The new issue of CAST’s “_Moscow Defense Brief_”:http://mdb.cast.ru/mdb/4-2008/ is out.
Some highlights:
* “Iskander the Great”:http://mdb.cast.ru/mdb/4-2008/item1/article1/
* “Russian Deliveries of Arms, Military Equipment, and Dual Use Items to Iran Since 2000”:http://mdb.cast.ru/mdb/4-2008/item7/article1/
* “Iran’s Foreign Policy in Central Asia”:http://mdb.cast.ru/mdb/4-2008/item2/article1/
* “Serdyukov’s Plan for Russian Military Reform”:http://mdb.cast.ru/mdb/4-2008/item6/article1/
The cover photo is a money shot. “*Check it out for yourself*”:http://mdb.cast.ru/mdb/4-2008/.
I apologize for slightly going off topic.
The MDB Moscow – Tehran – Washington article raises the question of the US global missile defense program:
American officials never tire of asserting that the radar in the Czech Republic and the interceptor missiles in Poland are meant to protect Europe from ballistic missiles from Iran. Moscow does not believe this, …
Moscow’s deep irritation with this situation was expressed in the announcement by President Dmitry Medvedev that Russia would take measures to counter the missile defense system, made on the day of Obama’s electoral victory.
… and presumes that U.S. missile defense is truly deployed against Iran and has no other targets. This latter point is far from obvious, …
I don’t know if the US ABM program is directed against Iran, Russia or both. I tend to think Russia is included since the US didn’t pass through an ideological shift after the Cold War. Another US problem is keeping on with the old self-righteous and hypocritical propaganda intended for allies and internal consumption. Such propaganda may influence US policymakers themselves, making them insincere about state interests.
Another point. It’s clear that Iran will attack European targets only if attacked by a coalition that includes European countries. The US haste to create a European anti-ballistic shield may indicate some Western coalition is planning to attack Iran. If this is so the Russian opposition to the shield may be actually an opposition to attacking Iran.