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.
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.
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.
Support in U.S. for Afghan War Drops Sharply, Poll Finds
Mar 27, 2012
Support in U.S. for Afghan War Drops Sharply, Poll Finds
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/27/world/asia/support-for-afghan-war-falls-in-us-poll-finds.html?hp
WASHINGTON — After a series of violent episodes and setbacks, support for the war in Afghanistan has dropped sharply among both Republicans and Democrats, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll.
The survey found that more than two-thirds of those polled — 69 percent — thought that the United States should not be at war in Afghanistan. Just four months ago, 53 percent said that Americans should no longer be fighting in the conflict, more than a decade old.
The increased disillusionment was even more pronounced when respondents were asked their impressions of how the war was going. The poll found that 68 percent thought the fighting was going “somewhat badly” or “very badly,” compared with 42 percent who had those impressions in November.
The latest poll was conducted by telephone from March 21 to 25 with 986 adults nationwide. It has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus three percentage points.
Special Report: Intel shows Iran nuclear threat not imminent: What We're Reading Now
Mar 23, 2012
Iran
Special Report: Intel shows Iran nuclear threat not imminent Tabassum Zakaria and Mark Hosenball, Reuters - March 23, 2012 The United States, European allies and even Israel generally agree on three things about Iran's nuclear program: Tehran does not have a bomb, has not decided to build one, and is probably years away from having a deliverable nuclear warhead.Barak: Iran must be given deadline in nuke talks
Herb Keinon, Jerusalem Post - March 23, 2012
Defense Minister Ehud Barak acknowledged publicly on Thursday that Israel and the US have different clocks when looking at Iran, with Washington able – because of its greater military capabilities – to wait longer to strike the country than Israel.
'Iran may activate US Hezbollah cells after strike'
Hilary Leila Krieger, Jerusalem Post - March 23, 2012
A US congressional report finds that Hezbollah fundraising cells are rampant across the United States and that the Lebanese organization could activate these cells to carry out lethal terrorist attacks.
Nuclear watchdog chief accused of pro-western bias over Iran
Julian Borger, The Guardian - March 22, 2012
The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the nuclear watchdog at the heart of the growing Iranian crisis, has been accused by several former senior officials of pro-western bias, over-reliance on unverified intelligence and of sidelining skeptics.
Allawi cites ‘dictatorship,’ Iranian control in Iraq
Ben Bimbaum, Washington Times - March 22, 2012
Iraq’s former prime minister says the United States is ignoring an “emerging dictatorship” in his country, telling The Washington Times that Iran is “swallowing” Iraq and dictating its strategic policies.
Gates: Proceed Warily on Iran: What We're Reading Now
Mar 22, 2012
Iran
Gates: Proceed Warily on Iran
Lisa Hostein, Jewish Exponent - March 21, 2012
Former Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates has joined the chorus of past and current officials warning that a military strike against Iran could produce dire consequences. "If you think the war in Iraq was hard, an attack on Iran would, in my opinion, be a catastrophe," he said in a keynote speech to some 400 donors at the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia's campaign event last week.
Official: Israel, US disagree on Iran timetable
Associated Press - March 22, 2012
Israel's defense minister says Israel and the United States disagree on what would be a realistic timetable for stopping Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. Ehud Barak told Israel Radio on Thursday that the U.S. would have more time than Israel to consider a strike against Iran because of superior military capabilities.
Korean Peninsula
North Korea Warns It Will Not Tolerate Criticism at Nuclear Forum
Choe Sang-Hun, New York Times - March 21, 2012
As global leaders prepared to travel to Seoul for a nuclear security summit meeting, North Korea warned on Wednesday that any criticism of its nuclear weapons program would be considered a “declaration of war.”
Pentagon Suspends Efforts To Recover Remains Of Troops In North Korea
William Wan, Associated Press - March 22, 2012
The Pentagon has suspended efforts to recover the remains of U.S. troops in North Korea, officials said Wednesday, the latest indication that recently negotiated agreements between the two countries are at risk of falling apart.
