Barak: No Iran Strike 'For the Moment'

JERUSALEM - Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak on Dec. 1 ruled out a strike against Iran's nuclear facilities "for the moment," in remarks to public radio, but said that the Jewish state would keep all options open.

ISRAELI DEFENCE MINISTER Ehud Barak attends a weekly cabinet meeting Nov. 27 in Jerusalem. Barak (Baz Ratner / AFP via Getty Images)

"We have no intention of acting for the moment ... We should not engage in war when it is not necessary, but there may come a time or another when we are forced to face tests," Barak said.

"Our position has not changed on three points: a nuclear Iran is unacceptable, we are determined to stop that, and all options are on the table," he added.

Israel and much of the international community fears that Iran's nuclear program masks a drive for a weapons capability. Tehran denies any such ambition and says the program is for peaceful civilian energy and medical purposes only.

Israel has pushed Washington and the EU for tough sanctions against Tehran, but warned that it would not allow Iran to obtain nuclear weapons, and that military action to stop the program remained an option.

Barak said he was confident that military action against Iran would not be devastating for Israel.

"War is not a picnic, but if Israel is forced to act, we won't have 50,000, 5,000 or even 500 dead, so long as people stay in their homes," he said, noting that rockets fired at Israel by Iraq during the 1991 Gulf War had not killed a single Israeli.

Asked about potential differences between the United States and Israel on tactics to stop Iranian nuclear development, Barak stressed that the Jewish state would ultimately take the decisions it thought best.

"It must be understood that Israel is sovereign. The government, the army and the security services are the only ones responsible for the security and the existence of Israel," he said.

Barak declined to comment on what was behind at least two explosions in Iranian cities in recent weeks, only one of which has been confirmed by Iranian authorities.

"Anything that sets back the Iranian nuclear program, whether it is accidental or the product of other methods, is welcome," he said, refusing to say whether Israeli forces had any role in the incidents.

On Nov. 28, Brig. Gen. Itai Brun, head of research for Israeli military intelligence, told lawmakers that Iran was "using 6,000 centrifuges regularly, out of 8,000 installed."

"Until today, they have managed to accumulate approximately 50 tons of low enriched uranium, and a bit less than 100 kilos of 20 percent enriched uranium," he said.

Brun said Iran would need at least 220 kilos of 20 percent enriched uranium if it decided on a drive for the much higher levels of enrichment necessary to produce a nuclear weapon.

On Nov. 29, the former head of Israeli military intelligence, Amos Yadlin, said he estimated Iran has "enough material for four to five bombs."

But he said Tehran could not immediately assemble a nuclear weapon, if that was their goal.

"Once they decide they want to, it will take them a year to 18 months to attain a bomb," he said.

Clinton Urges Myanmar to Sever 'Illicit Ties' with North Korea

NAYPYIDAW - U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Dec. 1 called on Myanmar to cut "illicit ties" with North Korea and said the regime had given assurances that it was not cooperating with Pyongyang.

"I was frank that better relations with the United States will only be possible if the entire government respects the international consensus against the spread of nuclear weapons," Clinton told reporters.

"We look to Naypyidaw to honor U.N. Security Council Resolutions 1718 and 1874 and sever illicit ties with North Korea," she added.

President Thein Sein gave "strong assurances" that Myanmar would abide by the U.N. resolutions, which ban weapons exports from North Korea, Clinton said during a landmark visit to the isolated capital Naypyidaw.

Her aides have, however, played down defectors' accounts of nuclear cooperation between the two authoritarian countries, saying the top U.S. concern relates to missile technology.

Thein Sein also said that Myanmar was "strongly considering signing the IAEA additional protocol and that they are already engaged in dialogue with the IAEA", according to a senior State Department official speaking on condition of anonymity.

The IAEA, or the International Atomic Energy Agency, is the nuclear watchdog of the United Nations. Signing its additional protocol would allow the IAEA to carry out inspections of suspected clandestine nuclear sites.

Allegations of nuclear cooperation between Myanmar and North Korea have been a top concern for U.S. lawmakers.

Republican Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, a frequent critic of President Barack Obama who heads the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said that the weapons concerns made U.S. outreach to Myanmar problematic.

"Secretary Clinton's visit represents a monumental overture to an outlaw regime whose DNA remains fundamentally brutal," she said in a statement in Washington.

S. Korean Official Warns of Provocations from North

SEOUL - South Korea's defense chief said Dec. 1 that North Korea may use provocations next year to deal with economic woes and political instability stemming from a second dynastic succession.

