Free Republic

The White House says that an Iranian ballistic missile test would not invalidate a recently signed nuclear accord meant to temporarily halt some of Iran’s most controversial nuclear work. The White House clarified its stance just days before Iran is scheduled to launch another ballistic missile some 75 miles into the atmosphere. The statement contradicts recent remarks indicating that such a test would in fact violate and nullify the weeks-old agreement, which provides Iran with some $7 billion in relief from economic sanctions in exchange for a partial six-month freeze of its uranium enrichment program.

The Russian Defense Ministry reportedly reprimanded Israeli and US diplomats, following a joint Israeli-American naval exercise last Tuesday which involved the launch of a number of ballistic missiles, triggering Russian missile defense systems in the region and briefly provoking alarm in the Kremlin. According to the RIA Novosti news site, Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov personally reprimanded the Israeli and American attaches to his country, over actions that "could have a negative effect on security in the region and the world."

Russia’s early warning radars detected the launch of two ballistic rockets in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, Russia’s Defense Ministry stated. Israel later claimed responsibility for firing the target test rockets. The launch took place at 06:16 GMT Tuesday, according to Russia's Ministry of Defense. The trajectory of the missiles is reported to have been from the central part of the Mediterranean Sea towards the eastern landmass. Both rockets have allegedly fallen into the sea, RIA Novosti news agency reported. Russia’s President Putin has already been informed about the incident by Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu. The Syrian embassy in Moscow currently...

Russian officials this week carried out a secret inspection of the U.S. strategic missile defense base in California as part of the New START arms treaty, according to Obama administration officials. The inspection of five missile defense interceptors is the only one allowed under the 2010 arms accord. The treaty requires cuts of U.S. and Russian deployed strategic warheads to 1,550. A defense official said the visit was a treaty verification visit hosted by the Defense Threat Reduction Agency. A State Department official declined to comment on the inspection but confirmed it was related to New START. “Implementation activities under...

Deep cuts to the U.S. defense budget have led lawmakers to consider slashing funds for a key military program that was nearing completion, effectively rendering it useless in the near term after years of multi-billion-dollar development. While the Pentagon has invested billions into many cutting edge defense systems over the years, several of them are now seeing their budgets slashed as Congress grapples with the fallout from massive defense cuts known as sequestration. While the funding cuts are believed to be a way for the Pentagon to cut corners in a tough budgetary environment, insiders warned that programs are being...

Seventeen years after the Paris-bound TWA Flight 800 blew up off the coast of Long Island, producers Tom Stalcup and Kristina Borjesson have released a new documentary –simply titled “TWA Flight 800” – that has the very real potential to re-open the investigation into the plane’s destruction. Kudos, in particular, to Stalcup. A Ph.D. physicist by background, he has dedicated the last 16 years of his life to exposing what is arguably the most flagrant government cover-up in American peacetime history. Borjesson has likewise been involved from the beginning. As a producer at CBS in 1996 when TWA 800 was...

The capability is being developed by DRDO as part of the Ballistic Missile Defence (BMD) shield. (Reuters) New Delhi - India's missile defence system is set to get a big boost as it is developing capability to intercept enemy missiles fired from a distance of up to 5,000km, in effect tackling any possible threat from countries such as China. The capability is being developed by DRDO as part of the Ballistic Missile Defence (BMD) shield, whose first phase is ready for deployment possibly in Delhi. Development of the first phase of the BMD programme has been completed, DRDO chief Avinash...

Iran is upping the war ante with a supposedly “massive” deployment of missile launchers just in time for their presidential elections next week. In an unsurprising, Hawk launch bettertestosterone fueled show of claimed strength, these launchers are being dispersed to parts unknown and in numbers unknown. Two dozen trucks have been spotted without missiles at an outdoor site. These surface-to-surface missile launchers have a range of approximately 1200 miles and although Iran will not specify Israel as the intended recipient, I think we all know who these gifts are meant for. They can easily reach Israel and U.S. bases in...

American weapons expert calls 'Quds' facility 'very scary' One of the America’s foremost experts on nuclear weapons calls Iran’s secret “Quds” nuclear facility very scary and a sign the Islamic regime might be close to taking on the world. In an exclusive March 20 report with updates on March 24, March 25 and April 10, WND revealed the vast “Quds” site. Iranian scientists are trying to perfect nuclear warheads at this underground facility previously unknown to the West. According to WND’s source, an officer who has been assigned to the regime’s Ministry of Defense, the site, approximately 14 miles long...

The Pentagon held internal talks on declassifying sensitive missile defense technology that it plans to share with Russia as part of the Obama administration’s efforts to assuage Moscow’s opposition to European defenses. Republicans in both the House and Senate plan to block any technology declassification for missile defense technology in the current defense authorization bill and other legislation. Legislative mark up on the authorization bill begins this week. Critics say giving Russia classified data would undermine the effectiveness of missile defenses, which have cost taxpayers more than $100 billion since the 1980s. Vice Adm. James Syring, director of the Pentagon’s...

