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The efforts of Senator Kyl to get committments of $4.1 billion in missile defense and nuclear warhead modernization from the Obama administration. This WSJ editorial sees the New START treaty with Russia as a footnote to the Cold War years, which does not confront the real world of today with nuclear proliferation to Iran, N. Korea and other states. It says this dangerous world requires not the largely irrelevant efforts of New Start, but more serious antiproliferation strategies and efforts. And anti-proliferation efforts that work, not the kind of effort that failed such as the 1994 Agreed Framework with North Korea.

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Mike Pompeo is a four term Congressman from Kansas, who was educated at West Point and Harvard Law School, and served for 1 year as CIA Director under president Trump. He now becomes the new Secretary of State for the U.S. after winning Senate nomination 57 to 42. He comes to a State Department that lost top diplomats and suffered from a downsizing effort that has left it demoralized during the period former Exxon CEO Mr. Tillerson headed the department. Pompeo has to meet several challenges including restoring morale in the State Department, better relations with the UN Representative Nikki Haley, setting the best course on the Iran nuclear deal which he now supports, negotiations with North Korea where he was sent as an emissary recently. In doing this he has built trust with president Trump with his intelligence briefings as CIA Director, and his military background brings him closer to Gen. Mattis at the Defense Department. Also a challenge is setting a path for the strained relations with Russia. His first visit is to Brussels and NATO headquarters for discussions with European allies. ...

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It is hard to imagine that one is even writing about this, as shocking as it is- the 4 or 5 minutes between a decision to launch nuclear weapons and the end of life on this planet earth as we know it. Here Sam Nunn, a U.S. senator who was part of the negotiations for arms control and who is the leading American in this field talks about the unimaginable danger. He says the strategy from the Cold War where Russia and the U.S. put their nuclear forces in a position to be launched within minutes, 4 to 5 minutes, is outdated and needs to be changed. Hillary Clinton described the issue in the television debate. Yet this was not discussed because of the nature of the 2016 presidential election with lack of serious discussion.  And both Nunn and Clinton emphasize that once the missiles are in the air they cannot be ordered to go back. Accidental error, judgemental error, informational error in which one side thinks the other has launched a missile, a firing by mistake, are possible. In this situation Nunn says Trump is temperamentally unfit, and Clinton is fit to take on the responsibility. Yet the question this raises is as Nunn signals- is anyone but God fit to make this decision to launch nuclear weapons. Nunn says it is outdated and wrong to have only a few minutes, as such a decision cannot be made in a few hours or days, much less in 5 minutes. Nunn brings up a discussion he had in Moscow when he brought this up with Russians and president Putin. Russian president Putin told Nunn that he was fully aware of this. Putin's response was- "Senator Nunn, at some point it becomes automatic."  Nunn does not clarify what this means, or what Putin means to say. For people on the planet it is not enough to have Reagan, Gorbachev, Clinton, as Nunn mentions being responsible people for a nuclear decision. The current state of affairs is simply shocking and the lack of attention to this is also shocking. Equally dangerous is that 20 countries have weapons usable nuclear material, and sophisticated hacking of command and control processes is another danger.       ...

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Mohammed bin Salman, 31 years old, is made the successor to his father King Salman. Prince Nayef, 57, the crown prince is removed from this position. Nayef was Interior Minister. After the current king assumed office in Jan. 2015, he promoted his son to the position of defence minister, overseeing the state oil company and overseeing economic affairs. He put together a plan Saudi Vision 2030, and the kingdom has taken a larger role in international affairs under his leadership as the U.S. under the Obama administration moved away from the Saudi policies in Bahrain, Egypt, and Yemen. Under Salman the Saudi kingdom has moved to confront Iran in Syria and Yemen supporting opposite sides in the conflict, and with Saudi aircraft bombing targets in Yemen.  Recap- for more depth see groups and links and search. In international affairs the Saudis grew restive as the Obama administration failed to setup a no fly zone in Syria to protect its Sunni population. Following the chemical weapons attacks in Syria the lack of a U.S. response led to the Saudis turning down a Security Council seat.  Early confrontation occurred in Bahrain with a Shiite population and Sunni government. The Saudis then intervened to support Sissi in Egypt against the Muslim Brotherhood government as the liberals drifted away from the Brotherhood. With Iranian and Russian support for the Syrian government in Damascus against rebels, the Saudis began to use oil policy leading to an effort to let oil prices fall by loosening production limits, believing it would hurt their rivals even more. This hurt Iran, Russia and Saudis, each in a different way. Some of the roots of the Russian involvement in Syria are also related to this. Russia responded to the oil price drop by relying less on exports, and letting devaluations help the Russian economy become more self sufficient. Iran by working to get a deal with the Obama administration on nuclear development to get out of the sanctions regime that hurt Iran's economy. The Saudis cut some subsidies and Prince Salman led the effort for an initial public offering for Saudi state oil company Aramco. As time progressed the Arab Spring with protests in Tunisia, Egypt, and even before that in Iran for greater freedom, morphed into a sectarian struggle between Shiites and Sunnis. The roots of Islamic State are in the unrest in Mosul, Iraq's largest city, with the Shiite government of a pro-Shiite prime minister, leading to the fall of the city to the militants. He was replaced by the current prime minister Abadi to accomodate U.S. insistence on keeping out sectarian sentiment. This is why the problem is so intractable. Desire for freedom plays a role, but religion also plays a role, not only that but there are two versions of Islam in the region.  Remember Gandhi's admonition- "an eye for an eye that makes the whole world blind," as India struggled to set up a democracy in the South Asian region, after the British left.         ...

