Free Republic

The approval process for boosting Russian naval power is moving forward in the French government. Paris and Moscow are negotiating the sale of one French-built Mistral-class warship to Russia, to be followed by construction of three or four such ships in Russia under French license (Interfax, January 15; RIA Novosti, January 22). These intentions, amount to a program of naval rearmament for Russia, an openly revisionist power in Europe and on its periphery. Mistral-class ships constitute by definition a power-projection capability, carrying tanks and helicopters for offensive landing operations, with an intimidating potential in Russian hands vis-à-vis its maritime neighbors....

MOSCOW (AFP) – President Dmitry Medvedev on Tuesday announced a "large-scale" rearmament and renewal of Russia's nuclear arsenal, accusing NATO of pushing ahead with expansion near Russian borders. Meeting defence chiefs in Moscow, Medvedev said he was determined to implement reforms to streamline Russia's bloated military and stressed Moscow continued to face several security threats needing robust defense capacity. "From 2011, a large-scale rearmament of the army and navy will begin," Medvedev said. He called for a renewal of Russia's nuclear weapons arsenal and added that NATO was pursuing a drive to expand the alliance's physical presence near Russia's borders....

By KARIN LAUB For Israel, the U.N. cease-fire deal is far from perfect. A U.N. force deploying in south Lebanon as part of the truce will have trouble keeping Hezbollah at bay for long or prevent the Iranian-supplied guerrillas from rearming, critics said, pointing to past failures of international peacekeepers. The U.N. terms will buy temporary calm, but make the next war between Israel and Tehran's proxy army inevitable, former Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom and some military analysts warned. "It begs the question, `What was it all for?'" Shalom said, reflecting a growing chorus of criticism. Israel had little...

Pacifism has never been so silly. In an East Asia that features both one of the world's most irrational states and a rising dictatorial power bent on changing the region's strategic balance, it is a crucial ally of the United States that labors under a constitution that could have been written by Quakers. As part of her tour of Asia this week, Secretary of State Condi Rice visited a Japan that is slowly emerging from its shell. It is one of the diplomatic triumphs of the Bush administration that it has helped accelerate this process. The ideal should be to...

The accord between the United States and Japan calling for strengthened bilateral military and security ties - ties already reinforced by China's military buildup, North Korea's nuclear crisis, and the global threat of terrorism - marks the evolution of the US-Japan relationship and signals a critical historic phase in the early 21st century. With possible flashpoints ranging from the Middle East to Northeast Asia, the US global military transformation - under fire from many quarters - is transforming Japan itself into a reliable and unswerving "Britain of the Far East". Britain is the United States' closest ally in the Western...

A Time to Fight?The U.S. has protected Japan for half a century. In the face of new crises, Japan wonders if it should rearm  BY JIM FREDERICK/TOKYO   EDY PURNOMO/GETTY IMAGES Japanese soldiers arrive to help reconstruct war-torn East Timor   As the nuclear standoff in North Korea continues, the mixed messages emanating from Tokyo have become ever more confusing. Last week, Foreign Ministry assistant press secretary Jiro Okuyama outlined Japan's moves to solve the crisis. "We are trying to build up solidarity and cooperation in the international arena," said Okuyama. In fact, the spokesman declared, Japan's Foreign Minister was...