On Wednesday the US Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) issued a new public intelligence estimate entitled “Nuclear Challenges 2024”. 

The detailed 194-page document includes an overview of chief nuclear-armed powers and rivals of the United States, focusing especially on countries with “mature nuclear weapons programs” which are said to be “increasing stockpiles” or else “modernizing their legacy stockpiles by incorporating advanced technologies to penetrate or avoid missile defense systems” – such as North Korea.

“Countries are also developing nuclear weapons with smaller yields, improved precision, and increased range for military or coercive use,” the DIA says.

One nation’s program is gaining the most attention as a result of the DIA report, and that’s China. The intelligence agency assesses the country under President Xi is undergoing a huge and rapid expanse of its nuclear arsenal, which is the biggest in its history, assuming the projection is accurate. 

The “Nuclear Challenges 2024” assesses that China is on track to possess more than 1,000 operational nuclear warheads by 2030.

The report contextualizes that this accelerated growth is being drive primarily by China’s strategic competition with the Untied States.

Below is a section providing the DIA’s bird’s eye view summary of China’s nuclear arsenal plans and expansion:

China. Beijing has far surpassed earlier growth estimates assessed in 2018, and is currently exceeding 500 deliverable nuclear warheads in its stockpile. By 2030, we estimate that China will have more than 1,000 operational nuclear warheads— most of which will be fielded on systems capable of ranging the continental United States. China probably also seeks lower-yield nuclear warhead capabilities to provide proportional response options that its high-yield warheads cannot deliver. For example, China is increasing its stockpile of theater-range delivery systems, such as the DF-26 intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM).

Below is a current snapshot of the global nuclear stockpile situation, as it stood by middle of this year…

You will find more infographics at Statista

As Statista’s Anna Fleck reports, currently, there are estimated to be 9,585 nuclear warheads in military stockpiles for potential use across nine countries, with Russia and the U.S. accounting for 8,088 of these.

There are also an estimated 2,536 retired warheads that are yet to be dismantled. China has added 90 nuclear warheads to its arsenal since January 2023, increasing from 410 warheads to 500.

This is according to data from the peace research institute SIPRI. India and North Korea have also expanded their arsenals, bringing their total figures to an estimated 170 warheads and 50 warheads, respectively.

The two European nuclear powers, France and the UK, together have 515 operational nuclear warheads. With the exception of North Korea, none of the nations in possession of nuclear warheads have tested them since the 1990s.

Authored by Caden Pearson via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

The U.S. Army on Friday released a heavily redacted report related to an alleged altercation during former President Donald Trump’s visit to Arlington National Cemetery in August.

According to multiple reports, on Aug. 26 a cemetery staffer attempted to block the Trump campaign from taking photos and videos in Section 60, where soldiers recently killed in Afghanistan and Iraq are buried. A U.S. Army statement at the time said the employee was “abruptly pushed aside.”

Trump was there to mark the anniversary of the Kabul airport attack that killed 13 U.S. service members.

Seven pages of redacted material were released in response to a Freedom of Information Act request filed by the Washington-based nonprofit group American Oversight as part of an ongoing lawsuit.

The redacted incident report classifies the alleged offense as “simple assault.” It outlines an alleged physical altercation between a cemetery employee and Trump aides.

A brief description says that an individual engaged “with both of [redacted] hands while attempting to move past [redacted] did not require medical attention on scene and later refused when offered. [Redacted] rendered a sworn statement on a DA Form 2823 and stated [redacted] did not want to press charges. Investigation continues by JBMHH PD Investigations Branch.”

The sworn statement of the incident, made at 1:45 p.m. on Aug. 26, is fully redacted.

In response to reports detailing the incident that cited anonymous sources, the Trump campaign issued a statement accusing the cemetery employee of experiencing a “mental health episode” and attempting to “physically block members of President Trump’s team during a very solemn ceremony.”

The Army defended the employee, noting they acted “with professionalism” in enforcing regulations that prohibit political activities on cemetery grounds. Officials stated that while the incident was reported to law enforcement, the employee ultimately chose not to pursue charges.

The Army confirmed that it “considers this matter closed,” concluding that the staff member’s actions were appropriate and consistent with cemetery decorum.