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Gen. Dan Caine chairman Joint Chiefs video on Operation Midnight Hammer bombing of Iranian nuclear site at Fordow. Dan Caine traced the project for Fordow to 2009 when a small team was formed in the US Threat Reduction Agency inside the US War Department as the Fordow mountain site was being prepared- right from the outset of the beginnings of the Iranian efforts to bury weapons development deep inside a mountain. 15 years of work by the team leaders led to the US monitoring every aspect of work at Fordow for the day a US president decided it was time to remove that threat. DAn Caine showed in a video how the bombs actually work, not exploding like a conventional bomb but penetrating 2 shafts at the Fordow site and going down these shafts for 1000 feet before reaching the location where the nuclear centrifuges are located and the pressure inside doing most of the real damage during explosion at that point over thousand feet inside the mountain. The first 2 bombs removed the concrete caps put on the 2 shafts, subsequent 6 bombs each going through the shafts. This is the reason why the Guided Bomb Unit 57 which was made for this specific task mission at Fordow was effective. The CIA Director has stated he had a body of credible intelligence that the mission was effective and Iran nuclear program is severely damaged. ...

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The Washington Post editorial board warns against repeating the mistake made by president Obama of an hasty withdrawal from trouble spots in the Middle East. Many of the negative events in 2014-2017 were a result of a lack of action where needed or hasty withdrawal leading to the refugee crisis in both Syria and the European Union, and an increase in terrorism, This also led to the rise of extreme politics in many countries, and outside interventions that have worsened the situation.

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Attacks by Houthi rebels in Yemen on Sauid Arabia's Aramco oil company installations are adding to geopolitical tensions. Houthi rebels in Yemen are supported by Iran and are in a war with a Saudi Arabia led coalition. This report says that the three year conflict has reached a point where instead of targeting Riyadh with missiles the Yemeni rebels in Sanaa are now targeting oil installations of Saudi Arabia. The rebels ousted a Said supported government in Sanaa and the the Saudis have failed to oust them from Sanaa, yet the conflict continues. The increase in geopolitical tensions between Iran and Saudis is pushing up oil prices along with the collapse of Venezuela's oil industry and production. Prices reached $75 a barrel in April 2018. Damage from a Yemeni missile hit a Saudi tanker in the Red Sea, a latest sign that the conflict could disrupt oil tanker traffic going towards the Suez Canal.  Trump administration plans to scuttle the Iran nuclear deal or renegotiate it are also increasing tensions. France's Macron favors renegotiating it compared to scuttling the whole deal, a point he made at the U.S. Congress this week, saying also that France will respect the nuclear deal with Iran. Tensions throughout the Middle East are now part of the rival powers Iran and Saudi Arabia and their proxy allies in the region seeking more influence. ...

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This editorial in the WSJ says Reagan negotiated with the Soviets from a position of strength, while president Obama has made concession after concession till the Ayatollah could not turn down a deal. It says Iran is run by the Revolutionary Guards and the Ayatollah, who see the deal offered by Obama in their interests, and that the deal took place because of this, not because of the willingness of the Rouhani government to negotiate. It says even the relatively small sanctions against specific individuals and companies have been held back by the Obama administration because of an election in Iran.

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Reited Gen Gantz appears to be the likely head of a new government after winning the most seats in parliament. Policy towards Iran is not likely to change. But a Gantz led government is likely to reduce the divisiveness in the country, and provide a more unifying effort in Israeli society. The role of religious groups in daily life would also be held back. Better relations with Jewish people in America would result and peace negotiations with Palestinians would be encouraged. The prime minister would concentrate less power in his hands. By temperament Gantz is a quiet leader who preferred not to engage in the back and forth attacks in the election campaign even when Mr. Netanyahu  did not hesitate to do so. As the head of the military from 2011 to 2015 he also has the confidence of people in Israel looking for a new start after a long period of Netanyahu rule. The current prime minister could be indicted soon after a hearing next month on charges of bribery and fraud. Mr. Trump has said that U.S. relationship is not with any leader but with the country Israel. Gantz makes it clear after Netanyahu's style of politics has rocked Israel for many years- "We will bring about a real change in priorities, and heal Israeli society in all its parts." Mr. Gantz has said that he think the Obama administration could have done more in securing a better nuclear deal with Iran. Yet at an event in 2015 when the deal was being set, Mr Gantz said he also saw "the half full part of the glass." That the deal would keep Iran 10 or 15 years from making a nuclear weapon "with the right price." At this juncture in world affairs this is important because Mr. Trump has shown flexibility in dealing with Iran following the firing of National Security Adviser Bolton. Trump held back on a response at several points during the attacks in the Straits of Hormuz and the taking of ships hostage by Iran and the UK. The attacks on Saudi oil facilities and the difficulty of protecting oil installations in the region, Iran's increasingly difficult position under tight U.S. sanctions and pressure on Asian buyers of Iranian oil to cut back purchases, the efforts of Japan and India dependent on Saudi and Iranian oil to reduce tensions, all point to a new policy in the region with a new Israeli government playing a useful role to keep policy control in the hands of Asian countries dependent on oil supplies for their economies, and in the hands of a U.S. president better informed about a policy course that is in U.S. interests of avoiding unnecessary engagements overseas when there are other pressing priorities. ...