Signals from Washington

With Fred Grandy, Roger Noriega, Bill Gertz, Mark Langfan

Provocative weakness – A neglected nuclear deterrent; Hagel’s announcement of more defense cuts; and an administration that ideologically opposes missile defense and favours unilateral arms reduction:  How have the signals coming out of Washington emboldened the resolve of North Korea’s Kim Jong Un?  BILL GERTZ of the Washington Free Beacon reports on intermediate range missile tests by North Korea, U.S. bomber flights, the state of play, and the strategic context.

Former U.S. Senator from Iowa FRED GRANDY explains his belief that Kim Jong Un is crazy in a cunning way, and why the U.S. is right to be worried about North Korea.

Former Assistant Secretary of State for Hemisphere Affairs ROGER NORIEGA gives an update on the upcoming Venezuelan presidential election, particularly how candidate Nicolas Maduro is failing–hilariously–to convince voters that he will be a new Hugo Chavez.

MARK LANGFAN lays out the tactical realities of the threat to Israel of Katusha rockets fired from Gaza and Lebanon. A strategic reality follows that if the West Bank is left to a Palestinian authority to police, the smuggling of Katusha mimicked there would put Israel’s major population centers vulnerable to chemically armed Katusha rockets at a rate which the current Iron Dome system could not sustain a desirable success rate.