North Korean state media is reporting scenes of unrestrained public sadness at the death of long time leader Kim Jong-il. State media reported that Kim, 69, died of a heart attack while traveling on a train.
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Recent remarks by a prominent Saudi Arabian royal have fanned new fears that Iran’s advancing nuclear program could kick-start a nuclear arms race in the region. Prince Turki al-Faisal, the former Saudi ambassador to the U.S. and the kingdom’s ex-intelligence chief, suggested that given the failure to denuclearize the Middle East, Saudi Arabia should also consider an arsenal of its own. “Our efforts and those of the world have failed to convince Israel to abandon its weapons of mass destruction, as well as Iran,” he said during a Gulf security forum in Riyadh. “Therefore it is our duty toward our […]
Recent reports from Syria of military defectors attacking an Air Force intelligence building in Hasrata highlight the growing likelihood that Syrian military sites will become a target in the country’s ongoing conflict. While no other similar attacks have been reported since then, the Hasrata incident illustrates the possibility of escalating instability within Syria’s military command, which could in turn lead to difficulties in controlling and securing Syrian military assets. In such a climate, Syria’s alleged chemical weapons program is cause for particular concern. The international community suspects Syria of having a comprehensive chemical weapons program that includes production and delivery […]
Israel reportedly test-fired a long-range missile in early November capable of hitting Iran. In an email interview, Dinshaw Mistry, an associate professor at the University of Cincinnati and the author of “Containing Missile Proliferation,” discussed Israel’s missile capabilities. WPR: What is the current size of Israel’s ballistic missile arsenal (short- and mid-range missiles and ranges, and long-range ICBMs)? Dinshaw Mistry: Israel is believed to deploy at least several tens of Jericho ballistic missiles. In the 1970s, Israel developed and deployed the single-stage Jericho-1 missile, which had a range of 250-300 miles and could reach Israel’s immediate neighbors. In the 1980s […]