON, Aug. 20 (UPI) — U.S. Marine Gen. Peter Pace says despite recent buildups, the Chinese military does not pose a threat to the United States.
In a recent town-hall meeting in Japan, Pace says he judges military capabilities and intentions on facts. The Chinese military capacity has been growing for the past decade. Despite the [...]

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NEW DELHI, Aug. 20 — When Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan touches down in India this week, it will be the highest-level step yet in what analysts say is a long-term effort to balance, if not contain, China’s growing economic and political might.
As Beijing’s influence in Asia and around the world has grown, their [...]

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A mystery virus that has killed tens of thousands of pigs in China has spread to 26 provinces, the agriculture ministry said Friday.
The ministry told the official Xinhua news agency that the highly infectious blue-eared pig disease was detected in north China’s Shanxi province, making it the 26th out of the country’s 33 provinces [...]

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Not all of the findings were news after disastrous deficiencies were brought to light in the ill-managed 2006 Lebanon war against Hizballah. But the negligence was now frankly traced to 1994 and 13 years of budget slashes by one government after another, including the one headed by the defense minister himself. They have left Israel’s [...]

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