Free Republic

The leak of the Pentagon’s classified “Overmatch Brief” has produced a familiar reaction. Headlines announce that China would defeat the United States in a war over Taiwan. Pundits conclude that American deterrence has failed. Some urge accommodation. Others demand vast new military spending. Both responses misunderstand what the assessment actually shows, and more importantly, what it does not. The central mistake is confusing the ability to impose costs with the ability to win a war. China may be able to seize Taiwan, an island roughly 100 miles from its coast. That does not mean China can win a war with...

Nuclear weapons are not evil. Terrifying, yes. But their horrific capabilities prevented a Third World War. It all depends on whose finger is on the button. Until yesterday's formal announcement of the administration's new Nuclear Posture Review, nukes also kept us safe from a range of threats short of a doomsday scenario: Our enemies risked going only so far. Nukes didn't prevent all wars -- but wars remained local. Yesterday, we threw away a significant part of history's most successful deterrent. This looks like an act of reckless vanity on the part of the administration, but let's allow that this...

By RAMIT PLUSHNICK-MASTI, Associated Press Writer 45 minutes ago JERUSALEM - With the purchase of two more German-made Dolphin submarines capable of carrying nuclear warheads, military experts say Israel is sending a clear message to Iran that it can strike back if attacked by nuclear weapons. The purchases come at a time when Iran is refusing to bow to growing Western demands to halt its nuclear program, and after Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has called for Israel to be "wiped off the map." The new submarines, built at a cost of $1.3 billion with Germany footing one-third of the bill,...