And the tests keep coming. We’re only in month two! Besides the economy, Teh One continues to be tested on all fronts. So far, he’s a weak imbecile with an over-reaching socialist agenda.
China says U.S. naval ship broke the law
BEIJING (Reuters) – China said on Tuesday that a U.S. Navy ship involved in a confrontation with its fleet off the southern island of Hainan had violated international and Chinese laws.
Washington had urged China to observe international maritime rules after the Pentagon said five Chinese ships, including a naval vessel, harassed the USNS Impeccable in international waters on Sunday.
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TEXT-China embassy statement on US naval incident
March 10 (Reuters) – Following is a statement from the Chinese embassy in Washington in response to an incident involving Chinese ships and a U.S. naval vessel in the South China Sea on Sunday. The statement was carried by the website of Hong Kong-based Phoenix Television (news.ifeng.com).
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US protests ‘harassment’ by Chinese vessels
WASHINGTON (AP) – Chinese ships surrounded and harassed a Navy mapping ship in international waters off China, at one point coming within 25 feet of the American boat and strewing debris in its path, the Defense Department said Monday. The Obama administration said it would continue naval operations in the South China Sea, most of which China considers its territory, and protested to China about what it called reckless behavior that endangered lives.
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Tension rises as N Korea cuts off hotline
North Korea on Monday cut its military hotline to Seoul and put its million-man army at battle stations, ratcheting up tensions as South Korean and US troops began war games that Pyongyang warned could spark open conflict.
UN forces last week tried to counter North Korean claims that the exercises were a smokescreen for an invasion by promising to keep the hotline open, giving Pyongyang advance warning of anything that could cause a misunderstanding.
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NKorea puts troops on alert, warns of war danger
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) – North Korea put its troops on alert and cut the last hot line to Seoul on Monday as the American and South Korean militaries began joint maneuvers. The communist regime warned that even the slightest provocation could trigger war.
The North stressed that provocation would include any attempt to interfere with its impending launch of a satellite into orbit. U.S. and Japanese officials fear the launch could be a cover for a test of a long-range attack missile and have suggested they might move to intercept the rocket.
“Shooting our satellite for peaceful purposes will precisely mean a war,” North Korea’s military threatened in a statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency. Any interception attempt will draw “a just, retaliatory strike,” it said.
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Iran says U.S. still “warmongering”
TEHRAN (Reuters) – Iran’s top military commander said the new U.S. administration was just as “warmongering” as its predecessor, but that the United States could not afford to attack Iran, an Iranian news agency reported on Tuesday.
Major-General Hassan Firouzabadi’s comments came despite an offer by President Barack Obama to engage in direct talks with Tehran if it “unclenches its fist,” and may disappoint Washington.
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US says ‘difficult’ to halt Iran nuclear drive
US intelligence chief Dennis Blair warned Tuesday it will be “difficult” to convince Iran to give up its suspected quest for nuclear weapons through diplomatic means.
Tehran might bow to a blend of “credible” incentives and “threats of intensified international scrutiny and pressures” but “it is difficult to specify what such a combination might be,” Blair told lawmakers.
His comments, in testimony to the Senate Armed Services Committee, came as US President Barack Obama wrestled with how to convince the Islamic republic from halting what the West views as a secret nuclear weapons drive.
Iran denies the allegations, saying it needs atomic power to generate electricity for civilian use.
“Although we do not know whether Iran currently intends to develop nuclear weapons, we assess Tehran at a minimum is keeping open the option to develop them,” said Blair.
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Biden says West “not winning” in Afghanistan
U.S. Vice President Joe Biden appealed to NATO allies on Tuesday to help the United States tackle worsening security in Afghanistan, saying the alliance was struggling to deal with a threat to the West as a whole. Skip related content
“The deteriorating situation in the region poses a security threat not just to the United States but to every single nation round this table,” Biden told representatives of the 26-country military pact during a visit to Brussels.
“We are not now winning the war, but the war is far from lost,” he told a news conference after three hours of talks.
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Truth, Lies and In Between 