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The Heritage Foundation‘s Peter Brookes writes about President Obama’s rejection of missile defense shields in Poland and the Czech Republic that would protect the region from Iranian attacks, in the face of Russia’s opposition. (Source)

Brookes makes a very important point that should be discussed more often that it is (emphasis added):

“Not only does this make us look weak by giving in to the Russian demand, there’s also the delicious irony that Moscow is largely responsible for the Iran problem today, dating back to help the Kremlin gave the mullahs in the 1990s.”

Not only that, but Russia has refused to issue tougher sanctions against Iran in exchange for our dropping the missile shield plans, yet Obama’s ready to drop them anyway. Why? Obama wants to meet with Iran to discuss its nuclear program, but as Brookes points out, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said he wouldn’t submit to demands over his program or buckle under tougher sanctions. Brookes adds:

“Nor has Tehran paused its nuclear/ballistic-missile work since Obama took office, despite White House attempts to extend a hand of friendship to the Islamic regime…In fact, Israel believes Iran will have a bomb within one to two years – and the U.S. Air Force assesses Tehran could have an ICBM that can reach the United States by 2015.”

The word why pops up frequently when discussing Obama’s missile defense strategy, which seems counterintuitive. Why, for instance, is he foregoing “our best short-term defense” to placate the former Soviet Union and giving rogue states the benefit of the doubt?

Russia rolls on with its joint missile development plans. RIA Novosti reports that Russia and India will be developing a new BrahMos-2 hypersonic cruise missile. BrahMos Aerospace CEO Sivathanu Pillai, said, “The new hypersonic missile will have a top speed of over Mach 5, which would make it impossible to intercept.”

BrahMos is owned by Russia and India, and it makes and markets BrahMos supersonic missiles. The missile has a range of 180 miles and the capacity to carry  a conventional warhead of up to 660 pounds. (Source: RIA Novosti)

UPI is reporting that Iran is planning to launch a satellite using a new booster rocket. According to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the 16-motor space vehicle will have a boost range of 420 miles. This is Iran’s third launch this year. (Source: UPI)

According to a new report by the State Department, the U.S. needs to build new advanced weapon systems in response to China’s build-up of nuclear weapons. Although U.S. policy acknowledges the need to defend against Iran and North Korea, the report is the first to include China. The Washington Times, which based the story on a draft of the report, notes that China’s defense strategy extends beyond retaking Taiwan. (Last month we told you that Taiwan’s new president, Ma Ying-jeou, wants his country and China to enter into a peaceful relationship.)

An excerpt from the Washington Times:

“The draft report presents a tough assessment of Chinese strategic modernization that goes beyond many current government and private-sector analyses that say that China’s military modernization does not pose a major challenge to U.S. security interests.

“For example, in an interview with The Washington Times in March, CIA Director Michael V. Hayden expressed professional ‘admiration’ for China’s rapid and sophisticated buildup and said it is ‘not inevitable that they will be an enemy.’ The report said that to reduce the chance of a miscalculation by China that could lead to a crisis or conflict, the United States ‘must take seriously China’s challenge to U.S. military superiority in the Asia-Pacific region. … China’s military modernization is proceeding at a rate … to be of concern even with the most benign interpretation of China’s motivation.’” (Source: Washington Times)