U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia Senior Judge Paul Friedman signed an order on Oct. 22 for the report to be released. In September, American Oversight, arguing that there was a compelling public interest in sharing information with the public as soon as possible, requested that Arlington expedite the processing of its request, noting the presidential election is drawing closer.

American Oversight was founded in 2017 in response to what it says were the “unprecedented challenges that the Trump administration posed to our nation’s democratic ideals and institutions.”

Friedman ruled on Oct. 22 that the Army must release nonexempt portions of records about the requested incident on or before Oct. 25.

“With the election just two weeks away, the American people have a clear and compelling interest in knowing how the government responded to an alleged incident involving a major presidential candidate who has a history of politicizing the military,” Chioma Chukwu, American Oversight’s interim executive director, said in a statement following Friedman’s order.

After the initial incident, an Arlington National Cemetery spokesperson told The Epoch Times that a report had been filed but provided no further details, citing laws against political campaign or election-related activities in military cemeteries.

The Trump campaign disputed reports of a “physical altercation,” asserting they were prepared to release footage to counter any “defamatory claims.” Spokesperson Steven Cheung stated that a private photographer was permitted on the grounds and that an individual, allegedly experiencing a mental health episode, tried to block Trump’s team during the ceremony.

Family members of fallen soldiers in Afghanistan also denied claims of an assault, stating no altercation took place.

The U.S. Army oversees the management of Arlington National Cemetery.

Katabella Roberts contributed to this report.

Authored by Andrew Korybko via Substack,

India announced earlier this week that it and China agreed to patrol their disputed border area in the way that it was before June 2020’s lethal Galwan River Valley clashes. This was made possible by China finally complying with India’s long-standing request, which in turn paved the way for their leaders to hold a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of this week’s BRICS Summit in Kazan. What many don’t realize, however, is that the US was inadvertently responsible for facilitating their deal.

This analysis here from early May explains how summer 2023’s scandal about an alleged Indian assassination attempt against a Delhi-designated terrorist-separatist with dual American citizenship on US soil was a turning point in their ties. The US then continued with its good cop, bad cop game against India prior to pushing Canada to escalate its related dispute with India earlier this month. Even before the latest developments, however, Indo-US ties had already noticeably soured over this issue.  

India and China held multiple rounds of talks on their disputed border since 2020, but no breakthrough had occurred until Indo-US ties became characterized by distrust as a result of summer 2023’s scandal and all that followed. China realized that those two’s previous level of trust will never return, which assuaged its concerns that India is playing a leading role in the US’ containment policy. It was this shift in perceptions that then led to China reconsidering its informal policy towards their border dispute.

China had been reluctant to return to the status quo ante bellum since this was seen as a unilateral concession that could signal weakness and worsen its hand in the South China Sea. The drastic downturn in Indo-US ties, however, led to the aforesaid being perceived as a pragmatic means for managing the abovementioned concerns about India containing China in coordination with the US. The improvement of Sino-Indo ties could therefore place limits on the future improvement of Indo-US ones.

Finally complying with India’s long-standing request for resolving their post-Galwan tensions and consequently placing their partnership back on track amidst the dramatic downturn in Indo-US ties could preclude the possibility of India participating in the US’ containment scheme. No improvement in Indo-US ties would occur at the expense of Sino-US ones if that happens after this sensitive problem is finally patched up by then and India thus no longer has the same threat perception of China as before.

China and India have natural economic complementarities, and if the world’s two largest countries ever found a way to unleash their full mutual potential upon resolving their sensitive territorial issues and correspondingly restoring mutual trust, then global affairs would begin to revolve around them. That’s why the US has sought to divide-and-rule them through information warfare and its Kissingerian “triangulation” policy, but this failed after it went too far pressuring India over summer 2023’s scandal.

About that, the US never respected India as an equal partner and instead sought to subjugate it as a vassal by demanding that India comply with the West’s unilateral sanctions against Russia, which was unacceptable for both economic and principled reasons. The US also feared India’s astronomical rise as a Great Power since the start of the special operation, fueled to a large degree by discounted Russian energy, since this accelerated multipolar processes to the detriment of its unipolar hegemony.

