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Biden Sends B61-12 Tactical Nuclear Weapons to Europe
On Saturday, Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko stated that the rapid deployment of updated US B61 tactical nuclear weapons at NATO facilities in Europe would lower the “nuclear threshold” and that Russia would factor the move into its military strategy.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine had sparked the most serious clash between Moscow and Washington since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis when the two Cold War superpowers came dangerously near nuclear war.
Russia has approximately 2,000 operational, tactical nuclear weapons, whereas the US has approximately 200 such weapons, half located at facilities in Italy, Germany, Turkey, Belgium, and the Netherlands.
According to Reuters, the US told a confidential NATO meeting to speed the deployment of the B61-12, an upgraded variant of the B61, with the new bombs arriving at European locations in December, several months earlier than intended.
“We cannot ignore the intentions to modernize nuclear weapons, especially the free-fall bombs that are being deployed in Europe,” Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko told reporters.
According to studies by the Federation of American Scientists, the 12-foot B61-12 gravity bomb has a lesser yield nuclear payload than many previous variants but is more accurate and can penetrate below ground.
“The US is updating them, boosting their precision and reducing the force of the nuclear charge, turning these weapons into ‘battlefield weapons,’ lowering the nuclear threshold,” Grushko explained.
The US begins production of its latest tactical nuclear weapons.
The Biden Administration unveiled a new defence strategy Thursday that puts the United States on a Cold War-era footing with China and Russia, outlining a plan to confront two nuclear peer adversaries for the first time in history with a multi-year build-up of modernized weaponry, strengthened foreign alliances, and a total overhaul of the American nuclear arsenal.
The 80-page book serves as the Administration’s plan for global security in the coming decades, stating unequivocally that the United States faces two formidable but very distinct competitors.
It sees China as a long-term “pacing challenge” because of its expanding military projection in the Pacific region, while Russia is an immediate “acute threat” because of its ongoing war with Ukraine and repeated threats to launch a nuclear strike.
“We deliberately chose the word ‘acute,'” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told reporters at the Pentagon. “Unlike China, Russia cannot long-term challenge the United States, but Russian aggression poses an urgent and severe threat to our interests and principles.”
In recent weeks, Russian missile assaults on civilian targets in Ukraine and unsubstantiated allegations of a pending “dirty bomb” detonation have fueled worries that the world is on the verge of nuclear Armageddon.
According to Austin, the Administration is deeply concerned about the conflict’s escalation, but it remains committed to providing Ukraine with weapons and the means to defend itself.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has often discussed the use of nuclear weapons in the eight-month-old conflict, and this week oversaw nuclear drills involving Russian submarines, bombers, and ballistic missile launches within Russia.
Austin dismissed suspicions that the war drills were a cover for a genuine nuclear assault, saying US intelligence had found no evidence of such preparations.
He said senior Russian officials had privately stated that there are no plans to use a nuclear bomb in Ukraine, but the US remained wary.
“It would be the first time in almost 70 years that a nuclear bomb has been used, so that certainly has the potential to change things in the world community,” Austin added. “We will continue to explain that any type of use of a weapon of that type, or even the discussion of such usage, is hazardous and irresponsible.”
Meanwhile, China is portrayed as the “most relevant strategic competitor for the future decades” in the strategic plan. According to the US, Beijing is actively working to undercut US alliances with Asian partners by strengthening its military and nuclear forces and threatening to invade the US-allied island of Taiwan.
“China is the only challenger out there with both the will and, increasingly, the power to remake the international system,” Austin said.
The Administration has concluded that Beijing intends to triple the number of nuclear weapons to 1,000 by 2030 while also building hundreds of additional silos capable of firing long-range ballistic missiles that hit the United States and its far-flung nuclear troops.
While the United States has a more than 10-to-1 edge over China regarding nuclear warheads and delivery systems, the Pentagon sees a need to prepare for the decades ahead.
The Chinese nuclear buildup is an unprecedented challenge for the military, which has only had to focus on deterring one near-peer adversary—formerly the Soviet Union, now Russia—from launching a nuclear assault since World War II’s end.
