Obama to use State of the Union to make case against spending cuts, argue for more taxes
UPDATE:
President Obama will push to reduce the nation’s nuclear arsenal in his State of the Union address, according to a report.
UPDATE:
Russia’s Forces Are Ready for War – Army Chief
http://www.blacklistednews.com/Russia%E2%80%99s…
In his second term as Russian president, Vladimir Putin has made the rebuilding of Russian military forces, including its nuclear striking capabilities, a top priority.
Advanced missiles, bombers, and submarines are either on the drawing board or coming into operational service, just as the United States is on the verge of drastic cuts in its armed forces.
Of the three legs of Russia’s nuclear triad (air, land, sea forces), attack submarines carrying newly designed intercontinental ballistic missiles are receiving special attention.
Moscow is seeking first to equal and then overtake the United States in nuclear weaponry, according to a now retired military weapons and terrorism analyst.
http://www.renewamerica.com/columns/westerman/130128
Hagel supports nuclear arms cuts, then elimination
WASHINGTON (AP) — Chuck Hagel, the likely next secretary of defense, would be the first to enter the Pentagon having publicly advocated for sharply reducing the number of U.S. nuclear weapons, possibly without equivalent cuts by Russia. He supports an international movement called Global Zero that favors eliminating all nuclear weapons.
http://www.businessweek.com/ap/2013-01-29/hagel-supports-nuclear-arms-cuts-then-elimination
Russia’s armed forces are ready for a major war, Chief of the military’s General Staff Col. Gen. Valery Gerasimov said on Saturday.
“No one rules out the possibility of a major war, and it cannot be said that we are unprepared,” Gerasimov said, speaking at an Academy of Military Sciences meeting.
NATO Chief: EU must spend more on military
Nato chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen has urged EU countries to spend more on defence despite the economic crisis or risk losing US solidarity.
NATO SOURCE:
Army Chief Gerasimov: Russia’s Forces Are Ready for War
https://twitter.com/NATOSource/status/296715344083574785/photo/1
President Obama will push to reduce the nation’s nuclear arsenal in his State of the Union address, according to a report.
The New York Times reported Monday that Obama while Obama is unlikely to provide specific figures in his Tuesday address to Congress, the proposal would cut the arsenal of deployed missiles to around 1,000, a one-third reduction from current levels.
The report says that Obama has already secured the support of the Joint Chiefs of Staff for the plan, with top brass believing the reductions will not compromise the military capabilities.
Read more:
WASHINGTON – President Obama will use his State of the Union speech on Tuesday to reinvigorate one of his signature national security objectives – drastically reducing nuclear arsenals around the world – after securing agreement in recent months with the United States military that the American nuclear force can be cut in size by roughly a third.
Mr. Obama, administration officials say, is unlikely to discuss specific numbers in the address, but White House officials are looking at a cut that would take the arsenal of deployed weapons to just above 1,000. Currently there are about 1,700, and the new strategic arms reduction treaty with Russia that passed the Senate at the end of 2009 calls for a limit of roughly 1,550 by 2018.
But Mr. Obama, according to an official who was involved in the deliberations, “believes that we can make pretty radical reductions – and save a lot of money – without compromising American security in the second term. And the Joint Chiefs have signed off on that concept.”
http://mobile.nytimes.com/2013/02/11/us/politics/obama-to-renew-drive-for-cuts-in-nuclear-arms.xml
Pakistan has test-fired nuclear capable short-range surface-to-surface missile Hatf-IX, NASR
http://radio.gov.pk/newsdetail-38045
Newer START: Obama to unveil nuclear reduction, charm Russia into joining?
http://rt.com/usa/news/nuclear-reduction-us-russia-925/
Barack Obama is expected to propose sweeping new cuts to America’s nuclear weapons arsenal on Tuesday when he delivers his annual State of Union, arms control experts said, as the re-elected President searches for a long-term legacy for his second term.
DB
