Tuesday, July 26, 2016

Above It All‏

Russia in Eastern Europe. Russia in the Ukraine; Russia has taken over Crimea and is working to undermine the rest of the country.
Now China in East Asia, and Iran in the Middle East.
All are on the march.

“China is clearly militarizing the South China Sea,” the commander of the U.S. Pacific Command told Congress on Tuesday. Its goal? “Hegemony in East Asia.” They are  installing anti-aircraft batteries and stationing fighter jets on South China Sea islands and have built an artificial island it created on another disputed island chain--the Spratlys, claimed by the Philippines, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam.

Russian intervention has rescued the Bashar al-Assad regime from collapse. They are now bombing rebel groups, many supported by the U.S..

Following the U.S.-Iran nuclear deal that granted Iran $100 billion and normalized its relations with the world, the first shipment of S-300 anti-aircraft batteries from Russia was delivered to Iran and it is negotiating an $8 billion arms deal with Russia that includes sophisticated combat aircraft. Like its ballistic missile tests, this conventional weapons buying is a blatant violation of U.N. Security Council prohibitions.
Germany charged on July 8 that conservative forces in Iran still appear to be trying to acquire nuclear technology, likely with the goal of undermining Tehran's nuclear deal with the West.
Germany's intelligence agency said in its annual report Iran's persistent efforts to illegally acquire nuclear technology in Germany continued at a "high level" during 2015.
A separate report from the intelligence agency in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia this week said it had registered 141 attempts to acquire technology for proliferation purposes last year, and that two-thirds of these attempts were linked to Iran.

Fortunately America continues to be vigilant. Obama's stalwart international policies include closing Guantanamo prison, visiting Cuba and making global warming statements.

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