Some oil exporters say oil should be sold in euros, not dollars. A switch would have a substantial economic impact on the U.S. and OPEC alike.
Easily missed amid the rising outcry over oil prices is the fact that they have only been skyrocketing in dollar terms. Priced in euros—or yen, or pounds sterling—the cost of [...]

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Summary
Russia has commissioned its first surface warship designed from the ground up since the fall of the Soviet Union. It will not be the last.
Analysis
The Russian navy in November commissioned the first surface warship designed from the ground up since the fall of the Soviet Union. Despite the announcement of the prospective deployment of a [...]

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Although Russia has urged the US to agree further reductions in both countries’ nuclear stockpiles, Mr Ivanov said that Russia had to improve its “qualitative” strike potential.
The Kremlin has already announced plans to commission six or seven of its ultra-modern Topol-M intercontinental ballistic missiles a year.
The Topol-M, which can to carry up to six warheads, [...]

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When we talk about Russian long range strategic bombers, what have we got exactly? According to Periscope and other authoritative military-data sources, two types of aircraft make up the fleet — a subsonic turboprop known in the West as the Tu-95 Bear, and a swept-wing supersonic bomber called the Tu-160 Blackjack.
Are these fearsome, cutting-edge weapons [...]

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Don’t Be Misled by NIE on Iran’s Nuclear Efforts
Heritage.org, DC - 4 hours ago
The NIE also does not address related military developments, such as Iran’s missile programs, some of which make little sense unless the missiles are to be …
Despite report, Iran still a threat Chicago Sun-Times
Doves find fault with Iran report too Los Angeles Times
The Iranian [...]

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Russia said on Wednesday it would start the first major navy sortie into the Mediterranean since Soviet times, the latest move by an increasingly assertive Moscow to demonstrate its military might.
“The aim of the sorties is to ensure a naval presence in tactically important regions of the world ocean,” Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov told President [...]

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Japan plans to develop its own stealth fighter jets to compete against the rapidly advancing Chinese air force and other threats.
Officials say Japan has been searching for replacements for its aging fleet of F-4s and F-15s.
However, its hopes of buying F-22 stealth planes from Washington have been hindered by U.S. reluctance to share sensitive military [...]

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The Russian bear is back. Given his resentment of America, how scared should we be? Are we slipping back to the tensions of the Cold War? These are natural anxieties, given the triumph of Vladimir Putin’s United Russia party, which provides Putin with the popular mandate to dictate Russia’s future in an election stacked in [...]

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Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa has offered the Chinese government an airbase currently serving as one of the last U.S. military outposts in South America.
Correa said access to the air base is part of a plan for Manta to become a “doorway” for China’s entry to Latin America.
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The US National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) on Iran’s nuclear intentions is the political version of a tactical nuclear strike on efforts to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear bombs.
The NIE begins with the sensationalist opening line: “We judge with high confidence that in fall 2003, Teheran halted its nuclear weapons program.” But the rest of [...]

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