How to protect U.S. satellites

The Air Force says it can currently detect a missile launch anywhere in the world, but it cannot track satellites all the way up into orbit in real time. "It's one thing to bear witness to what is going on in that environment," says Brig. Gen. Donald Alston, director of space and nuclear operations for the Air Force. "It's another thing to be immediately able to attribute what happened to someone. We've got a ways to go to have that kind of clarity as quickly as we need it."

Some of the U.S. soldiers stationed in Iraq's troubled Anbar province most likely wondered why the Air Force was sending a space weapons expert to help them fight Sunni insurgents. But U.S. forces there had a tough problem. Traditional artillery was too inaccurate for urban hotbeds like Fallujah, and insurgents took cover when they heard attack aircraft overhead.

The Army offered what seemed like a good solution—the Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System, a mobile battery that fires precision missiles from miles away. The powerful new weapon, however, came with a serious glitch—the launcher sometimes relied on outdated coordinates from GPS satellites, which could send rockets hundreds of yards off target. Maj. Toby Doran, the space expert, helped find creative ways to prevent the error, and the launcher was put into action.

That's just one small example of how integral satellites have become to even the most basic daily operations of today's U.S. military, not to mention the broader U.S. economy. But any sense that this crucial sophisticated technology is out of the reach of potential enemies because it flies hundreds, even thousands, of miles above Earth disappeared early this year.

On January 11, China blew up one of its own aging weather satellites with a rocket launched from a space center in Sichuan province.

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Russia trains Iranians on air defence system

Moscow, Dec 26, IRNA
Russian Air Force Commander Nikolai Ferolov said a group of Iranian experts took training courses on Russian air defence system " Tour. M1" in the current year.
The commander told reporters here Wednesday that Iranian officers took a training course for a period of several months in Air Defence Academy located in Smolensk city.
The Russian general added, "Upon sale agreement for" Tour. M1" system, tens of the Iranian officers took the training courses in the year 2006 in "Ourenburg Air Defence Center" in Russia.
Iran bought 29 air defence system " Tour. M1" for 700 million dollars from Russia last year. read more ...

To weaken Russia's nuclear deterrent potential

MOSCOW, December 24 (RIA Novosti) -

Moscow regards U.S. plans to deploy missile defense bases in Central Europe as an attempt to weaken Russia's nuclear deterrent, the official Foreign Ministry spokesman said on Monday.
"If a radar [in the Czech Republic] along with missiles in Poland are deployed, this will be a military operation ...to weaken Russia's nuclear deterrent potential," Mikhail Kamynin said in a statement.
"We will have no other option but to take measures to make up for this new factor in our strategic balance of forces with the United States."
Kamynin cited a recent newspaper interview by Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg, who said it would be logical for the U.S. radar to monitor Russian territory.
"Such statements by Czech leaders .... read more ...

Does Russia want to be a superpower dominating the modern world ?

MOSCOW, December 19 (RIA Novosti) --

"The Soviet Union wanted to be a leader in the global communist revolution. This was a big mistake. We would not like to repeat these mistakes in the future. We don't want to command anyone, we don't want to be a superpower that dominates and imposes solutions," Vladimir Putin told Time magazine December 12.

"But we want to have sufficient forces to defend ourselves, defend our interests and even build such good relations with our neighbors and main partners so that these partners become interested in the development and growth of the Russian Federation," he said.

Russian authorities have repeatedly criticized the U.S. for its desire to establish a 'unipolar' world instead of the bipolar world of Cold War times and the antagonism between the former Soviet Union and the West.

In return, some Western political scientists have accused Russian authorities of striving to return to a Cold War model and impose their policies on neighboring countries.

To describe the current complicated relationship between Russia and the West, including U.S. plans to deploy a missile shield in Central Europe, Iran's nuclear program and Russia's role in former Soviet republics, the foreign press have even invented a new term "cool war."

The U.S. plans to deploy a radar in the Czech Republic and 10 missile interceptors in Poland, purportedly to counter a missile threat from Iran and other "rogue" states. Moscow has opposed the plans, saying the European shield would destroy the strategic balance of forces and threaten Russia's national interests.

Western states led by the U.S. suspect Iran of pursuing a secret nuclear weapons program but Iran has insisted it needs nuclear power for electricity generation.

