Saudi Arabia most likely would develop nuclear weapons if Iran acquires them, according to a report to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
High-level American diplomats in Riyadh with excellent access to Saudi decision-makers said an Iranian nuclear weapon frightens the Saudis “to their core” and would compel the Saudis to seek nuclear weapons, the report said. [...]

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Israel is strengthening security on its home front in a sign of war jitters. As Robert Berger reports from VOA’s Jerusalem bureau, Israel is casting a wary eye toward Iran.
Israel’s security Cabinet has decided to redistribute gas masks to the entire population amid fears of a non-conventional war with Iran. The last distribution was before [...]

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Israel’s security cabinet convened Wednesday, April 2, to examine the homeland’s preparedness for war. It decided to redistribute the bio/chemical warfare masks a few months after they were called in. DEBKAfile’s military sources disclose intelligence data indicating the possibility that Syria may transfer to Hizballah chemical or biological warheads known to have been developed for [...]

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Rethinking NATO and EU Enlargement
Summary: After the Cold War, NATO and the EU opened their doors to central and eastern Europe, making the continent safer and freer than ever before. Today, NATO and the EU must articulate a new rationale for enlarging still further, once again extending democracy and prosperity to the East, this [...]

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Not on the official [NATO] agenda, however, but forming the unofficial subtext of the session: How to counter a resurgent Russia, seeking to reassert its influence not only over the territories of the old Warsaw Pact, but across the rest of Europe as well.
In contrast to previous summits, NATO nations won’t have to guess [...]

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Almost indistinguishable from the average insect, these cyborg spies will provide our military and counter-terrorism specialists with a huge surveillance advantage.
The U.S. military could deploy the cyborgs in hostage situations or even send them into enemy barracks. The goal is to engineer insects that can fly up to 300 feet away, land within 15 feet [...]

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US author Steve Coll spent years looking into Osama bin Laden’s family. Now, his new book provides a unique insight into the clan. SPIEGEL spoke with him about where the terrorist might be hiding, how his father got his start, and the unique romantic liasons pursued by one of his brothers. more…

Photo Gallery: Who Is [...]

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Between 1972 and 1974, Pakistan had persuaded Libya, Saudi Arabia and Iraq, to fund its nuclear weapons programme. By 1977, Pakistan went into high gear to become a nuclear weapons State after having collected the basic materials necessary to acquire nuclear weapons. The first Pakistani nuclear device was tested at China’s testing site at Lopnor [...]

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Venezuela’s president Hugo Chavez is establishing an effective anti-American network of activists and supporters. With oil approaching $110 a barrel, he has transformed himself into South America’s banker, paying off the debt in Argentina, being the supplier of weapons for FARC and other radical groups and stirring up well funded political activity whenever the opportunity [...]

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China has betrayed one its closest allies by providing the United Nations with intelligence on Iran’s efforts to acquire nuclear technology, diplomats have revealed.
Beijing is believed to have decided to assist the inspectors after documents seized from Iranian officials included blueprints for “shaping” uranium metal into warheads, the testing of high explosives used to [...]

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An understatement: We are living through a time of considerable market and economic turmoil. Since we stand to see trillions of dollars’ worth of assets vaporize in the ensuing mess, we ought to take a look at history to see how we got into it, and how investors can get out.
Half a decade ago, the [...]

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Rice, fertilizer shortages, food costs, higher energy prices equal world crisis
From India to Africa to North Korea to Pakistan and even in New York City, higher grain prices, fertilizer shortages and rising energy costs are combining to spell hunger for millions in what is being characterized as a global “silent famine.”
Global food prices, based on [...]

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Syria has been calling up reservist soldiers in recent days in anticipation of an Israeli strike against Hizbullah. Damascus believes such an operation may include hits against Syria.
Specifically, Syrian sources who declined to give their names say Damascus believes Israel will strike Hizbullah, and then enter Syrian territory from Lebanon. The Beirut-Damascus Road [...]

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Iran has set up sophisticated listening stations in Syria in recent months to intercept Israeli military communications, Israeli security officials say.
The officials offered no details on how many stations had been set up. They spoke on condition of anonymity Tuesday because they were not authorized to disclose information about defense operations.
Israel is taking new precautions [...]

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Israel’s security cabinet convened Wednesday, April 2, to examine the homeland’s preparedness for war. It decided to redistribute the bio/chemical warfare masks a few months after they were called in. DEBKAfile’s military sources disclose intelligence data indicating the possibility that Syria may transfer to Hizballah chemical or biological warheads known to have been developed for [...]

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Ahead of a presidential trip to Europe built around the upcoming summit of the Atlantic alliance in Romania, President Bush said his chief goal “is to make sure NATO stays relevant.” The best way to do that, he said, is to “deal with the threats of Afghanistan.” Yet when Bush arrives in Bucharest for the [...]

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