That explains why it exploited summer 2023’s scandal to worsen their ties, meddled in this year’s earlier general elections, and even helped overthrow the Bangladeshi government a few months ago in order to pressure India into complying with these demands and then punishing it when this didn’t happen. Military and trade ties remain stable for now, but it can’t be taken for granted from India’s perspective that this will remain the case as their political ties continue to deteriorate over summer 2023’s scandal.

They can quietly manage their competition in Bangladesh and try to find a modus vivendi there, while the US’ meddling wasn’t direct nor intense enough like in other elections to seriously worsen their ties, which is why summer 2023’s scandal remains the most troublesome of their disputes. Instead of letting it subside, the US continues exacerbating it at periodic intervals, both on its own and via its Canadian proxy. This informed India that the US has malicious intentions and can never be fully trusted again.

Accordingly, India was therefore pleased that China finally decided to comply with its long-standing request for resolving their post-Galwan tensions and getting bilateral ties back on track, which showed the US that India will never become its vassal. Additionally, India also demonstrated that it’s influential enough to further accelerate multipolar processes to the detriment of the US’ unipolar hegemony as revenge for being mistreated, though its wayward partner still might not change its ways.

Even on the off chance that it does, the mutual trust that used to characterize their ties before summer 2023’s scandal will never return, thus ruling out the possibility that India will contain China in coordination with the US in the future. This is especially so after China just removed the primary irritant in their relations over the past four years that was responsible for driving the military dimension of Indo-US ties that prompted the People’s Republic to speculate that India was trying to contain it with the US.

In retrospect and provided that the incipient Sino-Indo rapprochement continues, the US’ pressure campaign against India might be seen as a game-changer due to how tremendously it’s poised to reshape the global systemic transition’s strategic dynamics. The meaningful improvement of Sino-Indo relations could lead them closer to unlocking their full mutual potential, which would revolutionize International Relations if successful and thus bring an even swifter end to the US’ unipolar hegemony.

Former President Donald Trump appeared on the Joe Rogan podcast Friday, where they discussed a wide range of topics for three hours.

Watch:

Highlights:

Getting rid of income taxes:

JOE ROGAN: “Did you just float out the idea of getting rid of income taxes and replacing it with tariffs? — Were you serious about that?”

DONALD TRUMP: “Sure, why not?” pic.twitter.com/VGLbUdk8j8

— America (@america) October 26, 2024

Hoaxes perpetrated against Trump:

Trump and Rogan GO OFF on the corrupt mainstream media spreading hoaxes such as the bloodbath hoax, the very fine people hoax, and the Russiagate hoax: pic.twitter.com/qZJcZsf8oM

— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) October 26, 2024

Why Democrats are in favor of illegal immigration:

Donald Trump on the reason why Democrats are in favor of illegal immigration: “They hate our country, they’re stupid, or they want to buy votes. It’s one of those three.” pic.twitter.com/c0RDSLNkWW

— America (@america) October 26, 2024

Trump on bad White House hires:

🇺🇸 TRUMP: SOME OF MY ADVISORS TURNED OUT TO BE BULLIES AND IDIOTS

“It always comes back to the same answer.

The biggest mistake I made was I picked a few people I shouldn’t have picked.

Neo-cons, or bad people, or disloyal people, a guy like Kelly who’s a bit of a bully.… https://t.co/OBZTQgWXEp pic.twitter.com/X7ZQGVsqXN

— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) October 26, 2024

Keeping Iran, Hezbollah and Hamas in check:

Trump says he kept Iran, Hezbollah and Hamas in check by threatening China’s business interests in the US if they bought even one barrel of oil from Iran. pic.twitter.com/tlIl04yeMQ

— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) October 26, 2024

The two discussed the horrible condition California is in thanks to Gov. Gavin Newsom:

“How about just keep your fucking house clean.”

