Military And Intelligence News Briefs -- December 1, 2017

A view of the newly-developed intercontinental ballistic rocket Hwasong-15 is seen in this undated photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) in Pyongyang November 30, 2017. REUTERS/KCNA

John Mecklin, Reuters: Can Congress stop a president waging nuclear war?

From the beginnings of the 2016 general election through the presidential debates and on to his “fire and fury” comments on North Korea this summer, the prospect of a president as impulsive as Donald Trump in command of nuclear weapons has worried experts in both parties and career military and government officials. This week’s North Korean test of a missile that might be able to reach the entire U.S. mainland with a nuclear warhead — and Trump’s initial response that “we will take care of it” — can hardly be expected to diminish the anxiety.

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Military And Intelligence News Briefs -- December 1, 2017

South says North Korea's latest missile test is bigger threat -- DW

Nuclear tests or corn harvests? Making sense of North Korea satellite imagery -- C4ISRNet

The History of North Korea's Arsenal -- Stratfor

Mattis: Diplomacy hasn’t failed with North Korea -- Military Times

New S-400 missile battalion to beef up Moscow air defense -- TASS

Russia Assessing Possible Outcome of North Korea Military Option -- Sputnik

Russia already preparing military withdrawal from Syria: agencies -- Reuters

High-Technology Set to Dominate Russia’s Rearmament Program -- RCD

Chinese Navy Commissions Submarine-Hunting Warships -- Sputnik

China’s Navy Inducts 2 More Sub Killer Stealth Warships -- Franz-Stefan Gady, Diplomat

Mnangagwa Always Pays His Debts: Anti-Mugabe Generals Given Top Gov't Jobs -- Sputnik

The Future of Incirlik Air Base -- Joseph Hammond, RCD

NATO is considering playing 'offensive defense' with its cyber-warfare rules -- Business Insider/Reuters

Hero U.K. military dogs who saved thousands of lives face death row -- The Telegraph

Strange 'booms' around the world continue: Loud explosions heard in Arizona may have been caused by training at a nearby Air Force Base -- Daily Mail

U.S. military to indefinitely delay ban on cluster bombs -- Reuters

More Than 1K US Troops to Join Afghans on Offense: Nicholson -- DoD Buzz

400 US Marines leaving Syria -- The Hill

With Victory Declared in Raqqa, Marine Artillery Unit in Syria to Return Home -- DoD Buzz

US military is granted authority to arm its drones in Niger -- CNN

MQ-9 Reapers Heading to Florida as Air Force Expands Drone Fleet -- Defense Tech

US nuclear stockpile is world's second largest -- Al Jazeera

US Military Stretched Thin in 50 African Nations -- Observer

The USAF Is Rebuilding World War II-Era 40mm Shells for its AC-130U Gunships -- The Warzone

Air Force Eyes Next-Gen Electronic Warfare -- Defense Tech

U.S. Military Now Using Freeze-Dried Plasma To Stop Solders Bleeding To Death On The Battlefield -- Newsweek

Mattis: There's 'nothing' to reports of Tillerson leaving -- The Hill

2-star responds to anonymous email blasting watered-down Special Forces training standards -- Army Times

Erik Prince testifies before House Intelligence Committee -- The Hill

Top Dem: Why are we conducting more military ops with less White House oversight? -- Defense News

Former U.S. Marine jailed for raping and murdering woman on Japanese island of Okinawa -- USA Today

Marines looking at untapped market for new recruits: Germany -- Marine Times

Turning a huge military plane into an underwater reef -- Quartz

The Army has a more optimistic view of AI than Elon Musk -- C4ISRNet