Defense Minister Kim Kwan-Jin described 2012 as a critical year for security saying the military should stay alert against any provocations by North Korea.

The regime has set the goal of becoming a "great, powerful and prosperous" country by 2012, Kim said.

It also faces "economic hardships, public discontent and political instability" next year as the third-generation hereditary succession is under way, Kim added.

"To address these issues and find a breakthrough, North Korea may again resort to provocations," he told a meeting of key military commanders.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il, 69, is believed to have speeded up the succession plan after suffering a stroke in August 2008.

In September last year he gave his youngest son Jong-Un senior party posts and appointed him a four-star general, in the clearest sign yet that he is the heir apparent.

The North suffers severe economic problems, exacerbated by sanctions, and persistent serious food shortages. It is also under international pressure to shut down its nuclear weapons program.

"In these extremely difficult times, our military should stay focused on our missions. As in the past, our enemy could catch us by surprise when we appear vulnerable," the minister said.

Relations have been tense since Seoul accused its neighbor of torpedoing a South Korean warship in March 2010 near the Yellow Sea border, with the loss of 46 lives.

The North denied sinking the ship, but South Korea has since staged a series of military drills alone or jointly with U.S. troops.

India Tests Nuke Missile With New Navigation

NEW DELHI - India's Dec. 1 test of its Agni-I ballistic missile was routine, according to an official with the Strategic Forces Command, which is in charge of maintaining India's nuclear-capable arsenal.

But other sources said it also was a test of an advanced navigation system that can direct the 700-kilometer-range missile to a pinpoint kill.

The 12-metric-ton Agni-I, which is already in the Indian Army's arsenal, can carry a 1,000-metric-ton nuclear warhead.

The test was conducted from India's missile testing range in the eastern state of Orissa, a Defence Ministry official said.

The Agni-I is regarded as a potential threat to Pakistan, while India's Agni-III, with a range of more than 3,000 kilometers, could target China.

India's Agni-V ballistic missile could reach the testing stage in the next two to three months, sources said. With its 5,000-kilometer range, the Agni-V could have the potential to take out targets in China and even Europe.

Dassault Critiques Financial Logic of Gripen Pick

PARIS - Dassault criticized the financial logic of selecting the Saab Gripen after Switzerland selected the Swedish single-engine fighter jet over the competition rivals Eurofighter Typhoon and the French-built Rafale.

"The 'Swiss-tailored' Gripen only exists on paper. Its technical development and production risk significantly increasing the financial efforts required of the Swiss authorities to accomplish the country's fighter aircraft program," the Dassault-led Rafale International team said in a Nov. 30 statement.

The Rafale reaction came after Switzerland earlier announced it would buy 22 Gripen fighters to replace its fleet of F-5 Tigers.

A Rafale selection would have met the Swiss operational requirements with a smaller number of aircraft "at an equivalent or lower cost," the Rafale industrial team said. Those capabilities had been "demonstrated during the assessments by the Swiss Air Force," the statement said.

The Rafale team regretted that the Swiss authorities "knowingly decided not to position Switzerland at the highest European level as regards to the performance of the new fighter aircraft," the statement said, quoting the Swiss Federal Council.

Saab welcomed the Swiss selection of the Gripen.

"Given that Switzerland is known globally for applying (the) highest procurement standards and requesting state-of-the art technologies, Saab is both proud and delighted that Gripen has been chosen as the Swiss Air Force's future multirole fighter aircraft," Saab said in a statement.

"The Gripen program will create a long-term partnership between Switzerland and Sweden. Saab assures Switzerland a long-term strategic industrial co-operation aimed at creating sustainable high tech jobs, transferring technology and generating export business," the statement said.

The Rafale team said it had reached out to 250 Swiss companies to create a local industrial partnership in the 26 Swiss cantons.

The Swiss defeat follows a setback in the United Arab Emirates for the Rafale, with Dassault's bid described as "uncompetitive and unworkable," by the Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, who is also deputy supreme commander of the armed forces.

