Washington (AFP) Feb 12, 2009Pakistan holds the key to defusing tensions with nuclear rival India by executing a serious clampdown on Islamic militants, US Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair said Thursday. Without such action from Islamabad, President Barack Obama's new chief of intelligence told Congress, New Delhi could feel compelled to ignite a wider conflict in a region already fraught with security ... more
NKorea would only use nukes if survival at stake: US
Washington (AFP) Feb 12, 2009North Korea is unlikely to use its nuclear weapons unless Kim Jong-Il's regime feels mortally threatened, but the Stalinist nation remains a wide-ranging menace, a top official said Thursday. Dennis Blair, President Barack Obama's director of national intelligence, accused North Korea of exporting missiles to Iran while observing that Kim himself remains very much in charge despite an ... more
Analysis: N. Korea promotes military hawks
Seoul (UPI) Feb 12, 2009North Korea has reshuffled its top military leadership, indicating the intractable country is likely to step up its saber-rattling and Cold War-style brinkmanship and lowering hopes of a peaceful resolution to the nuclear standoff, officials and analysts in South Korea say. The military shakeup, which comes amid mounting signs of an imminent missile launch, is also aimed at tightening ... more
NKorea would only use nukes if survival at stake: US intel chief
Washington (AFP) Feb 12, 2009North Korea is unlikely to use its nuclear weapons unless Kim Jong-Il's regime feels its survival is at stake, US Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair said Thursday. On the proliferation front, North Korea has sold ballistic missiles to Iran and other Middle Eastern nations, and helped Syria to build a nuclear reactor, he said in testimony to the Senate Select Committee on ... more
