Russia is building the new, advanced, Amur class submarine to increase international sales as navies around the world upgrade their forces. The submarine will be able to stay submerged for up to 40 days. It is estimated that 120 of the diesel-electric submarines would be built in the next 10 year. The Amur reportedly features powerful weapons, high maneuverability and extended range.

NATO's 19 nations have endorsed a new blueprint for the millennium that authorizes the powerful military alliance to act as a kind of worldwide police force whenever human rights are threatened. In a 45-point communique the alliance leaders agreed to undertaking operations outside of their territory and endorsed a new role in combating the threat from terrorists or terrorist states with weapons of mass destruction.

A leading U.S. expert on biological warfare walked through security at the Rayburn House Office Building on Wednesday [in March] carrying 7 grams of powdered anthrax in a small plastic bottle, proceeding directly to a hearing about biological terrorism before the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and displaying his deadly sample. He wanted to prove how easy it would be for a terrorist to use biological weapons even in high security areas in the U.S. The expert, William Patrick III, was quoted as saying, "I've been through all the major airports and the security systems of the State Department, the Pentagon, even the CIA [carrying the anthrax], and nobody has stopped me."

President Clinton Saturday defended NATO plans to choke oil supplies fueling Serb forces in Kosovo, Reuters reported. At NATO's 50th anniversary summit which has been overshadowed by the Kosovo crisis, Clinton said an oil embargo against Yugoslavia was the next important tactical step. Risking possible confrontation with Russia -- Serbia's major oil supplier before air strikes started on March 24 -- NATO said it was drawing up plans to "visit and search" ships bound for Yugoslavia.

Splits over the oil blockade emerged in the 19-nation bloc at the summit, originally called to map NATO's mission into the next century but which has turned into a council of war. Stopping Russian tankers from delivering oil could antagonize Moscow at a time when NATO leaders want Russia to help mediate a settlement with Belgrade and contribute troops to a force to protect ethnic Albanians returning to Kosovo.

Three weeks into the U.S.-NATO war on Serbia, I still haven't heard a single explanation of this conflict that makes sense. Why would Clinton do it? Why would NATO allies go along with the plan? What can be gained from these attacks? The so-called "humanitarian" rationalization doesn't compute. As reported in WorldNetDaily, the CIA warned prior to the bombing raids that the Albanian refugee crisis would only worsen as a result of such attacks.

I strongly suspect that the Serb war was intended, in part, as a smokescreen for the growing Chinagate scandal. But even that explanation is inadequate for entering a game as dangerous as the Balkans quagmire. What do I mean? Well, Russian military maneuvers signal that this conflict, with one more misstep, could easily ignite World War III. Then there was the report in the Washington Times last Friday by Bill Gertz suggesting the Serbs possess enough nuclear materials to manufacture primitive strategic weapons of mass destruction.

A retired explosive ordnance disposal technician for the U.S. Air Force tells me that such "radioactive dispersal devices" are "the government's worst nightmare for domestic and international terrorism threats."

"Thorium is used in the manufacture of lantern mantles for companies like Coleman," he reports. "Thorium is a very high 'alpha emitter.' You take a case of lantern mantles and add a dispersal device such as a sprayer or stick of explosive or even make a 6th grade science class soda pop bomb from dry ice and water. Add the lantern mantles to the mix and when it explodes, it will contaminate the area with alpha radiation. When you consider that such items as smoke detectors have radioactive sources such as Americium and old x-ray machines are dumped with at least a pound of Cesium scrap left in them, then you get an idea of how easy the devices are to build. A skyscraper in New York City would be a perfect launch point for using one of these because it would cover a greater area and denser population."

But our expert adds: "I don't think the Serbs are willing to waste weapons grade material for such a small potential target or limited use when they actually have the amount they are reported to have." In other words, the Serbs could do much more than build a few "dirty nukes."

But, could they deliver them to a strategic target? You bet. In fact, recently, a high-placed source tells me, members of Congress received a classified briefing strongly suggesting the Serbs have inter-continental ballistic missiles capable of hitting the United States. I will repeat that: The Serbs have ICBMs capable of hitting the U.S.

U.S. intelligence agencies assume Belgrade has this capability thanks to technology left behind from the old Soviet Union. In other words, the U.S. and NATO are tangling with a rogue nation that might just be able to wipe out a U.S. city or two if they really get angry enough.

Are you beginning to see why this illegal, immoral war is more than a little misguided? Each day this criminal action proceeds it becomes more obvious that Woodstock was better planned than the conflict in Serbia. Clinton is literally gambling with the lives of millions in a senseless escalation of hostilities in a land that has seldom known real peace in the last 600-plus years.

This is the 33rd foreign military adventure Clinton has engaged in since taking office in 1993. Serbia is the fourth nation he has bombed in the last seven months. Bill Clinton is rapidly becoming the mad bomber. Iraq, Afghanistan, Sudan, now Serbia. Who's next?

In Serbia, Clinton has substantially ratcheted up the risks for the U.S. There was little chance of getting our butts kicked in Afghanistan, Sudan or Iraq. But Serbia is tough, well-armed and backed by some powerful friends.

Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., says the deployment of ground troops has already begun. Some 4,800 soldiers are being dispatched to staging areas in Albania in support of Apache helicopters. Up to 33,000 guard and reserve troops are being activated. Meanwhile, Clinton is warning this is going to be a long and bloody conflict.

The question remains: Why?

Russia is testing new missiles and avionics to cheaply upgrade the MiG-21 fighter plane so it can take on modern Western jets, a news agency reported Wednesday. The new equipment would make the upgraded MiG-21-93 comparable to such Western fighters as the U.S. F-15 and F-16 and the French Mirage 2000. There are some 6,000 MiG-21s in service around the world and the Sokol Aviation Plant hopes the upgrade package will be purchased by dozens of nations. The MiG-21 has long been outperformed by more modern Western fighters, but many poor nations are not able to afford new jets. Sokol says the upgrade package will offer an affordable option that will make the MiG-21s, which first went into operation in 1958, more effective.

Vasily Pankov, the plant's director, said the missiles are being tested under a contract to upgrade 125 MiG-21s for India's air force. Sokol is inviting defense officials from other nations to observe the tests. Russia has carved out a major niche on the world arms market with cheap weapons. Russian arms companies have also focused on cheap upgrades of arms, partly because the Russian military cannot afford new planes and other arms.