Iran
Signs Suggest Iran Is Speeding Up Work on Nuclear Program
David E. Sanger, New York Times – August 23, 2012
International nuclear inspectors will soon report that Iran has installed hundreds of new centrifuges in recent months and may also be speeding up production of nuclear fuel while negotiations with the United States and its allies have ground to a near halt, according to diplomats and experts briefed on the findings.
Syria
Forces positioned to take out Assad’s chemical weapons
Hugh Tomlinson and Sheera Frankel, Ottawa Citizen – August 24, 2012
British special forces, along with troops from France and the United States, are poised along the borders of Syria to secure and destroy the country’s arsenal of chemical weapons if the regime in Damascus collapses.
Missile Defense
US: Missile defense for NKorea threat, not China
Matthew Pennington, AP – August 24, 2012
The United States is in discussions with close ally Japan about expanding a missile defense system in Asia, the top U.S. general said Thursday.
US looks at new early-warning radar for Japan: officials
AFP – August 23, 2012
US and Japanese officials are considering deploying a new US early-warning radar to Japan to help counter possible missile threats from North Korea, officials said Thursday.
China’s Missile Advances Aimed at Thwarting U.S. Defenses, Analysts Say
Keith Bradsher, New York Times – August 24, 2012
China is moving ahead with the development of a new and more capable generation of intercontinental ballistic missiles and submarine-launched missiles, increasing its existing ability to deliver nuclear warheads to the United States and to overwhelm missile defense systems, military analysts said this week.
Asia Pacific
Going beyond ‘Air-Sea Battle’
Michael O’Hanlon and James Steinberg, Washington Post – August 23, 2012
The new concept of American overseas military operations known as “Air-Sea Battle” has come under scrutiny and criticism.
