South Korean Navy Ship Sinks in Disputed Waters

A South Korean navy patrol ship sank near the disputed western sea border with North Korea early Saturday after suffering damage to its hull, South Korea’s military said.

The incident immediately raised suspicions about the possible involvement of North Korea, whose navy has skirmished for years with South Korean ships in the waters off the Korean peninsula. But South Korean officials said it was not clear whether the ship had been attacked by the North.

Obama Seals Arms Control Deal With Russia

President Obama Announcing the News of Russian/U.S. Agreement

President Obama and Russian President Medvedev have agreed upon the follow on to the START nuclear arms treaty.  This treaty will commit both the United States and Russia to a significant new reduction of the strategic missiles each side has deployed.  This agreement ends a year of debate and negotiations.

President Obama finalized a new arms control treaty with Russia on Friday that will pare back the still-formidable cold war nuclear arsenals of each country. The agreement brings to fruition one of the president’s signature foreign policy objectives, just days after he signed into law the most expansive domestic program in decades.

Ending a year of sometimes topsy-turvy negotiations, Mr. Obama and President Dmitri A. Medvedev of Russia sealed the deal in a morning telephone call, confirming resolution of the last outstanding details. They then announced they will fly to Prague to sign the treaty on April 8 in a ceremony designed to showcase improved relations between the two countries.

“With this agreement, the United States and Russia, the two largest nuclear powers in the world, also send a clear signal that we intend to lead,” Mr. Obama said, appearing in front of reporters at the White House to announce the agreement. “By upholding our own commitments under the nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, we strengthen our global efforts to stop the spread of these weapons, and to ensure that other nations meet their own responsibilities.”

Ike Skelton on New START Treaty

House Armed Services Committee

Ike Skelton, Chairman

Skelton Statement on New START Treaty

Washington, D.C.—Today, House Armed Services Committee Chairman Ike Skelton (D-Mo.) released the statement below following President Obama’s announcement that the U.S. and Russia reached a nuclear arms deal:

“The President’s announcement that the U.S. has reached a nuclear arms agreement with Russia is a welcome addition to our continuing work to strengthen U.S. national security. Although I have not yet had an opportunity to review the New START Treaty, I am encouraged that an agreement has been reached and will closely examine this treaty in the days ahead.

“I view this agreement as a positive development that should benefit U.S., Russian, and global security as whole.   The agreement will send a clear message to the world, and should assist President Obama in his efforts to impose stiffer punishments on nations accused of violating the Non-Proliferation Treaty when he meets with that treaty’s signatory nations in May.”

N.Korea Vows Nuclear Strike Against US

North Korea has claimed that the United States and South Korea are seeking to change things within the peninsula and therefore have threatened to launch a nuclear strike.  “Those who seek to bring down the system in North Korea… will fall victim to the unprecedented nuclear strikes of the invincible army,” a North Korean General Staff spokesman told the official Korean Central News Agency on Friday.

North Korea has accused the US and South Korea of seeking a regime change in the country, threatening to launch nuclear strikes to counter any provocations by the two.

“Those who seek to bring down the system in the DPRK (North Korea)… will fall victim to the unprecedented nuclear strikes of the invincible army,” a North Korean General Staff spokesman told the official Korean Central News Agency on Friday.

NATO, Russia Need Shield to Guard Against Iran, Rasmussen Says

NATO Secretary General Rasmussen

NATO Secretary General Rasmussen stated that Russia and the United States should cooperate on missile defense in order to protect themselves from the threat of Iran.  “We need a missile-defense system that includes not just all countries of NATO, but Russia too,” Rasmussen said, according to excerpts released today by North Atlantic Treaty Organization headquarters. “One security roof, that we build together, that we support together, and that we operate together.”

NATO and Russia should cooperate on a missile-defense system to build a “security roof” to guard against possible attacks by Iran, Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said.

MDAA Alert: “Any Sensor, Any Weapon”

General James E. "Hoss" Cartwright, Vice Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff

Dear Members and Friends,

At an appropriate setting, the Ronald Reagan Conference Building and International Trade Center in Washington D.C., our nation’s most prominent leaders in the field of missile defense from the government, military and defense industry came together with non-government personnel including engineers, civilians, politicians, appointees and our armed forces for three days this week.

Deputy Secretary of Defense William Lynn addressed the conference at its opening by endorsing strong bipartisan support on missile defense and increasing the missile defense budget from last year by 700 million to 9.9 billion for 2011. Further, Mr. Lynn announced the growing quantitative and qualitative ballistic missile threat and reinforced the six policies put forward by the President on missile defense.