“I do not want to imply that this is a solved or closed situation and that we now have the answers,” a senior defence official who was not authorized to talk publicly on the subject told reporters.
“This is uncharted ground for us… How can you combat one opponent with enough reserves to keep the other at bay? And the second element of that cannot be a solution in which we need 2,000 nuclear warheads if China has 1,000 and Russia has 1,000 because that would be an arms race that no one wants to be in.”
More here: Inside America’s $100 Billion Mission to Modernize Its Aging Nuclear Missiles
Austin’s proposal departs significantly from President Joe Biden’s campaign commitment to diminish the role of nuclear weapons in US strategy.
There are hints toward disarmament, such as directions to stop developing nuclear-armed sea-launched cruise missiles, retire the heaviest gravity bomb in the US arsenal, the B83, and end the avowed strategy of keeping nuclear weapons as a “hedge against an unpredictable future.”
However, the big improvement that non-proliferation experts had hoped for has not occurred.
“It substantially maintains the nuclear deterrence strategy and posture, including capabilities added during the Trump Administration.” “It is unclear how it decreases the role of nuclear weapons as the President instructed,” says Leonor Tomero, Biden’s Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for nuclear and missile defence until October 2021.
“There is an urgent urgency to lower the risk of nuclear war, particularly when nuclear tensions are at their highest in years.”
According to Tomero, the hazards of miscalculation and unexpected quick escalation could lead to the use of nuclear weapons. “To avoid these dangers, these new threats necessitate clear solutions and effective efforts to adapt and reinforce deterrence,” she says.
Under a bilateral deal known as New START, the United States and Russia are currently limited in the number of strategic warheads and delivery systems until February 2026.
On the other hand, China is not a signatory to the pact and has shown no evidence of trying to rein in its nuclear weapons programs, raising concerns about whether further nuclear armament reductions by other countries will be achievable.
“There are repeated references to adjusting US posture in the future, which sets up a future Administration to increase the size of the arsenal or resume nuclear testing,” says Jeffrey Lewis, an analyst at the Middlebury Institute of Strategic Studies’ James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies.
The administration is particularly concerned about the growth of non-nuclear weapons systems, such as hypersonic missiles, and space-based and cyber capabilities.
The strategy calls for “creating enduring advantages,” which includes investments in the Defense Department’s people, changes in weapon-buying processes, and climate change preparation.
Other threats mentioned in the dossier include Iran and North Korea and “violent extremist organizations,” which is military lingo for terrorist groups.
The Biden team’s focus on Moscow and Beijing is consistent with the US national security complex’s aim to shift away from the Middle East’s quagmire of conflict and counter-terrorism operations and engage in Great Power competition.
Congress requires each administration to produce a new national defence policy every four years, and two versions are created: one secret and one public.
The strategy, unveiled on October 27, was the first time it incorporated the so-called Nuclear Posture Review and Missile Defense Review, which affected funding allocations for the following years.
“By weaving these documents together,” Austin explained, “we assist guarantee that the entire department is going ahead together and that our resources are aligned with our goals.”
Paris police find no weapons on a man detained at Iran’s consulate.
Police said Friday that they discovered no weapons on a man held at the Iranian consulate in Paris after responding to a report of a suspicious man carrying a grenade and an explosives vest.
A Paris police spokesperson told The Associated Press that authorities were verifying the man’s identity but discovered no such weapons on him or in his car.
AP News – VOR News Image
G7 Warns Of New Sanctions Against Iran As World Reacts To Apparent Israeli Drone Attack
The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because he is not permitted to be publicly identified under police procedure.
Some of the police, special agents, and firefighters who rushed to the situation at the consulate were later spotted leaving the area after being arrested. A police cordon remained in place, although traffic had resumed in the area.
According to the official, the individual was observed late Friday morning, and police initiated a special operation as soon as they were notified.
The event occurred at a time of heightened tensions in the Middle East, as Paris prepares to host the summer Olympics.
