One Chart Shows The Magnitude Of US Naval Dominance

The single most important factor in U.S. military dominance is the country's powerful navy, which gives the ability to project power anywhere in the world.

Most importantly, it is the Navy's unparalleled fleet of aircraft carriers.

Ireland and Spain can stand on their own without bailout programs

GABRIELE STEINHAUSER

Ireland and Spain said Thursday they could stand on their own feet once their bailout programs end in the coming months, marking significant steps as the euro zone battles to exit a four-year debt crisis.

The currency union's finance ministers hailed the decisions as signs that their strategy of budget cuts, economic overhauls and long-term rescue loans was working.

Spanish finance chief, Luis de Guindos, left, with his Italian peer, Fabrizio Saccomanni, in Brussels on Thursday. Zuma Press

"This shows that our policy of stabilization of the European currency is successful and right," German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble said as he arrived for a meeting with his euro-zone counterparts in Brussels.

But the moves by Dublin and Madrid not to seek extensions of their aid plans also carry risks, especially as new figures showed that the euro zone grew just 0.1% in the third quarter and the European Central Bank embarks on a thorough cleanup of banks' balance sheets.

"This is the right decision for Ireland, and now is the right time to take this decision," Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny told lawmakers in Dublin after a meeting with his cabinet. "This is the latest in a series of steps to return Ireland to normal economic, budgetary and funding conditions."

Spain's Finance Minister Luis de Guindos said in Brussels that "the closure of Spain's banking bailout is good news for both the Spanish and the European economy." "This is a clean break, and now we have a banking system that is more solid and more solvent, with every indicator pointing in the right direction," he added.

But both countries leave their bailouts with high debts—Ireland's is projected to hit 124% of gross domestic product by the end of year, while Spain's is expected to reach 94% of GDP—high unemployment and big deficits.

Why Saudi Arabia Hates the Iran Deal

By David Kenner

BEIRUT - As President Barack Obama pursues a historic deal with Iran over its nuclear program, he has already made history -- though perhaps not in the way he intended. For the first time since the United States emerged as a major power in the Middle East, all of its key allies -- Egypt, Israel, and Saudi Arabia -- are in open revolt against its policies. 

4 ‘truths' America's generals want to sell you.

BY MICAH ZENKO

Last week, the Joint Chiefs of Staff made their fifth appearance as a group before Congress during this budget cycle to again sound the alarm about the effects of the Budget Control Act and sequestration on military readiness. As they have tried doing repeatedly, the four service chiefs highlighted the costs to carrier battle group availability, combat-ready air wings, and pre-deployment training for soldiers and Marines. Three of the chiefs explicitly warned that reduced readiness would result in additional casualties if the military were deployed to fight in an emergency contingency tomorrow. As Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ray Odierno stated bluntly: "We're at the lowest readiness levels in our Army since I have been serving for 37 years."

Ρωσία: Θέμα συνόρων υφίσταται ακόμη στα Βαλκάνια…

Επικίνδυνες είναι οι δηλώσεις του Ρώσου πρεσβευτή στο Βελιγράδι, Αλεξάνταρ Τσεπούριν, στις οποίες ανέφερε ότι «τα σύνορα των λεγόμενων βαλκανικών χωρών είναι και σήμερα ενεργά υπό εξέταση». Τα Βαλκάνια δεν είναι η πιο σταθερή περιοχή της Ευρώπης, ανέφερε, προσθέτοντας ότι εξακολουθεί να υπάρχει κίνδυνος πιθανών συγκρούσεων.

Το αν η αναφορά του που έγινε στη Σερβία, αποτελούσε συγκεκαλυμμένο μήνυμα προς την αλβανική πλευρά για το Κοσσυφοπέδιο, ότι το θέμα δεν θα τελειώσει έτσι εύκολα ή αναγνώριση του αποσταθροποιητικού ρόλου που παίζουν οιπερεταίρω αλυτρωτισμοί και οι διεκδικήσεις του αλβανικού παράγοντα είναι ένα ζήτημα προς διευκρίνιση…

Προς αδιέξοδο στο Κυπριακό

Του ΚΩΣΤΑ ΒΕΝΙΖΕΛΟΥ

Το αδιέξοδο στις συζητήσεις για τη διαμόρφωση κοινού ανακοινωθέντος στο Κυπριακό είναι πλέον ορατό καθώς δεν διαπιστώνεται καμία διαφοροποίηση στις εκατέρωθεν θέσεις. Πρώτος για το αδιέξοδο μίλησε και δημοσίως ο Τουρκοκύπριος διαπραγματευτής, Οσμάν Ερτούγ, αν και αυτή είναι και η διαπίστωση τόσο της ελληνοκυπριακής πλευράς όσο και των Ηνωμένων Εθνών.

Το θέμα της κυριαρχίας αλλά κυρίως η μορφή της λύσης αποτελεί το μεγάλο εμπόδιο για την επίτευξη συμφωνίας και είναι προφανές πως δύσκολα μπορεί να υπερπηδηθεί. Επί του παρόντος τα Ηνωμένα Έθνη θέλουν να προσφέρουν χρόνο στις δύο πλευρές και στις συζητήσεις ενώ αποφεύγουν να αναφερθούν πώς θα παρέμβουν εάν δεν προχωρήσει η διαδικασία.