Britannia Radio

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

 

US Didn't Use Best Radar to Track N. Korean Missile

On March 31, China Confidential published Riki Ellison's essay on the U.S. failure to deploy its best sea-based radar system to track North Korea's planned launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile. Clickhere to read Bill Gertz's exclusive report on the U.S. failure. 

China Confidential can confirm that the Obama administration was reluctant to do anything that could possibly provoke Pyongyang ahead of the April 5 missile launch, which violated a 2006 United Nations Security Council resolution prohibiting the rogue state from engaging in ballistic missile activities. There was a tacit understanding between the administration and China--North Korea's most important ally and America's biggest banker--to downplay the launch.

# posted by Confidential Reporter @ 1:11 PM links to this post 

 

Oil-Exporting Gulf of Guinea Plagued by Piracy

A deadly mix of anarchy, armed gangs and piracy have turned Africa's Gulf of Guinea into "a minefield." Click here to read David Lewis' excellent report on the region, which will provide the United States with 25% of its oil within five years.

China, too, is deeply dependent on the Gulf for oil imports.

# posted by Confidential Reporter @ 12:51 PM links to this post 

 

Aiming at Israel, Gul Calls for Nuke-Free Zone

Turkish President's Statement Pegged to Obama-Medvedev Pledge

Turkey's President Abdullah Gul called on Wednesday for a nuclear-free Middle East. 

Gul expressed hope that a U.S.-Russian pledge to eradicate nuclear weapons will encourage the region. U.S. President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev have pledged to seek a deal by July on cutting their nuclear arsenals, work for a nuclear-free world and coordinate policy on Iran and North Korea. 

"The Middle East should be a zone free of weapons of mass destruction," Gul said. "We are going through times where hopes for multilateral diplomacy to weigh in once again are on the rise. That is why I take the new U.S. administration's statements on disarmament and the joint statement by presidents Obama and Medvedev early this month very seriously." 


Pillar of U.S. Policy

Obama visited Turkey in early April and held talks with Gul. As China Confidential reported yesterday, the Obama administration sees Turkey--and Iran--as the pillars of a new U.S. policy toward the Middle East. Israel's importance is being steadily downgraded.

Gul's statement was aimed at Israel. The Islamist-leaning Turkish president is one of several regional leaders focusing attention on Israel's assumed nuclear arsenal--a deterrent that prevents its enemies from launching an all-out war of annihilation. The propaganda campaign, which is being encouraged by regional/religious rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran is intended (a) to put Israel on the political defensive ahead of a possible Israeli preemptive attack on Iranian nuclear arms and missile installations, and (b) to condition world opinion to accept a compromise "package" that will allow Iran to become an undeclared nuclear power or to seemingly stop short of actually making nuclear weapons.

China Confidential analysts believe that Iran, which has mastered the nuclear fuel cycle, is already capable of making a nuclear weapon. Mass production of bombs and warheads--using North Korean technology--could begin in 12-18 months. Hence, the mullahocracy's interest in dialoguing with the United States; direct diplomacy will buy Iran time and make it politically difficult for Israel to strike Iran. [Click here to screen a startling revelation of a cleverly concealed Iranian nuclear facility. The satellite image is shown about half-way through the video--worth the wait.]


Propaganda Campaign

The Israel-aimed nuclear-free zone campaign has its supporters in the Obama administration and in the left wing of the Democratic Party. National Security Council member Samantha Power, for example, backs the push. A Hamas sympathizer and vicious critic of Israel, Power has been put in charge of determining if the U.S. should attend a Muslim-dominated, United Nations-sponsored conference that is committed to condemning Israel and Zionism as a form of racism. [She is expected to make hay out of Israel's refusal to cooperate with a U.N. commission studying alleged Israeli war crimes in Gaza--click herefor the story.]

Another critic of Israel, the pro-Iran New York Times columnist Roger Cohen, recently made a pointed reference to Israel's nuclear weapons ("presumably for deterrence') in a scathing attack on the Jewish State on the Times' Op-Ed page--on the first day of Passover. It was the opening salvo of an international no-nukes-for-Israel campaign; Cohen will certainly have more to say about the topic in the coming weeks.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Iranian and Islamist allies and sympathizers are mobilizing to shape opinion for Iran in the U.S. and Europe. They fear that Israel is not only capable of destroying key Iranian nuclear sites, but can also eliminate Iran's major missile installations. Wiping out Iran's retaliatory capabilities is critically important as the Islamist nation and its Lebanese proxy, Hezbollah, have threatened to "burn Tel Aviv" if Iran comes under attack by Israel or the U.S.

# posted by Confidential Reporter @ 9:09 AM links to this post