John Isaacs on PBS' News Hour
Apr 12, 2012
Council for a Livable World's Executive Director, John Isaacs, spoke with Judy Woodruff on PBS' News Hour last night about the impending North Korean missile launch over the Yellow Sea.
Video after the jump.Ahead of nuclear talks, Iran floats compromise: What We're Reading Now
Apr 09, 2012
Iran
Ahead of nuclear talks, Iran floats compromise
Nasser Karimi, Associated Press - April 9, 2012
Iran's nuclear chief signaled Tehran's envoys may bring a compromise offer to the talks this week with world powers: Promising to eventually stop producing its most highly enriched uranium, while not totally abandoning its ability to make nuclear fuel.
After row, Iran confirms Istanbul for nuclear talks
The Economic Times - April 9, 2012
Iran today confirmed that nuclear talks this week with world powers would take place in Istanbul, dropping public reservations over that city as venue following a sharp-worded row with Turkey.
Willing Banks Find Profits in Legal Trade With Iran
Benoit Faucon and Margaret Cooker, Wall Street Journal - April 8, 2012
As Western sanctions on Iran have grown tighter, some small banks have found a lucrative niche financing what remains of the legal trade with the Islamic Republic.
Korean Peninsula
Rocket in Position at Launch Pad in N.Korea
Jean H. Lee, TIME World - April 8, 2012
North Korean space officials have moved all three stages of a long-range rocket into position for a controversial launch, vowing Sunday to push ahead with their plan in defiance of international warnings against violating a ban on missile activity.
Sen. Dick Lugar meeting his Waterloo?
Apr 06, 2012
Six-term incumbent Indiana Senator Dick Lugar (R) is in deep political trouble.
In a bi-partisan Bipartisan Howey/DePauw Indiana Battleground Poll, Lugar led his Republican challenger, state treasurer Richard Mourdock (R) by only 42% to 35%, with 23% of the voters undecided.
For an incumbent to be so far below the magic 50% number only a month before the May 8 primary suggests how much trouble Lugar is in. Undecided voters in a contest with a well-known incumbent tend to go to the challenger.
Moreover, Lugar has been beset by problems that might not seem large in the grand scheme of things but hurt an incumbent up for re-election. He has not owned a home in Indiana for years, and initially was denied his right to vote in the primary (subsequently modified).
Lugar was recently forced to repay Treasury almost $15,000 for improperly billed hotel stays in the state.
Iran proposes Baghdad as nuclear talks venue: What We're Reading Now
Apr 05, 2012
Iran
U.S. Sees Iran in Bids to Stir Unrest in Afghanistan
Thom Shanker, Eric Schmitt and Alissa Rubin, New York Times - April 4, 2012
Just hours after it was revealed that American soldiers had burned Korans seized at an Afghan detention center in late February, Iran secretly ordered its agents operating inside Afghanistan to exploit the anticipated public outrage by trying to instigate violent protests in the capital, Kabul, and across the western part of the country, according to American officials.
Iran proposes Baghdad as nuclear talks venue
Patrick Markey, Reuters - April 4, 2012
Iraq said on Wednesday it had offered to host talks between Iran and six world powers on Tehran's disputed nuclear programme next week, acting on an Iranian request to change the venue from Istanbul following friction with Turkey.
Korean Peninsula
NKorea launch an intel opportunity for US, allies
Eric Talmadge, Associated Press - April 5, 2012
As the U.S. and its allies decry North Korea's planned rocket launch, they're also rushing to capitalize on the rare opportunity it presents to assess the secretive nation's ability to strike beyond its shores.
Impact of Iran Sanctions Widens: What We're Reading Now
Apr 04, 2012
Iran
Impact of Iran Sanctions Widens
Rick Gladstone, New York Times - April 4, 2012
The Iran sanctions effort led by the United States appeared to be causing new fractures in the Iranian economy on Tuesday, with leading oil companies in South Africa and Greece suspending imports of Iran’s crude oil, further signs of emergency self-reliance emerging in Iran, and an influential former Iranian president publicly challenging his country’s anti-American stoicism.
Can Brazil Stop Iran?
Bernard Aronson, New York Times - April 3, 2012
Brazil, the saying used to go, is the land of the future — and always will be. But when Brazil’s president, Dilma Rousseff, visits the White House next week, she will come as the leader of a country whose future has arrived.
