Free Republic

On 1 December 2009, the new US Air Force Global Strike Command formally assumed nuclear deterrence missions with land-based Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles. The Command assumed command and responsibility for 20th Air Force and its three missile wings located at F.E. Warren Air Force Base in Wyoming; at Maelstrom Air Force Base in Montana; at Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota; as well as the 576th Flight Test Squadron at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The Command will later take over the B-52 and B-2 bombers as well.

Following orders from Tehran, the Palestinian Hamas used the cover of the 22-day Gaza conflict to aim rockets at the American Forward-Based X-band Transportable (FBX-T) anti-missile radar system lodged at Israel's big Nevatim air base east of the Negev capital Beersheba. Destruction of the FBX-T, which was installed last November to intercept incoming Iranian Shehab-3 ballistic missiles, would have crowned Hamas' offensive with success. Jan. 18, two days before joining Israel's unilateral ceasefire, Hamas tried to hit the American facility with a salvo of 3 Grad rockets. They missed their aim, landing on empty ground west of Beersheba, without triggering...

The following is my translation of a portion of the longer article in Korean from Donga Ilbo, a major S. Korean daily. The title of the longer article is, when translated, 'China, "can't take it anymore", U.S., "feels obligated to help Taiwan"' /begin translation Taiwan's Full-fledged Arms Buildup On Jan. 1st, 2004, Taiwan's military activated the new Missile Command, to counter the threats of Chinese missiles. It was part of the biggest reorganization in the 80 year history of Taiwanese military. The command would eventually become the fourth branch of military, on the equal standing with army, navy, and airforce....