Hiroshima and Nagasaki: Unpublished Photos From the Ruins: What We're Reading Now
Mar 21, 2012
Special Topics
Hiroshima and Nagasaki: Unpublished Photos From the Ruins
Ben Cosgrove, ed., TIME - March 20, 2012
The photographs in this gallery — pictures never published in LIFE and starkly referencing every bleak, war-battered panorama from Verdun to Iwo Jima to Chosin Reservoir to Pork Chop Hill — were made in September, 1945, in Nagasaki and Hiroshima, Japan. But far from chronicling the aftermath of sustained, slogging, armed conflict, these images depict the devastation produced in a few unspeakably violent seconds.
Iran
Obama appeals to Iranians on Persian new year
Associated Press - March 20, 2012
President Barack Obama is telling the Iranian people that there is no reason for the United States and Iran to be divided. In a message marking the Persian new year, known as Nowruz, Obama says he wants Iranians to know that "America seeks a dialogue to hear your views and understand your aspirations." He called on the Iranian government to stop blocking its citizens' access to outside information and to respect their universal rights.
Iran leader vows retaliation
Nasser Karimi and Brian Murphy, Associated Press - March 21, 2012
Tehran will retaliate against any attack by Israeli or American forces "on the same level," Iran's top leader said Tuesday in a defiant address just moments after President Obama appealed directly to the Iranian people with a message of solidarity.
U.S. Exempts Japan and 10 Other Countries From Sanctions Over Iran Oil
Steven Lee Myers, New York Times - March 20, 2012
The Obama administration on Tuesday exempted Japan and 10 European nations from the prospect of biting sanctions intended to punish countries that continue to buy oil from Iran, but it left open the fate of other major importers, including China, India and South Korea.
Israel shifts views on Iran: What We're Reading Now
Mar 19, 2012
Iran
Israel shifts views on Iran
Associated Press - March 18, 2012
Despite saber-rattling from Jerusalem, Israeli officials now agree with the U.S. assessment that Tehran has not yet decided on the actual construction of a nuclear bomb, according to senior Israeli government and defense figures.
U.S. Faces a Tricky Task in Assessment of Data on Iran
James Risen, New York Times - March 17, 2012
While American spy agencies have believed that the Iranians halted efforts to build a nuclear bomb back in 2003, the difficulty in assessing the government’s ambitions was evident two years ago, when what appeared to be alarming new intelligence emerged, according to current and former United States officials.
Hawks Steering Debate on How to Take On Iran
Eric Lichtblau and Mark Landler, New York Times - March 18, 2012
Even before President Obama declared this month that “I have Israel’s back” in its escalating confrontation with Iran, pro-Israel figures like the evangelical Christian leader Gary L. Bauer and the conservative commentator William Kristol were pushing for more.
Top ten media failures in the Iran war debate: What We're Reading Now
Mar 13, 2012
Iran
Top ten media failures in the Iran war debate
Stephen Walt, Foreign Policy - March 11, 2012
I'm sorry to say that most mainstream news organizations have let us down again. Although failures haven't been as egregious as the New York Times and Washington Post's wholesale swallowing of the Bush administration's sales pitch for war in 2002, on the whole the high-end media coverage has been disappointing.
Iran sure no attack will go through Azerbaijan
Associated Press - March 12, 2012
Iran is confident that neighboring Azerbaijan would not allow attacking forces to pass through its territory, Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Monday, according to the official IRNA news agency. On February 29, Israel signed a $1.6 billion deal to sell drones, anti-aircraft and missile defense systems to Azerbaijan, bringing Israeli technology to the border of archenemy Iran.
Israeli Plans For Iran Go Back Years
Associated Press - March 12, 2012
For more than a decade, Israel has systematically built up its military specifically for a possible strike on Iranian nuclear facilities. It has sent its air force on long-distance training missions, procured American-made "bunker-busting" bombs and bolstered its missile defenses.