North Korea missiles moved away from launch site: U.S. officials By Phil Stewart WASHINGTON | Mon May 6, 2013 6:53pm EDT (Reuters) - North Korea has taken two Musudan missiles off launch-ready status and moved them from their position on the country's east coast, U.S. officials told Reuters on Monday, after weeks of concern that Pyongyang had been poised for a test-launch. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry warned North Korea last month that it would be a "huge mistake" to launch the medium-range missiles, but the prospects of a test had put Seoul, Washington and Toyko on edge.

A senior House Republican this week called on Secretary of State John Kerry to make public a U.S. offer of cooperation with Russia on missile defenses made recently in Moscow. Rep. Mike Rogers (R., Ala.), chairman of the House Armed Services strategic forces subcommittee, stated in a letter sent Tuesday to Kerry that he is concerned about the offer disclosed in statements this week by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. “Unfortunately, for the second time in as many weeks, Secretary Kerry has alluded to making deals with foreign countries regarding our missile defense,” Rogers said in a statement. “I suggest...

One of North Korea' missiles gone missing... seeking attention? /begin my excerpts 2013.04.20 13:41 While N. Korea continues to threaten missile launches, one of two Musudan missiles escaped from our surveillance. JTBC reports on Apr. 19 that this may be a ploy to raise tension and regain attention. N. Korea's missile units are on the move again. One of two Musudan missiles which were seen in Dong-han Bay at East Sea has gone missing. /begin my excerpts

Exclusive: How North Korea Tipped Its Hand by Eli Lake Apr 15, 2013 4:45 AM EDT The U.S. recovered the front section of the rocket used in North Korea’s satellite launch in December, which gave away the status of the regime's nuclear arms program. When North Korean engineers launched a satellite into space on December 12, it seemed like business as usual, with the familiar cycle of condemnations from the west and statements of defiance from the Hermit Kingdom. But that launch also led many U.S. intelligence analysts to assess that Pyongyang possessed the ability to miniaturize the components necessary...

Since April 15th (Later on today United States Time) is Kim il Sung 101st birthday, we think today would be the day for the DPRK to launch if they intend to. New Secretary of State Kerry is in the region trying to come up with his first victory since taking office. But the DPRK is not backing down. NORTH KOREA UNBENDING Pyongyang, which was preparing to celebrate the birth date of state founder Kim Il-Sung on Monday, reiterated it had no intention of abandoning its atomic arms programs. "We will expand in quantity our nuclear weapons capability, which is the...

North Korea Missile Test Delayed By Windows 8, Kim Jong-Un To Declare War On Microsoft? /snip The New Yorker is claiming the North Korea missile test was delayed by Windows 8 since previously their computers were running on Windows 95. The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) says they are “working with Windows 8 support to resolve the issue” and the North Korea missile test has “been delayed indefinitely.” It’s said “Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un is furious about the Windows 8 problems” and may declare war on Microsoft. /snip

April 12, 2013 Bomb North Korea, Before It’s Too Late By JEREMI SURI AUSTIN, Tex. SINCE February, the North Korean government has followed one threatening move with another. The spiral began with an underground nuclear test. Then the North declared the armistice that ended the Korean War invalid. The young dictator Kim Jong-un followed with a flurry of threats to attack civilian targets in South Korea, Japan and the United States.

2013/04/13 14:53 KST (LEAD) N. Korea has likely not moved mobile missile launchers: source SEOUL, April 13 (Yonhap) -- North Korea did not appear to move vehicles suspected to be mobile launchers for its medium-range missiles over the past two days, a government source said Saturday, in an indication that Pyongyang's missile launch is not imminent. According to intelligence sources, the North had moved two Musudan intermediate missiles, which had been concealed in a shed in the eastern port city of Wonsan, in and out of the facility earlier this week in an apparent bid to interfere with Seoul's intelligence...

N. Korean missile launchpad moved into firing position Published time: April 11, 2013 01:38 Edited time: April 11, 2013 05:27 A North Korean missile launcher has moved into the firing position with rockets facing skyward, Kyodo reports, citing a Japan defense official. The Japanese government is on high alert, citing indications that Pyongyang might soon launch ballistic missiles at its island neighbor. Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera said Thursday morning that so far Tokyo was responding by “gathering a variety of information ... with a sense of tension,” according to Kyodo.

Top admiral: US can intercept a North Korean missile By Jim Miklaszewski and Courtney Kube, NBC News If North Korea decides to launch a missile, the United States is ready to respond and is capable of intercepting it, a top U.S. military commander told Congress on Tuesday. The Commander of U.S. Pacific Command also said that he cannot recollect a more tense time between the U.S., South Korea, and North Korea since the end of the Korean War. Responding to Sen. John McCain's statement that he doesn't know a time of greater tension in the decades since the war, Admiral...