Biden Calls Romney Foreign Policy Backward-Looking: What We're Reading Now
Apr 26, 2012
Biden Calls Romney Foreign Policy Backward-Looking
Anne Gearan, Associated Press - April 26, 2012
Vice President Joe Biden is calling the foreign policy outlined by presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney shallow, ill-informed and dangerous and says it would return the United States to "the past we have worked so hard to move beyond."
It's Time for the U.S. to Finally Sign the Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty
Lawrence Krauss, Slate - April 25, 2012
Yesterday, word leaked out that North Korea, the world’s most closed society, is getting ready to perform its third nuclear weapon test, following earlier tests in 2006 and 2009. If true, it would come on the heels of a recent failed rocket test (supposedly a step toward the development of an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of reaching the United States) and saber-rattling threatening to reduce the South Korean government to “ashes.”
Appropriations Committee Fears MOX Delays, Overruns
Rob Pavey, The Augusta Chronicle - April 25, 2012
Rising costs at the mixed oxide fuel plant under construction at Savannah River Site could erode funding reserved for other national defense priorities, according to congressional budget writers.
Marco Rubio's Foreign Policy Speech Stakes Out a Middle Ground in GOP
Karen DeYoung, Washington Post - April 25, 2012
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) took another step onto the national stage Wednesday with a foreign policy speech that positioned him squarely in the middle between a dying breed of GOP moderates and his partisan brethren who have condemned President Obama as an international weakling.
Report: Small Nuclear War Would Inflict Global Woes
Shaun Waterman, Washington Times - April 24, 2012
Even a limited, regional nuclear war, such as one between archrivals India and Pakistan, would cause major changes in the global climate and likely starve a billion people, according to new research.
Watchdog: Pentagon Buys Weapons Backwards - What We're Reading Now
Apr 25, 2012
Korean Peninsula
North Korean nuclear test could happen as early as Tuesday night
Richard Engel, Jim Miklaszewski and Robert Windrem, NBC News - April 24, 2012
North Korea could carry out an underground test of a nuclear weapon as early as Tuesday night as the North's reclusive leadership dramatically tries to up the stakes with the U.S. and the West, U.S. officials told NBC News.
U.S. Warns North Korea on Nuclear Test
Elisabeth Bumiller, New York Times - April 25, 2012
Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta warned North Korea on Tuesday not to conduct another nuclear test, saying it would create “greater instability in a dangerous part of the world.”
Iran
Israel army chief says Iran unlikely to make bomb
Maayan Lubell, Reuters - April 25, 2012
Israel's military chief said he does not believe Iran will decide to produce an atomic bomb, describing its leadership as "very rational" in an interview published on Wednesday.
Ex-Iran negotiator: "historic" chance for nuke talks
Fredrik Dahl, Reuters - April 25, 2012
Iran and major nations have a "historic opportunity" to settle their decade-old nuclear dispute, but requiring the Islamic state to stop higher-grade uranium enrichment would be discriminatory, Tehran's former chief nuclear negotiator said.
Obama announces new sanctions on Syria and Iran: What We're Reading Now
Apr 24, 2012
Korean Peninsula
N. Korea Vows To Turn South's Leadership To Ashes
Associated Press - April 23, 2012
North Korea sharply escalated the rhetoric against its southern rival, claiming it will soon conduct "special actions" that would reduce South Korea's conservative government to ashes within minutes.
North Korea's nuclear test ready 'soon'
Benjamin Kang Lim, Reuters - April 24, 2012
North Korea has almost completed preparations for a third nuclear test, a senior source with close ties to Pyongyang and Beijing told Reuters, which will draw further international condemnation following a failed rocket launch if it goes ahead.
Iran
Obama announces new sanctions on Syria and Iran
Lesley Clark, McClatchy Newspapers - April 23, 2012
President Barack Obama took aim Monday at Syria and Iran, imposing new sanctions on the two regimes as well as the “digital guns for hire” that develop technology enabling the two governments to monitor, track and harass their own people.
Facing Cyberattack, Iranian Officials Disconnect Some Oil Terminals From Internet
Thomas Erdbrink, New York Times - April 23, 2012
Iran disconnected several of its main Persian Gulf oil terminals from the Internet on Monday, local news media reported, as technicians were struggling to contain what they said were intensifying cyberattacks on the Oil Ministry and its affiliates.
Best Course for Iranian Nuclear Talks: Take it Slow, Experts Say: What We're Reading Now
Apr 23, 2012
Iran
Best Course for Iranian Nuclear Talks: Take it Slow, Experts Say
Roy Gutman, McClatchy Newspapers - April 22, 2012
After 15 months of rising tensions and fears of military confrontation, the foreign policy chief of the European Union sat down for dinner April 13 with the personal representative of Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, at the Iranian consulate, not far from Istanbul's Grand Bazaar.
Netanyahu Warns of Islamist, Nuclear "Marriage," Welt Reports
Niklas Magnusson, Bloomberg - April 22, 2012
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the greatest threat to world peace is “the marriage of a militant Islamist regime with nuclear weapons,” including Iran developing the bomb or the Taliban seizing power in Pakistan, Welt am Sonntag reported
Military Chief: Israel Increases Covert Options
Associated Press - April 22, 2012
Israel's military chief of staff says he has ordered his forces to step up covert operations in enemy countries.
Ex-National Security Adviser: No Apologies to Israel Over Iran's Nuke Program
Ben Birnbaum, Washington Times - April 20, 2012
President Obama’s former national security adviser says the U.S. has no reason to apologize to Israel for its handling of Iran and notes that the U.S. has been able to “contain” other nations that have acquired nuclear weapons.
