Monday, January 1, 2018

WAR DRUMS: US closer than ever to ‘nuclear war with North Korea

WAR DRUMS: US closer than ever to ‘nuclear war with North Korea

Former Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Mike Mullen on Sunday gave a dire predication about U.S.-North Korea relations, suggesting the countries are closer than ever to a nuclear war with no diplomatic solution. “We’re actually closer, in my view, to a nuclear war with North Korea and in that region than we’ve ever been,” Mullen, a retired Navy admiral, told ABC News’ “This Week.” “I don’t see the opportunities to solve this diplomatically at this particular point.”

Relations between the countries certainly have gotten worse — even threatening — in recent months, analysts have pointed out, as President Trump and world leaders call for North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un to end his pursuit and testing of a nuclear warhead and inter-continental missiles on which to launch the weapon. READ MORE

‘US mainland in our nuclear strike range’, Kim Jong-un says in New Year’s speech

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has declared his county a nuclear power in possession of technology capable of striking the US mainland should there be need. “The US mainland is in our nuclear strike zone,” Kim said in his New Year’’s message which was broadcast on Chosun Central TV. “The United States will never start a war with me and our country,” he added, noting that Pyongyang has “completed the creation of North Korea’s nuclear forces.” Tensions between Washington and Pyongyang reached unprecedented tensions last year, as the North continued to pursue its missile and nuclear programs. As the standoff continues, the US said all options, including a military solution, are on the table to tame North Korea’s nuclear ambitions. While the US is still on course to find a diplomatic solution to the crisis, Pyongyang has so far refused to negotiate its nuclear status. READ MORE

Israeli jets strike Gaza after shelling with ‘Iran-supplied missiles’

Israel conducted airstrikes in Gaza for a second straight day after shells reportedly launched from the area landed in its territory. The IDF blamed Iran for the attack, claiming it supplied the unknown attackers with weapons. The Israeli military said its warplanes targeted a Hamas position in southern Gaza late Saturday in response for the shelling carried out by the yet unidentified militants on Friday. While Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman said it’s “too early” to name those culpable in the attack, he promptly blamed Tehran for the incident.
“Iran has supplied these missiles to numerous groups,” Lieberman told Israeli media, saying that an initial examination of the shells fired “confirms they are from Iran.” “The Iranian regime continues to risk the safety of the residents of the Gaza Strip and puts them in grave danger. Wherever the Iranian regime operates or is involved, it only wreaks havoc and destruction,” the IDF tweeted after the attack. The IDF also accused Iran of deliberately fomenting the Palestinian-Israeli conflict through its proxies – READ MORE