United States and Canada

Russian aircraft carrier may not reach Syria until 2012

By Andy Young, Siberian Light

From Andy Young, Siberian Light:  The Russian Navy has confirmed that its aircraft carrier, the Admiral Kuznetsov, will visit the Syrian port of Tartus, where Russia has its only Mediterranean naval base.

Russia’s NATO envoy to visit China, Iran over missile defense

By RIA Novosti

The Russian-Georgian war as a geostrategic turning point

By Fyodor Lukyanov, Russia in Global Affairs

Pakistan stops NATO supplies after raid kills up to 28

By Shams Momand, Reuters

From Shams Momand, Reuters:  NATO helicopters and fighter jets attacked two military outposts in northwest Pakistan on Saturday, killing as many as 28 troops and plunging U.S.-Pakistan relations deeper into crisis.

Russia says U.S. imposes missile shield on Europe

By Reuters

From Reuters:  Russian President Dmitry Medvedev accused Washington Thursday of imposing its plans to deploy a missile defence shield on European countries, a day after he threatened to retaliate if the United States pressed ahead with the project.

Iranian general: “we will target NATO’s missile shield in Turkey” if attacked

By Fars News Agency

From Fars News Agency:  Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Aerospace Commander Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh underlined Iran’s crushing response to any enemy aggression, and warned that Tehran will target the NATO missile shield in Turkey in case it comes under attack.

Russia’s Red Alert

By James Joyner, the New Atlanticist

From James Joyner, the New Atlanticist:  Russian President Dmitry Medvedev announced today that he would "immediately put the missile attack early warning radar station in Kaliningrad on combat alert" and take other aggressive steps to counter NATO’s missile defense system. In an official statement reprinted on NATOSource, Medvedev claims this step was taken after NATO and the […]

White House will not change missile defense plans despite Medvedev’s warning

By FoxNews

From FoxNews:  The U.S. is not planning on making any changes to its missile defense system in Europe, a U.S. official said Wednesday, despite a warning from Russia’s president that Moscow will target the U.S. system if Washington goes ahead and deploys the planned shield.

Medvedev willing to sabotage US-Russia arms control unless agreement reached on NATO missile defense

By Charles Clover and James Blitz, the Financial Times

From Charles Clover and James Blitz, the Financial Times:  Dmitry Medvedev, Russia’s president, has warned that a failure by the US to take into account Russian objections to a planned Nato anti-missile shield would spark a new arms race and derail efforts to improve frosty relations between Washington and Moscow.  Accusing the US and its […]