Don't Fear a Nuclear Armed Iran
Stephen A. Cook, NPR - April 3, 2012
On March 21, Haaretz correspondent Ari Shavit wrote a powerful op-ed in the New York Times that began with this stark and stunning claim: "An Iranian atom bomb will force Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Egypt to acquire their own atom bombs." Indeed, it has become axiomatic among Middle East watchers, nonproliferation experts, Israel's national security establishment, and a wide array of U.S. government officials that Iranian proliferation will lead to a nuclear arms race in the Middle East. President Barack Obama himself, in a speech to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) last month, said that if Iran went nuclear, it was "almost certain that others in the region would feel compelled to get their own nuclear weapon.
Self-Defeating
Trita Parsi, Daily Beast - April 3, 2012
Netanyahu's government and its supporters argue that a strike on Iran will benefit Israel and America. But a strike on Iran won't destory it's nuclear facilities, and are more likely benefit than harm Iran in the long run.
Iraq Says Iran Proposes Baghdad as Nuclear Talks Venue
Reuters - April 4, 2012
Iran has proposed holding the next round of talks with six world powers over its disputed nuclear program next week in Iraq instead of Turkey, Iraq's foreign minister said on Wednesday.
National Academy of Sciences Report Sheds Light on Maintaining U.S. Nuclear Arsenal Without Testing
Apr 03, 2012
by Tara Chandra
The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) brought the issue of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) back into the arms control spotlight on March 30 with the release of a much-anticipated report that evaluated the technical ability of the United States to maintain a safe and reliable nuclear stockpile without nuclear testing. A summary of the report on the CTBT and a link to the full 215-page text can be found here. This 2012 report is an update to the 2002 study that was conducted on the same subject.
The CTBT was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in September 1996. The United States was the first country to sign the treaty in 1996, but it was rejected by the Senate in 1999. Although many of the mechanisms necessary to implement and enforce the Treaty are already in place, it cannot enter into force until 44 states deemed to be “nuclear capable” sign and ratify it. Among those that have yet to ratify the treaty are the United States, Iran, China, India, Israel, North Korea, Pakistan and Egypt.
Opponents of the Treaty argue that the United States can’t ensure the safety, security, and reliability of its nuclear arsenal without testing. They also argue that the treaty is unverifiable.
The NAS report refutes both claims. It concludes "that the United States is now better able to maintain a safe and effective nuclear stockpile and to monitor clandestine nuclear-explosion testing than at any time in the past."
Regarding the maintenance of the arsenal, the report states: “Provided that sufficient resources and a national commitment to stockpile stewardship are in place, the committee judges that the United States has the technical capabilities to maintain a safe, secure, and reliable stockpile of nuclear weapons into the foreseeable future without nuclear-explosion testing.”
The U.S. has not tested a nuclear weapon since 1992. Both Republican and Democratic Presidents have maintained this unilateral moratorium and this has not lessened the crediblity of the U.S. nuclear deterrent.
The NAS report also refutes the claim that it is not possible to verify compliance with the Treaty: “The United States has technical capabilities to monitor nuclear explosions in four environments – underground, underwater, in the atmosphere, and in space.” The panel goes on to say that “the status of U.S national monitoring and the International Monitoring System has improved to levels better than predicted in 1999.”
Lastly, those who continue to oppose CTBT ratification argue that the other critical states that have not yet ratified the CTBT will continue to test, while the United States will be bound by the treaty’s constraints. To date, 157 countries have ratified the Treaty, with the notable exceptions of the United States, China, North Korea, Iran, India, and Pakistan. However, the leaders of many of these non-ratifying nations have stated either publicly or privately that they would strongly consider ratification if the United States were to ratify the Treaty.
The United States has the best developed and most frequently tested nuclear arsenal of any other country, so by locking in a worldwide moratorium on testing, we would ensure ourselves an enormous edge. Furthermore, through ratification, we will strengthen our ability to deter and detect cheating and prevent other nuclear armed states from improving their arsenals through testing.
Moreover, as the unofficial “enforcer” of the global non-proliferation regime, the United States needs to lead by example. Ratifying the CTBT will strengthen U.S. leadership on non-proliferation, thereby putting us in a stronger bargaining position when seeking international support for dealing with rogue states.
Dear Mitt --
Apr 03, 2012
Dear Mittens:
Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney recently called Russia "without question, our No. 1 geopolitical foe" while criticizing President Obama for remarks he made about missile defense in front of a live microphone.