Joe Rogan and Donald Trump slam Gavin Newsom for “cleaning up” San Francisco for Xi Jinping. pic.twitter.com/Vne8bu4KLO

— Mythinformed (@MythinformedMKE) October 26, 2024

Trump on getting shot:

Trump shows off his bullet scar to Joe Rogan: “It makes me a tougher guy.” 🤣 pic.twitter.com/7sglMnHdog

— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) October 26, 2024

Trump on Musk:

Donald Trump on Elon Musk: “That guy is such a great guy… Starlink… He got it for them so fast, saved so many lives.” pic.twitter.com/N1bSbjoXPS

— America (@america) October 26, 2024

“Surreal” – On what it was like when Trump won the 1st time:

Donald Trump is a legend and a hero.

And if you don’t understand that, you are an idiot. pic.twitter.com/nHDrf2wUjY

— Viva Frei (@thevivafrei) October 26, 2024

“I want to be a whale psychiatrist” – Offshore windmills and how they affect whales:

TRUMP: “I want to be a whale psychiatrist.”

Trump discusses offshore wind mills with Joe Rogan. pic.twitter.com/8T4NpIDA3T

— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) October 26, 2024

“You’ve said a lot of wild shit!” – Why Trump became so popular:

.@joerogan explains to Trump why he started to get so much media attention: “People were tired of someone talking in this bullsh*t, preprepared politician lingo.” pic.twitter.com/0Yh0hkeGZi

— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) October 26, 2024

Trump on Barron:

Trump says that Barron is helping him with youth outreach.

“So I have a son—he’s very smart and tall. Barron. He knows all about you. He knows about guys I’ve never heard of…and I’ve gone up 30 points…with young people.” pic.twitter.com/sl59wHiwfm

— America 2100 (@America_2100) October 26, 2024

“Big pharma wasn’t thrilled” – Trump on pressure not to work with RFK Jr.:

Joe Rogan: “Do you have anyone that is pressuring you to not work with [RFK Jr]?”

Trump: “Yes…Big Pharma wasn’t thrilled.” pic.twitter.com/C7OPP2nivg

— America 2100 (@America_2100) October 26, 2024

Lebanon has accused Israel of committing a war crime after a group of journalists in south Lebanon came under attack by Israeli warplanes. Three journalists were killed during an air raid on a hotel or guesthouse in Hasbaya, about 50km south of Beirut and near the Syrian border.

BBC is reporting that “The attack was carried out on a guesthouse in a compound in Hasbaya being used by more than a dozen journalists from at least seven media organizations – with a courtyard containing cars clearly marked with ‘press’.

The three slain journalists worked for regional broadcasters Al-Manar TV and Al Mayadeen TV, which confirmed the deaths in statements, identifying the deceased as Ghassan Najjar, Mohammad Reda, and Wissam Qassem.

While Israel did not offer immediate comment, it might rationalize or seek to justify the killings given that Al-Manar is a Hezbollah-run news network, and Al Mayadeen is seen as pro-Iran.

But Lebanon’s Information Minister Ziad Makary charged that this was an intentional assassination of journalists.

“The Israeli enemy waited for the journalists’ nighttime break to betray them in their sleep… This is an assassination, after monitoring and tracking, with prior planning and design, as there were 18 journalists there representing seven media institutions. This is a war crime,” Makary wrote on X.

Other reporters, including from MTV Lebanon were present during the attack but escaped unscathed. “All official parties were told that this house was being used as a stay-house for journalists. We coordinated with them all,” an Al-Jadeed journalist described during a subsequent live broadcast from the location.

And an MTV Lebanon reporter, Youmna Fawwaz, detailed the following:

She said ceilings had fallen in on them, and they were surrounded by rubble and dust, with the sound of fighter jets overhead.

Each news organization had their own building in the compound, she said, and the building housing the Al Mayadeen reporters was “obliterated” while Al-Manar employees were inside.

Images from the bombed-out scene indeed show cars with large English markings indicating ‘Press’…

Fawwaz further accused Israel of conducting assassinations in order to prevent the Lebanese correspondents from covering the fighting in the south. “The airstrike was carried out on purpose. Everyone knew we were there. All the cars were labelled as press and TV. There wasn’t even a warning given to us,” she said.

Since the start of the conflict after Oct.7, 2023 – dozens of journalists have died – mostly in Gaza. Israel has particularly cracked down on Al Jazeera, expelling the Qatar-based network from Israel and the West Bank.