Wednesday, 1 October 2008

China Confidential

Wednesday, October 01, 2008

 

US Urged to Counter Growing Chinese Missile Threat

The Washington Times says the US State Department has prepared a report urging the US to develop an anti-China missile shield. 

The United States needs new weapon systems, including missile defenses and other advanced military capabilities, to deter and counter China's steady buildup of nuclear and conventional arms, according to a draft internal report by a State Department advisory board.

U.S. defense policy has stressed missile defenses against Iran and North Korea. The report, by the Secretary of State's International Security Advisory Board (ISAB), is the first to recommend such defenses against China, including technology in space.

The draft, a copy of which was obtained by The Washington Times, said Chinese strategy goes beyond building forces capable of retaking the island of Taiwan. China seeks to "break out" by projecting power beyond its region including sea lanes that carry energy resources for its modernization, the document said.

"Using superior U.S. military technical capacities, the United States should undertake the development of new weapons, sensors, communications, and other programs and tactics to convince China that it will not be able to overcome the U.S. militarily," the report said.

The draft report presents a tough assessment of Chinese strategic modernization that goes beyond many current government and private-sector analyses that say that China's military modernization does not pose a major challenge to U.S. security interests.


Click here to continue reading.

# posted by Confidential Reporter @ 4:56 PM 
 

Pentagon: Iran Main Threat to Peace in Iraq


Although violence is down in Iraq as a result of the US troop surge, the essential character of the Iraqi conflict remains unchanged and positive trends toward ending communal strife are "fragile, reversible, and uneven."

And Iran is mainly to blame.

So says the US Defense Department in its quarterly report to the US Congress, submitted two days ago. 

Iran continues to "fund, train, arm and direct'' Shiite militia groups intent on destabilizing its neighbor; and Iranian influence in Iraq is "malign,'' the report says.

Iranian support for militants "remains a principle reason for continued violence'' in Iraq, according to the Pentagon. It adds that Iran is providing refuge and support to elements of Iraqi Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army militia that are resisting his calls to stop fighting.

# posted by Confidential Reporter @ 12:27 PM 
 

Terror Shuttle Links Tehran and Caracas

Foreign Confidential....

Tehran-Damascus-Caracas. It's a terrorist's dream and America's nightmare.

US and Latin American intelligence experts are increasingly concerned about a regularly scheduled--and crowded--commercial airline flight analysts have nicknamed the "Terrorist Shuttle." The weekly flight, which began operating in March 2007, connects Iran and Venezuela--via Syria.

The Iran AIr flight allows for easy movement of passengers, given Venezuela’s lax immigration controls, the absence of visa requirements, and ‘unofficial’ instruction to Venezuelan custom officers not to ask questions regarding whom and what comes and goes in the flight.

Iran's Revolutionary Guard and Lebanese proxy, Hezbollah, have been building up their presence in Venezuela in anticipation of a major conflict with the United States.

# posted by Confidential Reporter @ 11:52 AM 
 

Bahrain: Form Regional Group With Israel and Iran

IHT:

Bahrain's foreign minister said in an interview published Wednesday that Middle East nations should form a regional organization that includes Israel and Iran, the Arab countries' top rivals, to try to resolve their disputes.

It was a rare call for Arab countries to create a broad grouping alongside Israel and Iran. Egypt and Jordan are the only Arab nations that have peace deals with Israel and have diplomatic relations with the Jewish state. Other Arab nations have said they won't establish ties with Israel until it signs peace deals with the Palestinians and Syria.


Click here to continue reading.

Bahraini calls for Mideast org including Israel

The Associated Press
Published: October 1, 2008

CAIRO, Egypt: Bahrain's foreign minister said in an interview published Wednesday that Middle East nations should form a regional organization that includes Israel and Iran, the Arab countries' top rivals, to try to resolve their disputes.

It was a rare call for Arab countries to create a broad grouping alongside Israel and Iran. Egypt and Jordan are the only Arab nations that have peace deals with Israel and have diplomatic relations with the Jewish state. Other Arab nations have said they won't establish ties with Israel until it signs peace deals with the Palestinians and Syria.

Bahraini Foreign Minister Sheik Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa said in the interview with the Arab daily Al-Hayat that a regional organization should be formed "even if we don't recognize each other."

In a speech to the United Nations General Assembly a day earlier, Sheik Khaled called for such a Mideast organization to include countries "without exception."

Asked by Al-Hayat if it would include Israel, he replied, "with Israel, Turkey, Iran and Arab countries. Let them all sit together in one group. ... This is the only path to solve our problems."

"Why don't we all sit together even if we have differences and even if we don't recognize each other? Why not become one organization to overcome this difficult phase?" the paper quoted him as saying.

Few Arab governments are likely to accept a permanent regional forum with Israel. When the first Israeli-Palestinian peace deals were reached in the 1990s, Arab countries quickly quashed proposals that were floated that Israel be allowed to join the Arab League. Iran, which rejects the peace process with Israel, is even less likely to join a regional block with it.

Many Arab governments, dominated by Sunni Muslims, also view mainly Shiite and Persian Iran with suspicion, fearing it is trying to extend its influence in the Gulf and the rest of the region through its allies in Syria and Lebanon.

Bahrain — a pro-Western island nation with Sunni rulers and a Shiite majority — is a close U.S. ally and hosts the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet. Earlier this year, it appointed the Arab world's first Jewish ambassador as its envoy to Washington.


# posted by Confidential Reporter @ 11:41 AM 

Posted by Britannia Radio at 19:36