ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

For decades, North Korea’s ballistic missile and nuclear weapons programs were the butt of jokes inside the Pentagon and throughout the Western defense structure, known more for their duds and misses than for their successes. But nobody in the U.S. Department of Defense or throughout NATO is laughing anymore, following a series of successful nuclear and missile tests throughout 2017 that showed increasingly sophisticated capability for North Korea to  pose a serious threat to the world, and the United States  in particular. It was a feat that many once believed would be impossible, but not anymore. As noted by  Zero Hedge , American defense officials are not only taking the North Korean nuclear threat seriously, but they are dusting off Cold War-era plans for dealing with and surviving an  electromagnetic pulse (EMP) attack  that Pyongyang now appears capable of launching. The tactic is simple: If a nuclear device is exploded at just the right distanc...

If you’ve been putting off buying solar-powered gear, storable foods, survival equipment and extra water, now might be a good time to begin stocking up. That’s because an intelligence insider says he’s been told by no less than CIA Director Mike Pompeo himself that war with North Korea is very likely   within the first three months of 2018. Insider James Rickards, who has worked with the U.S. intelligence community for decades, is an expert in escalation scenarios and end games. Writing in  The Daily Reckoning , he said that the geopolitical situation with North Korea will soon come to a head. Rather than the stock market, bitcoin, gold and Federal Reserve interest rate decisions, Rickards said that the most pressing global concern for the U.S. and other great powers is the escalating situation on the Korean peninsula. “The most important financial or geopolitical issue in the world today is a coming war between the U.S. and North Korea, probably in the next tw...

U.S. Soldiers wait to be picked up by helicopters south of Balad Ruz, Iraq, March 22, 2009. (DoD photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Walter J. Pels, U.S. Navy/Released) On December 28, local sources revealed to the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) that helicopters of the US-led coalition evacuated commanders of ISIS from several positions in Deir Ezzor governorate and transferred them to its bases in al-Hasakah governorate on December 27. The SANA didn’t provide any further details regarding the supposed evacuation operation. The SANA also revealed that the US-led coalition evacuated 47 commander of ISIS earlier in December. The commanders were moved to a US base near the al-Sad camp south of the city of al-Hasakah, according to SANA. This was not the first time when the media reported that the US-led coalition is evacuating ISIS commanders.  The Russian state-run media outlet Sputnik said on September 7, that US helicopters have evacuated over 20 ISIS field com...

ILLUSTRATIVE IMAGE: AFP PHOTO / MENAHEM KAHANA On December 29, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) announced that their Iron Dome aerial defense system had intercepted two rockets launched from the Gaza Strip. The third rocket fell in the area of Nachal Oz kibbutz. Security forces were deployed to the area. IDF ✔ @IDFSpokesperson Moments ago, sirens sounded in the Sha'ar HaNegev & Sdot Negev regional councils, southern Israel. Three launches were identified from the Gaza Strip. The Iron Dome aerial defense system intercepted two rockets 11:20 - 29 Dec 2017   27 27 Replies     228 228 Retweets     306 306 likes Twitter Ads information and privacy There were no reports of casualties or damage. In response to the rocket launches, the IDF shelled two positions of the Palestinian movement Hamas in Gaza. IDF ✔ @IDFSpokesperson In response to the rockets fired towards Israel, IDF tan...