Putin said enhancing Russia's role in the world is a difficult task that can be fulfilled only if Russian society consolidates and if Russia's economic capabilities grow.

Russia does not want to be a superpower dominating the modern world or imposing its opinion on others, but hopes to develop its capabilities enough to protect its interests, the Russian president (Vladimir Putin) has said.

"This will be our task for the mid-term and long-term prospect. If we resolve it, a worthy place in the world is guaranteed for Russia," the Russian president said.

Speaking about Russia's recent past, Putin said he would hardly have had the courage to transfer from the old Soviet system to a new democratic Russia, like Boris Yeltsin and Mikhail Gorbachev did.

"Both he [Yeltsin] and Gorbachev still did what I would have probably failed to do. They made a step toward the destruction of a system the Russian people had been unable to bear any longer. I am not sure I would have had the courage to do so," he said.

"Gorbachev made the first step, and Yeltsin completed this transfer, I believe, a historical transfer, very important for Russia and the Russian people," Putin said, adding that it was the two former leaders that gave Russia its freedom then. more detail click here ...

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Which is building the Bushehr plant for Iran ?

TEHRAN, Iran (CNN) ---

Iran's first nuclear power plant will be operational within three months, providing electricity to Iran's national power grid by the summer, according to Iranian Energy Minister Parviz Fattah.

Russia, which is building the Bushehr plant for Iran, started delivering nuclear fuel to the facility a week ago as part of a compromise effort to alleviate concerns over Iran's nuclear intentions while supporting Iran's right to a nuclear energy program.

Fattah told reporters Saturday that the Bushehr nuclear power plant, which was previously expected to be completed last September, will become operational on March 21, 2008, according to Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB).

The plant will deliver 500 megawatts of electricity to the power grid by summer and 1,000 megawatts by March 2009, IRIB reported.
Atomstroiexport, Russia's nuclear power equipment and service export monopoly, completed the first stage of nuclear fuel deliveries a week ago, the Russian Federal Atomic Energy Agency said.

The United States, several European nations, and Israel suspect Tehran has been trying to acquire nuclear weapons, but Iran denies its nuclear program is for anything but peaceful purposes. A recent U.S. intelligence summary concluded that, contrary to earlier suspicions, Iran halted its nuclear weapons development in 2003.

Atomstroiexport, the Russian monopoly, is building the $1 billion Bushehr plant under the control of the

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the United Nations' nuclear watchdog agency. The Russian foreign ministry and nuclear officials said .... read more ...

- About Bushehr.
- About Atomic Energy Organization of Iran.

When Russia delivered nuclear fuel for an Iranian power plant

WASHINGTON —

The United States lost a years-long battle when Russia delivered nuclear fuel on Monday for an Iranian power plant that is at the center of an international dispute over Iran’s nuclear program. Iran, for its part, rejected the idea that the delivery might mean it no longer needed to do its own uranium enrichment to make fuel, citing work on a second power plant.

In announcing that it has delivered the first fuel shipment to the power plant at Bushehr in southern Iran, Russian officials said that the fuel would be under the control of the International Atomic Energy Agency while it is in Iran, and that the Iranian government had given guarantees that the fuel would be only be used for ...... read more ...

Tehran Times -

MOSCOW/TEHRAN - Russia has delivered its first shipment of nuclear fuel to a reactor it is helping to build at Bushehr as Iran’s atomic chief said the plant will be connected to power grid after March 2008.
Iran and Russia reached agreement last week on a schedule to finish building the plant after years of delays. The Russian company building the Bushehr plant, Atomstroiexport, said the delivery of the enriched uranium fuel began on Sunday. Atomstroiexport said the containers of fuel had been inspected and sealed before delivery by the UN's nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency ....... read more ...

Iran had a secret military weapons program

President Bush on Tuesday called on Iran to explain why it had a secretive nuclear weapons program, and warned that any such efforts must not be allowed to flourish "for the sake of world peace."
"Iran is dangerous," Bush said after an Oval Office meeting with Italian President Giorgio Napolitano. "We believe Iran had a secret military weapons program, and Iran must explain to the world why they had a program."
Bush's comments came after Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said that it was "a step forward" that U.S. intelligence agencies had concluded that Tehran stopped developing its nuclear weapons program four years ago.
Ahmadinejad told reporters that an "entirely different" situation between the United States and Iran could be created if more steps like the intelligence report followed.
"We consider this measure by the U.S. government a positive step. It is a step forward," Ahmadinejad said.. read more ...