Pakistan has developed smartest nuclear tactical devices

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan s nuclear programme has made some extraordinary progress by developing one of the world s smartest nuclear tactical devices, it has been learnt.According to a western diplomat, the former dictator and the then President General Pervez Musharraf, during one of his meetings with US officials, had deemed it proper to convey it to the Americans what Pakistan possessed and how the country s nuclear scientists had secured the defence of Pakistan.The diplomatic source said that New Delhi also knows what Pakistan has produced and what is really unmatched. The Indians got this source said and believed that Musharraf intentionally conveyed this to the Americans so that the country is not treated by the US like Afghanistan and Iraq Pakistan is neither a signatory to NPT nor CTBT, however, it has unilaterally decided to use its nuclear programme only as deterrence against any foreign aggression.After becoming the target of the Western capitals particularly Washington, which have been unleashing all sorts of propaganda against Pakistan s nuclear programme, Islamabad has developed one of the most credible and foolproof command and control systems for its nuclear programme. The US authorities have acknowledged the credibility and security of Pakistan s nukes.Wikipedia quotes a Washington-based science think tank as saying that Pakistan is increasing its capacity to produce plutonium at its Khushab nuclear facility. The website said that the estimated Pakistani nuclear weapons was probably in the neighbourhood of more than 200 by the end of 2009. It, however, adds that the actual size of Pakistan s nuclear stockpile is hard for experts to gauge owing to the extreme secrecy, which surrounds the programme. Pakistan s nuclear programme was started by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto while the country conducted its nuclear test on May 28, 1998 during Nawaz Sharif s tenure.

USMC F-35B Training Likely To Begin in Aug. 2012

The U.S. Marine Corps could start training new students to fly its F-35B short take-off vertical (STOVL) landing version of the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) in August 2012, a senior Defense Department official said.

The DoD has opted to use an approach based on reducing risks prior to starting training operations at Eglin Air Force Base (AFB), Fla., current and former officials said. As such the Pentagon has not set a specific date to issue a military flight release. Instead, the start of training will be "event driven."

Currently "[The U.S. Air Force and Department of the Navy] are waiting for aircraft flight clearance for test pilot maturation flights," a senior DoD official said. Further, "both services are still trying to determine how many maturation hours are needed by test pilots before instructor pilots and then students can be trained."

But if everything goes as currently planned, the Marine Corps students will probably start flying their version of the Lightning II around August 2012.

"Looks like training for STOVL students may go around August of this coming year," the official said. "Once student training starts, it will include all modes including STOVL."

Originally, the STOVL training was projected to start around April 2012. Air Force pilots will likely start training in the F-35A conventional-takeoff version months before the Marines, as previously planned.

But before Marines or any other students take to the air, the F-35 will have to undertake initial maturation flights, using the jet's conventional takeoff and landing mode in the case of the STOVL aircraft. Once clearance is received, the F-35B will fly using all of its modes.

"Nobody wants to go too fast, but on the other hand nobody wants to go too slow," said former Marine Corps deputy commandant for aviation, retired Lt. Gen. George Trautman. "At the end of the day it's going to be informed subjectivity where the leadership decides what sorties need to be flown in the maturation phase. I trust their collective judgment."

Retired Marine Lt. Gen. Emerson Gardner, a former aviator and deputy director of the Pentagon's Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation (CAPE) office, agreed.

"This is a validation of the Marine Corps' event-driven process to achieving initial operating capability," he said. "Instead of identifying specific dates for levels of capability, they have identified which capabilities/levels of proficiency need to be demonstrated before moving to the next level and developed a stair step process to achieving it."

Trautman said that there is an ongoing debate about how many maturation hours the F-35 needs before operational pilots should start flying it.

"I'm actually hoping it doesn't take till August," he said. "There has been a dialogue going on about how many maturation hours are required."

The debate, which is taking place between engineers and other official at Naval Air Systems Command and the Air Force's Aeronautical System Center, stems from the fact the aircraft at Eglin are operational planes flown by fleet pilots, not instrumented like test aircraft at Edwards AFB, Calif., or Naval Air Station (NAS) Patuxent River, Md., Trautman said.

But when it happens, the start of training operations will be an important milestone for the F-35 program.

"Whenever it occurs, absolutely it's a huge deal," Trautman said. "We want to start flying the airplane, we want to start getting the training cadre, the instructor cadre, up to speed so we can start getting students through there."

The sooner the maturation requirements can be met, the sooner the Marines can get pilots through the training pipeline, he said. Getting a base of trained pilots would then allow the Marines to move on to spooling up the first operational F-35B squadron at the Marines' base in Yuma, Az.

"It's been slower in the past year than we would have hoped, but there is lots of indication that the pace is going to pick-up. As it picks up, and things continue to go well for the program, that's the path that they're on, to stand-up that first squadron in Yuma," Trautman said. "It's just the normal evolution of things and it's good to know we're moving in that direction."

Gardner agreed.

"The Corps has begun the transition of all of its aviation inventory over the past decade, from MV-22s to UH-1Ys to AH-1Zs and now to the F-35B. Based on that history, they have learned to be event-driven and not calendar driven," he said. "The fact that they are continuing to move down this path confirms their confidence in the capability and should hearten supporters of the program."