In his Nuclear Posture Review to be released on Tuesday, Obama has however rejected the proposal that the sole purpose of nuclear arms is deterrence.
The United States Department of Defence has announced that it will pursue a modern variant of the B61 nuclear gravity bomb, designated the B61-13, pending Congressional authorisation and appropriation.
'Pakistan's is the only military-controlled nuclear weapons programme in the world.' 'As people get radicalised, the risk of a brigadier or pilot taking matters into their own hands is a real concern.'
'Much will depend on the position of the United States.' 'It will have to be seen to what extent the US will be more interested in achieving some form of a deal and to what extent Israel will be allowed to continue to carry out both airstrikes and the killing of Iranian officials.'
Even though India is not a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, the Obama Administration said on Wednesday that New Delhi had a key role to play in strengthening of global nuclear non-proliferation regime.
According to a US State Department factsheet, 'Washington has no specific plans to develop low yield nuclear weapons but the Nuclear Posture Review highlighted the importance of being able to respond to changes in the security environment'.
The United States will not conduct nuclear tests and move to seek the ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, the Obama administration said today, as it underlined the importance of the NPT to the non-proliferation regime, the two pacts that India has failed to support in its present form.
'No, India and China were not about to go to all-out war over a few rocks of Galwan.' 'The full picture of what went on at the highest level between two heads of State will not be known for a very, very long time and rightly so,' points out Colonel Anil A Athale, former head of the history division, ministry of defence.
The pause gives the US time to breathe, to regroup, to move its expeditionary force into position without risk of interception along the way. It gives Iran nothing -- on the ground, attacks against its infrastructure continue apace. Prem Panicker in his must read daily blog on the Gulf War.
China is expanding its nuclear force and is likely to have a stockpile of about 1,500 warheads by 2035, up from the current estimated number of 400, the Pentagon has said in a report that notes that Beijing aims to expand its national power through both domestic and foreign policy initiatives.
The new government must initiate a comprehensive review of India's nuclear weapons doctrine and posture. Ajai Shukla explains
'If they can be duplicitous, we can be equally duplicitous.' 'If they offer friendship, we reciprocate.' 'If they choose hostility, we respond with equal hostility.'
The strategy, President Donald Trump said, is tailored and flexible to address the wide array of threats in the 21st century.
In response to a question about whether US citizens should be concerned about a nuclear war breaking out, Biden said "no."
IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack begins by asking why the hijack lasted seven days and ends in wondering if the good guys fought the bad ones hard enough, observes Sukanya Verma.
The Indian position on the Russia-Ukraine war and the unconditional treaty between China and Russia appear to have caused some ripples in India-US relations and led to a reappraisal of India's usefulness to the US in the eventuality of a conflict with China, notes Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
Shigeru Ishiba is expected to prioritise strengthening Japan's military capabilities and fostering deeper international partnerships, particularly with India, with whom Japan shares significant strategic interests, explains Dr Rajaram Panda.
'The only effective defence against a suicide attack is 'pre-emptive' destruction of the attacker,' says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
Ambassador Pankaj Sharma, Permanent Representative of India to the Conference on Disarmament (CD), Geneva, said India has been drawing the attention of the world towards these threats and the need to strengthen international cooperation to address them through its annual consensus UNGA resolution titled 'Measures to prevent terrorists from acquiring weapons of mass destruction'.
In the test, a space rocket boosted a hypersonic glide vehicle, one capable of carrying a nuclear device, which circled the globe before impacting.
'It is unacceptable that some tend to limit the access to peaceful nuclear technology to an exclusive club of technologically advanced States under the pretext of non-proliferation,' said foreign minister Kamal Kharrazi.
In his maiden address to the employees of the State Department, the US president said he has come to the building to send a clear message to the world: America is back. America is back. Diplomacy is back.
The military brass is learnt to have apprised Modi about the evolving situation in eastern Ladakh, though officials maintained that the agenda of the pre-scheduled meeting was to discuss the ambitious military reforms and ways to boost India's combat prowess.
The Indian Army will continue to maintain its aggressive posturing in all disputed areas in eastern Ladakh and will not back off till status quo is maintained, sources said.
Rediff.com present a comprehensive listing of the nuclear nations and their collective and active stockpile.
As India and the US hold fresh talks on three contentious defence foundational agreements, a top American military official on Wednesday batted for the pacts, saying these are an opportunity for deeper collaboration and cooperation in the key sector.
A realistic assessment will tell us that not much has changed between India and Pakistan; the relationship remains as fraught as before with little prospect of reconciliation, notes Ajai Shukla.
It is learnt that Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has conveyed to top military brass that there was no need for reviewing the implementation of any of the key projects along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh, Sikkim, Uttarakhand or in Arunachal Pradesh in view of the aggressive behaviour by Chinese troops in several sensitive areas.
The US said that it sees positive indicators in Pakistan, but...
'The range of purchases throw a light on India's threat perception as also its perceived role of being a stabilising influence in the region,' says Brigadier S K Chatterji (retd).
The US foreign and security policy establishment, says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar, apprehends that Trump may compel them to exorcise the 'unipolar predicament', and bring foreign and security policies to reflect the desires and priorities of the American public.
'Those who have seen the functioning of the Modi government in Gujarat know that the issues related to Hindutva and issues of economy and growth function simultaneously.' 'Modi's politics are based on the understanding of the middle-class consumer society which is in pursuit of material aspirations.' Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com reveals the Modi government's economic and political plans for the year ahead.