TEHRAN, Dec. 11--President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Iran welcomes the outlines of a recent report by the US National Intelligence Estimate and considers it a step forward. Speaking in a press conference on Tuesday, Ahmadinejad noted that Iran’s positive attitude toward NIE does not mean that the report is perfect. Asked by CNN’s correspondent whether Iran is ready to take part in face-to-face talks and without any preconditions with the US, Ahmadinejad responded that as everyone knows, problems between Iran and the US are not limited to the nuclear issue or the anti-Iran resolutions. “We have a long list of problems and we should be looking for their solutions,“ he said.The president pointed out that during his visit to the US last year, he expressed his readiness to take part in talks with American officials on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly meeting held in New York. “And this proposal is still on the table,“ he said.In response to another American reporter, Ahmadinejad said in his opinion the world’s political landscape is rapidly changing and the world, particularly the Middle East, is not prepared for new military invasions.“Countries responsible for the military invasion of other countries do not have the capacity for new military conflicts,“ he said. Noting that using the military option will deteriorate the prevailing conditions, the president emphasized the negative consequences of military conflicts for the invaders themselves. Commenting on anti-Iran resolutions issued by the United Nations Security Council, Ahmadinejad pointed out that the West has problems with the two resolutions issued by the Security Council and they have to solve it themselves. Asked by the BBC correspondent about the possibility of peace between Iran, the US and the UK before the end of his presidential tenure, the chief executive said Iran does not have any problem with the UK. read more ...

American intelligence agencies concludes that Iran halted its nuclear weapons program in 2003

WASHINGTON, Dec. 3 — A new assessment by American intelligence agencies concludes that Iran halted its nuclear weapons program in 2003 and that the program remains frozen, contradicting judgment two years ago that Tehran was working relentlessly toward building a nuclear bomb.

The conclusions of the new assessment are likely to reshape the final year of the Bush administration, which has made halting Iran’s nuclear program a cornerstone of its foreign policy.

The assessment, a National Intelligence Estimate that represents the consensus view of all 16 American spy agencies, states that Tehran is likely keeping its options open with respect to building a weapon, but that intelligence agencies “do not know whether it currently intends to develop nuclear weapons.”

Iran is continuing to produce enriched uranium, a program that the Tehran government has said is designed for civilian purposes. The new estimate says that enrichment program could still provide Iran with enough raw material to produce a nuclear weapon sometime by the middle of next decade, a timetable essentially unchanged from previous estimates.

But the new estimate declares with “high confidence” that a military-run Iranian program intended to transform that raw material into a nuclear weapon has been shut down since 2003, and also says with high confidence that the halt “was directed primarily in response to increasing international scrutiny and pressure.”

The estimate does not say when American intelligence agencies learned that the weapons program had been halted, but a statement issued by Donald Kerr, the principal director of national intelligence, said the document was being made public “since our understanding of Iran’s capabilities has changed.”

Rather than painting Iran as a rogue, irrational nation determined to join the club of nations with the bomb, the estimate states Iran’s “decisions are guided by a cost-benefit approach rather than a rush to a weapon irrespective of the political, economic and military costs.” The administration called new attention to the threat posed by Iran earlier this year when President Bush had suggested in October that a nuclear-armed Iran could lead to “World War III” and Vice President Dick Cheney promised “serious consequences” if the government in Tehran did not abandon its nuclear program.

Yet at the same time officials were airing these dire warnings about the Iranian threat, analysts at the Central Intelligence Agency were secretly concluding that Iran’s nuclear weapons work halted years ago and that international pressure on the Islamic regime in Tehran was working.

Senator Harry Reid, the majority leader, portrayed the assessment as “directly challenging some of this administration’s alarming rhetoric about the threat posed by Iran.” He said he hoped the administration “appropriately adjusts its rhetoric and policy,” and called for a “a diplomatic surge necessary to effectively address the challenges posed by Iran.” read more ...

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