The director of the United Nations’ nuclear inspector says there was no damage to the Isfahan nuclear facility following a purported Israeli drone attack on a major air base near the Iranian city.
When asked about the nuclear facility on Sky News, International Atomic Energy Agency Director-General Rafael Mariano Grossi stated, “There hasn’t been any damage at the site or anything that would indicate that (there) were hits nearby or something that could lead you to believe that there was an intention to reach these places.”
The Isfahan facility has three small research reactors supplied by China, as well as fuel production and other activities for Iran’s civilian nuclear program.
G7 Warns Of New Sanctions Against Iran As World Reacts To Apparent Israeli Drone Attack
Isfahan also contains locations related with Iran’s nuclear program, such as the subterranean Natanz enrichment facility, which has been frequently attacked by suspected Israeli sabotage strikes.
Iranian authorities claim that air defenses fired on a key air base in Isfahan, which has long housed Iran’s fleet of American-made F-14 Tomcats, purchased prior to the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Missile remnants were discovered Friday near Latifiya, southwest of Baghdad.
An official with an Iranian-backed militia in Iraq, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak with journalists, said the missile was shot down due to jamming efforts. The Iraqi army lacks jamming systems similar to those used to destroy the rocket, but Iran has handed such gear to its allied militias.
It was unclear whether the rocket was part of an Israeli attack on Iran or last weekend’s Iranian attack on Israel. Local media images of the site showed what seemed to be an air-to-surface missile. There were no reports of Iran firing air-to-surface missiles during Saturday’s onslaught, which comprised over 300 drones, ballistic missiles, and cruise missiles.
G7 Warns Of New Sanctions Against Iran As World Reacts To Apparent Israeli Drone Attack
Tehran launched the attack in response to a purported Israeli strike in Syria on April 1, which killed two Iranian generals in an Iranian consulate building.
SOURCE (AP)
Six people have been arrested, including a jeweler and a commercial airline employee, and police have issued warrants for three more suspects in connection with what they say the single-largest gold robbery in Canadian history.
According to Peel Regional Police in Ontario, a joint investigation with the United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) resulted in the filing of nearly two dozen charges against the suspects in connection with the nearly $20 million Canadian dollar ($14.5 million) heist that occurred a year ago.
During a news conference in Ontario on Wednesday, Peel Regional Police Detective-Sergeant Mike Mavity told reporters that 400 kilograms of gold bars weighing more than 900 pounds, as well as approximately CA$2.5 million ($1.8 million) in stolen bank notes, were hijacked at Toronto Pearson International Airport after arriving on a commercial flight from Europe.
In total, 6,600 gold bars of various sizes were stolen, each of which was “99.9% pure and contained individualized serial numbers,” according to Mavity.
Gold Was in Hull of Air Canada aeroplane: File Photo
According to Peel Regional Police in Ontario, a joint investigation with the United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) resulted in nearly two dozen charges being filed against the suspects in connection with the nearly $20 million Canadian dollar heist that occurred on April 17, 2023.
On April 17, 2023, the gold and money were loaded into the hull of an Air Canada flight in “an approved airline container” bound for Toronto.
At 3:56 p.m. same day, the flight arrived at Toronto Pearson International Airport, and the gold and cash were quickly removed from the aircraft and transported to an Air Canada facility.
At 6:32 p.m., a man suspect came at air can freight driving a 5-ton truck and approached the property with what police called a counterfeit airway bill, a document used by carriers to track shipments.
Shortly after, a forklift arrived and loaded the item into the suspect’s truck. The suspect then drove off.
Fake Shipping Bill: Photo Peel Police
According to a police press release, officials discovered the document bill at 2:43 a.m. the next day to be a duplicate of an airline bill for a valid shipment of fish delivered and picked up the day before.
According to Mavity, the fake bill was produced at the Air Canada facility, and when officials discovered the products were gone, they used security footage to monitor part of the suspect’s subsequent trip until losing track of the truck in north Milton, an Ontario suburb.
