Putin flexes muscle in big test of Russia's nuclear arsenal
By Steve Gutterman
Tests involving command systems and all three components of the nuclear "triad" - land and sea-launched long-range nuclear missiles and strategic bombers - were conducted "under the personal leadership of Vladimir Putin", the Kremlin said.
An RS-12M Topol Intercontinental Ballistic Missile was launched from the Plesetsk site in northern Russia, and a submarine test-launched another ICBM from the Sea of Okhotsk, the Defence Ministry said.
Long-range Tu-95 and Tu-160 bombers fired four guided missiles that hit their targets on a testing range in the northwestern Komi region, it said.
"Exercises of the strategic nuclear forces were conducted on such a scale for the first time in the modern history of Russia," the Kremlin statement said.
"Vladimir Putin gave a high evaluation to the combat units and crews and the work of the Armed Forces General Staff, which fulfilled the tasks before them and affirmed the reliability and effectiveness of Russia's nuclear forces."
The exercises included tests of communications systems and "new algorithms" for command and control, it said.
Russia says it is modernizing a nuclear arsenal that was largely created during the Cold War and will continue to use nuclear weapons as a key deterrent.
In the 2010 New START treaty, Russia and the United States set lower numerical ceilings on the weapons tested in the exercise.
But Putin has made clear further cuts depend, among other things, on Washington assuaging his concerns about anti-missile defenses it is deploying, including a European shield Russia says will make it more vulnerable.
Russian and American leaders say nuclear war between the Cold War rivals is now unthinkable.
But critics say Putin - in power since 2000 and back as military commander-in-chief since his return to the Kremlin in May after four years as prime minister - is exaggerating potential threats from the West to bolster support at home.
(Editing by Andrew Roche
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/putin-oversees-biggest-russian-nuclear-tests-since-the-cold-war/
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OCTOBER SURPRISE...TALKS WILL INEVITABLY LEAD ISRAEL TO STRIKE...ALL PART OF THE ILLUMINATI PLAN.
Report: US officials say Iran agreed to nuclear talks
Yitzhak Benhorin
WASHINGTON - The United States and Iran have agreed for the first time to one-on-one negotiations over the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program, The New York Times reported Saturday, citing Obama administration officials.
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The announcement could be an indication of a last-ditch diplomatic effort to avert a military strike aimed at stunting Iran's race towards a nuclear bomb.
However, a spokesman for the US National Security Council denied the report.
"It’s not true that the United States and Iran have agreed to one-on-one talks or any meeting after the American elections," Tommy Vietor said in a statement. "We continue to work with the P-5 on a diplomatic solution and have said from the outset that we would be prepared to meet bilaterally."
A senior administration official told the NYT that Iranian officials have insisted that the talks be delayed until after the presidential election next month.
It remains unclear whether Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has signed off on the deal. The understandings have been reached with senior Iranian officials who report to him, an administration official said.
Obama and Romney debating. (Photo: Reuters)
According to the report, the agreement was a result of intense, secret exchanges between American and Iranian officials that began early in President Barack Obama’s term.
The announcement, made just two weeks before the elections and a day before the final presidential debate, could tip the scale in Obama's favor by helping the president argue that he is nearing a diplomatic breakthrough in the effort to curb Tehran’s nuclear ambitions.
It is unclear whether Obama’s opponent, Mitt Romney, would go through with the negotiations should he be elected, considering that he has repeatedly criticized the president as showing weakness toward Tehran and failing to stand firmly with Israel against the Iranian nuclear threat.
But there is also a chance the initiative could fall through even if Obama is re-elected. Iran has a long history of manipulating the promise of diplomacy to ease international pressure on it.
Israel concerned over talks
Even if the direct talks take place, officials in the US are concerned that Iran could draw out the negotiations in order to delay a strike, allowing it to make significant progress in its nuclear program. Officials told the NYT that Iran has indicated it wants to broaden the agenda to include Syria, Bahrain and other issues that have been plaguing the ties between Washington and Tehran.According to the officials, the administration has begun an internal review at the State Department, the White House and the Pentagon to solidify its positions ahead of the negotiations. One option that is being considered calls for more restrictions on Iran’s enrichment activities in return for eased economic sanctions.
Israeli officials initially expressed awareness of the diplomatic initiative, the report said, but Israel’s ambassador to the United States, Michael B. Oren, told the NYT on Saturday that the administration had not kept the Jewish state in the loop, and that the Israeli government worries that Iran would use new talks to “advance their nuclear weapons program.”
“We do not think Iran should be rewarded with direct talks,” Oren said, “rather that sanctions and all other possible pressures on Iran must be increased.”
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Japan, US Call Off Naval Drill for Fear of China’s Reaction
http://en.rian.ru/mlitary_news/20121021/176790845.html
Topic: China-Japan Island Dispute
Senkaku Islands
Kyodo
Kyodo
08:05 21/10/2012
MOSCOW, October 21 (RIA Novosti)
Japan has decided to cancel its planned joint naval drill with the United States fearing that it would provoke a negative reaction from China, the Japan Times daily reported citing an unnamed source in the government.
According to the scenario of the drills, slated for November, the forces of Japan and the United States were to “recapture” an uninhabited Irisuna Island, a remote island in Okinawa Prefecture.
The drills, however, were called off as they could worsen the backlash from Beijing, which blasted Japan’s move to nationalize disputed Senkaku Islands.
The daily said quoting its source in the Japanese government that the decision to abandon the island recapturing drills “reflects the opinion of the prime minister's office.”
The relations between Japan and China have recently plummeted to their worst level in years over a chain of islands claimed by both countries.
The islands, known as the Senkaku to Japan and Diaoyu to China, have been at the center of a dispute recently that has triggered violent anti-Japanese protests across China and caused Japanese companies to suspend operations in China.
The islands, which are also claimed by Taiwan, lie on a vital shipping route and are situated above large hydrocarbon deposits.
The drills, however, were called off as they could worsen the backlash from Beijing, which blasted Japan’s move to nationalize disputed Senkaku Islands.
The daily said quoting its source in the Japanese government that the decision to abandon the island recapturing drills “reflects the opinion of the prime minister's office.”
The relations between Japan and China have recently plummeted to their worst level in years over a chain of islands claimed by both countries.
The islands, known as the Senkaku to Japan and Diaoyu to China, have been at the center of a dispute recently that has triggered violent anti-Japanese protests across China and caused Japanese companies to suspend operations in China.
The islands, which are also claimed by Taiwan, lie on a vital shipping route and are situated above large hydrocarbon deposits.
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