If you feel that way, Mr. Hope-to-be- President, you must agree with South Carolina Senator Jim DeMint, who says our missile defense system needs to be directed at the Russians as well as the Iranians and North Koreans.
Mr. Romney, do you in fact agree with Senator DeMint? Inquiring minds want to know.
Very sincerely,
John Isaacs
Iran will retaliate if attacked, but how? What We're Reading Now
Apr 03, 2012
Iran
Iran will retaliate if attacked, but how?
Ben Bimbaum, Washington Times - April 2, 2012
Middle East analysts are certain that Iran would retaliate if Israel strikes its nuclear facilities, though the size, nature and targets of the counterattack remain mysteries.
Iran vows to stick to nuclear 'path'
Marc Burleigh, Agence France-Presse - April 2n 2012
Iran declared on Monday it will not be swayed from its nuclear "path" by sanctions, a week before talks with world powers that are increasingly seen as a last chance for diplomacy in its showdown with the West.
Korean Peninsula
N.Korea 'Building Even Bigger Missile'
Chosun News - April 3, 2012
North Korea is building a missile that is even bigger than the long-range missile it is preparing to launch this month, sources claimed Monday. South Korean and U.S. officials believe the North will unveil the missile at a military parade on April 15, nation founder Kim Il-sung's centenary, or on April 25, which marks the founding day of the North's Army.
SDF prepares for N. Korean missile launch
Tetsuya Mizuno, The Daily Yomiuri - April 3, 2012
The Self-Defense Forces have begun deploying units after receiving an order from Defense Minister Naoki Tanaka to intercept a North Korean ballistic missile if necessary, with the aim of preventing the missile or its fragments from falling within Japanese territory. To do so, the SDF will carefully detect and track the missile, which North Korea calls a satellite.
Images show North Korea launch work: What We're Reading Now
Apr 02, 2012
Iran
Clinton to Iran: Show that nuclear arms not sought
Bradley Klapper, Associated Press - April 1, 2012
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Sunday urged Iran to back up its declaration that Islam bars weapons of mass destruction by agreeing to a plan that would prove it does not intend to develop nuclear arms.
Korean Peninsula
Images show North Korea launch work
Foster Klug, Associated Press - April 2, 2012
New satellite images of a North Korean rocket launch site show a mobile radar trailer and rows of what appear to be empty fuel and oxidizer tanks, evidence of ramped-up preparation for what Washington calls a cover for a long-range missile test.
North Korea Party Calls for Leadership Meeting
New York Times - April 2, 2012
North Korea’s ruling Workers’ Party will convene a representatives’ conference on April 11, the country’s state-ran news agency, K.C.N.A., reported on Monday. Analysts said the rare meeting was expected to anoint the new North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, as the official head of the party.
Rocket to cost North equivalent of feeding 19 mil. for 1 year
Yonhap News Agency - April 2, 2012
This month's long-range rocket launch will cost North Korea some US$850 million, the equivalent of feeding 19 million people for one year, intelligence authorities in Seoul estimated Monday.
Hard Line on Iran Places White House in a Bind: What We're Reading Now
Mar 30, 2012
Iran
Hard Line on Iran Places White House in a Bind
Mark Landler, Thom Shanker, and Helene Cooper, New York Times - March 29, 2012
As American and European diplomats prepare for crucial negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program, the White House finds itself caught in a bind: for the diplomatic effort to work, American officials say, the Iranian government must believe that President Obama is ready and willing to take military action.
Korean Peninsula
Japan will intercept NKorean rocket if threatened
Associated Press - March 30, 2012
Japan's defense minister Friday ordered missile units to intercept a long-range rocket expected to be launched by North Korea if the rocket or its fragments threaten to hit Japan.
Afghanistan
Afghan Local Police key to success against Taliban
Rowan Scarborough, Washington Times - March 29, 2012
A small, little-noticed counterinsurgency force that was created in the ninth year of the Afghanistan War is proving to be the key for U.S. troops to leave the country in victory.
Second Afghan Insurgent Group Suspends Peace Talks
Matthew Rosenberg and Rod Nordland, New York Times - March 29, 2012
Stalled peace efforts in Afghanistan suffered another setback on Thursday when a second insurgent faction — one that has squared off against both the American-led coalition and the Taliban — announced it was suspending formal peace negotiations with the Afghan government, as the Taliban did earlier this month.