Police stated that the crime was an inside operation and that a former Air Canada manager was wanted in the case.
So far police said they have arrested the following suspects in connection to the gold heist case:
- Air Canada employee Parmpal Sidhu, 54, of Ontario
- Jewelry store owner Ali Raza, 37, of Toronto
- Amit Jalota, 40, of Ontario
- Ammad Chaudhary, 43, of Ontario
- Prasath Paramalingam, 35, of Ontario
All five were released on bail and are scheduled to appear in court at a later date, Mavity said.
The truck driver who allegedly picked up the gold, Durante King-Mclean, 25 of Ontario, is currently in custody in the U.S. on firearms and trafficking related charges.
Here are the suspects at large:
- Air Canada manager Simran Preet Panesar, 31, of Ontario
- Archit Grover, 36, of Ontario
- Arsalan Chaudhary, 42, of Ontario
Only CA$90,000 ($65,000) of the more than CA$20 million recovered, said to Peel Regional Deputy Chief Nick Milinovich.
According to US Today, U.S. ATF Special Agent Eric DeGree, King-Mclean was detained in Pennsylvania following a traffic stop that resulted in the seizure of 65 illicit guns destined for Canada. According to DeGree, King-Mclean attempted to flee after police discovered the firearms in a rental car he was driving.
According to Air Canada spokesman Peter Fitzpatrick, two of the individuals identified by police worked for the airline’s cargo division at the time of the crime.
“One left the company prior to the arrests announced today, and the second has been suspended,” he stated, according to the site. “Because matter is now before the courts, we are unable to speak further.
According to the announcement, only about CA $90,000 (one kilogram of gold) has been found and melted down into bangle bracelets. According to authorities, the remaining gold was most likely melted down and used to purchase illicit weaponry.
“I commend our investigators, the ATF, other law enforcement partners, and our community for working together to identify and arrest those responsible for this brazen crime,” Peel Regional Police Chief Nishan Duraiappah said in a statement this week.
Anyone with information regarding the case should contact Peel Regional Police.
WARSAW, Poland – A Polish man has been arrested on suspicion of preparing to spy for Russia’s military intelligence in an alleged plot to assassinate Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Polish prosecutors said Thursday.
According to a statement released by Poland’s National Prosecutor’s Office, the individual, known only as Pawel K. under Polish privacy regulations, was accused of preparing to transmit airport security information to Russian agents and was arrested in Poland on Wednesday.
AP News Image
Poland Arrests Man Suspected Of Spying For Russia To Aid Zelenskyy Assassination Plot
The man was looking for contact with Russians directly involved in the war in Ukraine and was expected to provide detailed information about the Rzeszow-Jasionka airport in south-east Poland, near the Ukrainian border, which serves as the gateway for international military and humanitarian supplies to Ukraine. It also caters to leaders and politicians traveling in and out of Ukraine. The airport is controlled by US soldiers.
If convicted, the guy faces up to eight years in prison, according to the statement.
AP News – VOR News
Poland Arrests Man Suspected Of Spying For Russia To Aid Zelenskyy Assassination Plot
The prosecutors claimed that close cooperation with Ukrainian prosecutors and security agencies, who tipped them off and provided crucial evidence, made the arrest possible. They stated the case is progressing.
On Thursday, prosecutors in Germany announced the arrest of two German-Russian individuals on suspicion of espionage, with one accused of agreeing to carry out assaults on potential targets, including US military bases, in the hopes of damaging supplies to Ukraine.
Dieter S. and Alexander J. were arrested Wednesday in Bayreuth, Bavaria, according to German federal authorities.
Since Moscow initiated its campaign on Ukraine in February 2022, several persons have been arrested in Poland on suspicion of spying for Russia, including a dual Russian-Spanish citizen.
CNN – Vor News Image
Poland Arrests Man Suspected Of Spying For Russia To Aid Zelenskyy Assassination Plot
Poland, a European Union member, has been a loyal backer of neighboring Ukraine and Zelenskyy in their fight against Russia’s aggression for more than two years.
SOURCE – (AP)
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