Edition

United States Invites Russia to Measure Missile-Defense Test

IN THIS ISSUE: US invites Russia to measure missile-defense test, New US envoy to N. Korea, Researchers warn of new Stuxnet worm, fight over NY nuke plant, Russia concerned about Iran nuclear report, understanding India's 'cold start' doctrine.

Published on October 20, 2011
 

U.S. Invites Russia to Measure Missile-Defense Test

Susan Cornwell and Jim Wolf | Reuters

US Missile Defense

The United States has invited Russia to use its own radars and other sensors to size up one or more U.S. missile-defense flight tests as part of a new push to persuade Moscow that the system poses it no threat, a Pentagon official said on Tuesday.

The idea is to let Russia measure for itself the performance of U.S. interceptor missiles being deployed in and around Europe in what Washington says is a layered shield against missiles that could be fired by countries like Iran.

"These are smaller missiles," Army Lieutenant General Patrick O'Reilly, director of the Pentagon's Missile Defense Agency, told a forum hosted by the Atlantic Council. He referred to current and planned Standard Missile-3 interceptors built by Raytheon Co.     Full Article



Follow the Nuclear Policy Program
RSS News Feed Facebook Twitter
Footer information begins here
More from Proliferation News


Brian Knowlton and Choe Sang-Hun | New York Times
The United States will resume long-stalled talks with North Korea next week in Geneva and has appointed a full-time envoy with a background in nuclear issues, the State Department announced Wednesday, as North Korean media reported that Kim Jong-il made rare comments of encouragement on the possibility of resuming broader six-party talks aimed at ending his country's nuclear program.    Full Article

BBC News
Researchers have found evidence that the Stuxnet worm could be about to regenerate. Stuxnet was a highly complex piece of malware created to spy on and disrupt Iran's nuclear programme. No-one has identified the worm authors but the finger of suspicion fell on the Israeli and US governments. The new threat, Duqu, is, according to those who discovered it, "a precursor to a future Stuxnet-like attack."    Full Article

Joel Rose | NPR
New York's political titans are clashing over the future of a controversial nuclear plant north of New York City. Gov. Andrew Cuomo wants to close the aging Indian Point nuclear plant because of safety concerns. But the plant has some powerful allies of its own. In Westchester County, about 35 miles up the Hudson River from Manhattan, a handful of anti-nuclear activists holds a weekly protest against Indian Point.    Full Article

Fredrik Dahl | Reuters
Russia fears a U.N. report which is expected to heighten suspicions about Iran's atomic ambitions could undermine Moscow's initiative to help resolve a nuclear dispute with Tehran, diplomatic sources said on Wednesday. Russia's concern about the timing of the U.N. report, due next month, contrasts with the hopes of Western states that the document will strengthen their case to step up pressure on the Islamic state.    Full Article

 
 
Muhammad Azam Khan | The Express Tribune
The Indian army's controversial cold start doctrine (CSD) has been the focus of intense debate in Pakistani military circles over the past few years. Last year the Pakistani army conducted a major exercise to beef up response options. A closer look at the CSD, however, reveals that there was, and still is, deep discord between the Indian political and military leadership on the worth of executing the punitive, Pakistan-specific CSD.     Full Article

Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.