NUCLEAR WEAPONS
Nuclear terrorism greater concern to Obama than Russia
David Jackson, USA Today – March 25, 2014
Given the recent conservative glee in pointing to Mitt Romney’s campaign assertion that Russia is the United States’ “number one geopolitical foe” and the recently finished Nuclear Security Summit, President Obama took an opportunity to stress that nuclear terrorism remains a more serious threat than Russia. As covered in yesterday’s edition of “What We’re Reading Now”, 35 states agreed to additional nuclear security measures advanced by the United States at the Nuclear Security Summit. That group did not include Russia, China, Pakistan, or India.
DEFENSE SPENDING
Littoral combat ship faces scrutiny at congressional hearing
Otto Kreisher, Breaking Defense – March 25, 2014
At a wide-ranging hearing hosted by the House Appropriations defense subcommittee, the ranking Democrat, Indiana Rep. Peter Visclosky, said of the littoral combat ship, “If it’s not survivable, we don’t care.” Given the concerns with the ship’s survivability, that may not bode well for the troubled program. The Department of Defense has already trimmed its order from 52 to 32 ships.
MISSILE DEFENSE
Missile Defense Agency to make changes to ground-based interceptors
Andrea Shalal, Reuters – March 25, 2014
Having determined the cause of a failed missile defense test in July 2013, the Missile Defense Agency will make the appropriate changes in its remaining fleet of ground-based interceptors. The next test will be conducted in June of this year and will involve an updated version of the kill vehicle designed by Raytheon. Meanwhile, a variety of missile defense initiatives are going forward, including plans for missile defense sites on the East Coast and development of new laser technologies and radar systems.
NORTH KOREA
North Korea test fires ballistic missiles
Thomas Escritt and Linda Sieg, Reuters – March 26, 2014
As President Obama was sitting down with the leaders of Japan and South Korea to discuss the Asian states’ bilateral relationship and regional challenges such as China’s rise, North Korea test fired two medium-range ballistic missiles into the sea. North Korea had launched multiple short-range missiles in the past two months, but it had not tested a medium-ranged ballistic missile since 2010. The missiles flew about 400 miles, half of their maximum range.
North Korean men required to cut hair like Kim Jong-un
BBC News – March 26, 2014
Just for fun.