Iran's Parchin Complex: Why Are Nuclear Inspectors So Focused on it?
Scott Peterson, Christian Science Monitor - April 20, 2012
Parchin. In the annals of Iran's controversial nuclear program, the sprawling military base southeast of Tehran may hold clues to past weapons-related work – or it may not.
China assisting North Korean missile program: Panetta - What We're Reading Now
Apr 20, 2012
North Korea
China assisting North Korean missile program: Panetta
Missy Ryan, Reuters - April 20, 2012
China has provided some assistance to North Korea's missile program, U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said on Thursday, a week after the hermit state's failed rocket launch triggered international condemnation.
Panetta Cites Growing Concern About North Korean Missile
Viola Gienger, Bloomberg Businessweek - April 19, 2012
The U.S. has “growing concern” that North Korea may have gained mobile missile technology that was displayed during a parade this month, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said.
Iran
Iran: Dispute Over Islands Grows
Rick Gladstone, New York Times - April 19, 2012
Iran’s military escalated tensions with the United Arab Emirates on Thursday, warning the country’s leaders to cease their claims of sovereignty over Abu Musa and two other contested islands at the strategically important mouth of the Persian Gulf.
Afghanistan
Afghanistan leader seeks swifter troop pullout amid photos furorLaura King, Los Angeles Times - April 19, 2012
Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai decries the behavior of U.S. troops photographed with insurgents' remains. Western troops' departure will prevent a recurrence, he says.
North Korea Says It Will Abandon Deal With U.S. - What We're Reading Now
Apr 18, 2012
Iran
U.S. lawmakers say Iran talks inadequate, urge more penalties
Rachelle Younglai and Roberta Rampton, Reuters - April 16, 2012
U.S. lawmakers on Monday pushed for more sanctions against Iran after talks between Tehran and global powers failed to stop Iran from developing its nuclear program.
The stage is set for a deal with Iran
David Ignatius, Washington Post - April 17, 2012
The author argues the Iranians expect to be paid, in “step-by-step” increments, as they move toward a deal. At a minimum, they will want a delay of the U.S. and European sanctions that take full effect June 28 and July 1, respectively.
Romney's foreign policy may mean hardball is back
Steven Hurst, Associated Press - April 18, 2012
Mitt Romney wants the United States to get much tougher with Iran and to end what a top adviser calls President Barack Obama's "Mother, may I?" consensus-seeking foreign policy.
Korean Peninsula
North Korea Says It Will Abandon Deal With U.S.
Choe Sang-Hun, New York Times - April 17, 2012
North Korea said on Tuesday that it was abandoning an agreement it made in February with the United States, in which it promised to suspend uranium enrichment, nuclear tests and long-range missile tests.
North Korea’s rockets, missiles show little progress - What We're Reading Now
Apr 17, 2012
Iran
Iran says ready to resolve nuclear issues
Marcus George, Reuters - April 16, 2012
Iran is ready to resolve all nuclear issues in the next round of talks with world powers if the West starts lifting sanctions, its foreign minister said on Monday.
Korean Peninsula
New paint job, same old problems: North Korea’s rockets, missiles show little progress
Associated Press - April 17, 2012
Analysts sifting through information on North Korea’s failed rocket launch say it suggests Pyongyang has learned little about spaceflight since its last flubbed attempt three years ago, and that it’s a long way from being able to threaten the United States with a long-range missile.
U.N. Council to Expand North Korea Sanctions
Choe Sang-Hun, New York Times - April 16, 2012
The United Nations Security Council officially censured North Korea on Monday over the failed rocket launching of a satellite last week, saying it “strongly condemns” the action and had ordered its sanctions committee to expand the blacklist of North Korean goods, companies and individuals connected to that country’s nuclear and missile programs.
Afghanistan
US prepares for last major Afghan offensive
Patrick Quinn, Associated Press - April 16, 2012
The U.S.-led spring offensive, expected to begin in the coming weeks, may be NATO's last chance to shore up Kabul's defenses before a significant withdrawal of combat troops limits its options. The focus will be regions that control the main access routes, roads and highways into Kabul from the desert south and the mountainous east. These routes are used not only by militants but by traders carrying goods from Pakistan and Iran.
Negotiations with Iran About Nukes Deemed Constructive: What We're Reading Now
Apr 16, 2012
Iran
Negotiations with Iran About Nukes Deemed Constructive
AP - April 15, 2012
Iranian and European officials expressed confidence in the results of Saturday's negotiations on Tehran's disputed nuclear program as it was announced that the two sides will meet again in Baghdad on May 23.
Iran, Western Powers Hail Latest Nuclear Talks
George Jahn, Associated Press - April 15, 2012
In a rare show of unity, Iran and the world's big powers on Saturday hailed their first nuclear meeting in more than a year as a key step toward further negotiations meant to ease international fears that Tehran may weaponize its nuclear program.
The Shape of a Deal With Iran
Fareed Zakaria, CNN - April 15, 2012
I've been following the tense back and forth with Iran very closely. I continue to believe it is the single most dangerous crisis that we confront today. And I'm struck by the pessimism surrounding it.
Oil Falls Toward $102 After Iran Nuclear Talks
The Associated Press - April 16, 2012
Oil fell to near $102 a barrel Monday after negotiators said meetings over Iran's nuclear program last weekend began on a positive note, easing tensions that had sent crude higher.
Diplomacy Will Dampen Iran War Talk - For Now
Fredrik Dahl and Justyna Pawlak, Reuters - April 15, 2012
Renewed diplomacy on Iran's nuclear program will muffle what Barack Obama last month called the "drums of war", but the beat will soon get louder if warm words do not lead swiftly to action that can defuse the decade-old dispute.
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.
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.
