India’s Nuclear Options and Escalation Dominance
Toby Dalton and George Perkovich
Since the early 2000s, Indian strategists have wrestled with the challenge of motivating Pakistan to demobilize anti-India terrorist groups while managing the potential for conflict escalation during a crisis. The growing prominence of nuclear weapons in Pakistan’s national security strategy casts a shadow of nuclear use over any potential military strategy India might consider to strike this balance. However, augmenting its nuclear options with tactical nuclear weapons is unlikely to bolster Indian deterrence in convincing ways.
U.S. and East Asia Allies to Test Missile Tracking Systems
Choe Sang Hun | New York Times
The United States, South Korea and Japan will, for the first time, jointly test their ability to detect and track North Korean missiles, a South Korean Defense Ministry official said on Monday. The drill will be conducted on June 28 — shortly before Japan and South Korea are scheduled to join the US-led Rim of the Pacific Exercise in waters off Hawaii — and will involve destroyers equipped with the Aegis radar system, said the official, who briefed reporters on the condition of anonymity.
U.S., France Differ Over Readiness of NATO Missile-Defense Shield
Julian E. Barnes and Robert Wall | Wall Street Journal
French officials said they are withholding their approval for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to take control of the U.S.-built European missile-defense system, a position alliance and American officials hope they can persuade Paris to change before an alliance summit in July.
The Sky's No Limit: Russia to Restore Early Warning Radar Station in Crimea
Sputnik News
Russia will modernize an early warning radar station located near Sevastopol in Crimea to detect possible missile launches from the Black Sea and the Mediterranean, according to the newspaper Izvestia.
White House Threatens Veto, Calls MOX Program ‘Past Deadline, Over Budget’
Thomas Gardiner | Aiken Standard
President Barack Obama’s administration called the current version of the National Defense Authorization Act, including continued funding for the MOX project, an impedance to the administration’s national defense strategy Monday and threatened an eventual veto. The threat came from a statement released by the Executive Office of the President which described the administration’s concerns with a litany of topics within the resolution, including the continuation of the Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility, or MOX, at Savannah River Site.
Iran's Government and Revolutionary Guards Battle for Control of Economy
Benoit Faucon, Stacy Meichtry and Asa Fitch | Wall Street Journal
Ebadallah Abdollahi, a commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, was surprised last summer to find one of his top projects being second-guessed. A confidential review ordered by the government called for scaling back a multibillion-dollar bullet-train project in which he was deeply involved, cutting some of its costs and allowing Western companies to bid for part of the work, said people who saw the report.