The government is hoping that a 60-mile race among up to 20 driverless, self-guided vehicles will yield technological advances that can save lives on the battlefield.The U.S. government’s military research arm, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), this week is gearing up for the Urban Challenge, to be held Saturday, Nov. 3 at the [...]

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Sixty-five years after World War II’s Battle of Midway, the United States remains the world’s only naval superpower. U.S. planners now face the challenge of preserving that dominance while adjusting to a new world of threats. A maritime strategy unveiled October 17—a partnership involving the Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard—advocates a shift from sea [...]

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Colombian President Alvaro Uribe is Washington’s closest ally in Latin America, while Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez is an anti-American firebrand. Yet a recent warming between the two leaders, prompted by Venezuela’s offer to help Colombia negotiate with one of its guerilla groups, is raising eyebrows and provoking questions about the direction of U.S.-Colombia relations. “How long [...]

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Experts say the nuclear ambitions of majority Sunni Muslim states such as Libya, Jordan, Yemen, and Saudi Arabia are reactions to Shiite Iran’s high-profile nuclear bid, seen as linked with Tehran’s campaign for greater influence and prestige throughout the Middle East.
“To have 13 states in the region say they’re interested in nuclear power over the [...]

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China’s space effort undergoing a sea change
MSNBC - 7 hours ago
More powerful units are created by strapping add-on segments to the sides of core vehicles. It is the same basic shape as is used by Chinese military …
New Chinese rocket raises concerns of arms race in space Guardian Unlimited
China to Build New Space Rockets The Associated [...]

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The conclusion of this six-part series extrapolated from the Military Guide to Terrorism emphasizes our military experts’ professional assessment of what we should expect from terrorists as we go forward into a dangerous future. Which are our best options?
Terrorism of the Foreseeable Future
“Today’s extreme Islamist groups such as al-Qaida do not merely seek political revolution [...]

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Unconfirmed report raises questions, sets bloggers blogging
DEBKAfile, an Israeli news organization, yesterday published a report stating that counter-terrorism sources have intercepted and translated an Arabic “Internet announcement” that proposes an attack on Western electronic targets to begin on November 11. The attack will begin with 15 targets and will expand to “untold numbers,” according to [...]

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MOSCOW (Reuters) – The former head of the Soviet KGB warned on Wednesday that a conflict between rival Russian security services could lead to “big trouble” and urged feuding clans to unite around President Vladimir Putin.
Details have emerged of a feud between rival groups of secret service officers who form the bedrock of Putin’s team. [...]

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Until a few years ago, the suggestion that India could grow as fast as China belonged to the same category as other incredible pronouncements by ‘fact-proof’ politicians.
There was little by way of hard data to back up such a claim. But now no longer.
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The new Long March 5 rockets, which can be used to carry communication satellites and lunar probes, will be able to hold greater weight than the current batch.
They signal China’s ambitions to have a greater presence in space in the next 30 to 50 years and desire to compete in the global market to launch [...]

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