Missile defense cooperation could be "game-changer" for US, Russia: What We're Reading Now
Feb 06, 2012

IRAN

Just a Bluff? Fears Grow of Israeli Attack on Iran
Dan Perry and Josef Federman, Associated Press - February 5, 2012
For the first time in nearly two decades of escalating tensions over Iran's nuclear program, world leaders are genuinely concerned that an Israeli military attack on the Islamic Republic could be imminent - an action that many fear might trigger a wider war, terrorism and global economic havoc.

Trading Threats With Iran
Editorial, New York Times - February 3, 2012
The posturing and saber rattling from both Iran and Israel are getting frightening. Iran threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz after the European Union and the United States tightened sanctions.

House Intel Chair: Attack on Iran Would Harm U.S. National Security
Michael Ono, ABC News - February 5, 2012
As United States and Israel grow increasingly concerned over Iran’s nuclear program, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee is cautioning that a pre-emptive strike by Israel could spell trouble for America.

Joint Drill with U.S. to be Held After Delay
Yaakaov Katz, Jerusalem Post - February 6, 2012
Israel and the United States will hold the postponed Austere Challenge missile-defense exercise before the end of the year, likely in October or November.

Iran Blocks U.N. Nuclear Inspectors: What We're Reading Now
Feb 03, 2012

IRAN

Iran Blocks U.N. Nuclear Inspectors
Jay Solomon, Wall Street Journal - February 3, 2012
Iran denied United Nations inspectors access to a suspected nuclear site, scientists and documents during a visit to Tehran this week, dimming already scant hopes for a breakthrough to end a standoff over Iran's nuclear work, said diplomats briefed on the International Atomic Energy Agency's mission.

Panetta believes Israel could strike Iran this spring
Barbara Starr, CNN (Blog) - February 2, 2012
U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has come to the conclusion there is a growing likelihood Israel could attack Iran sometime this spring in an effort to destroy its suspected nuclear weapons program, according to a senior administration official.

Senate Panel Approves Potentially Toughest Penalty Yet Against Iran’s Wallet
Rick Gladstone, New York Times - February 2, 2012
The Senate Banking Committee unanimously approved a new regimen of anti-Iran sanctions on Thursday that would for the first time threaten to punish the global financial telecommunications network that nearly all banks rely on to conduct their daily business.

West making case to Israel: Don't attack Iran
Anne Gearan, Associated Press - February 2, 2012
Israel's major allies in the West are working hard to talk it out of a unilateral military strike on Iran's nuclear facilities, arguing forcefully that an attack ultimately would strengthen, not weaken, the regime in Tehran.

Russia Prepares to ‘Destroy’ U.S. Shield, Medvedev Says: What We're Reading Now
Nov 23, 2011

IRAN
Half of US voters say bomb Iran if sanctions fail
AFP - November 23, 2011
Fifty percent of Americans believe military action should be taken to stop Iran's nuclear program if sanctions do not work, a national poll released on Wednesday said.

Obama Aide Says Iran’s Leaders Are Feeling the Strain of Sanctions
Mark Landler, NYT - November 22, 2011
A day after the United States imposed fresh sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program, President Obama’s national security adviser argued Tuesday that the administration’s pressure campaign had left Iran’s leaders economically strained, diplomatically isolated and rent by internal divisions.

Defiant Iran eyes retaliation for sanctions
Marc Burleigh, AFP - November 23, 2011
A defiant Iran said on Wednesday that it will not back down despite newly announced Western sanctions over its atomic drive, as it took the first steps to hit back at the measures. "The Iranian nation will not back down an iota, and will not allow the slightest move to encroach on the nation's rights" in terms of its nuclear programme, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said in a speech aired on state television.

AFGHANISTAN
World Bank says Afghanistan will need billions of dollars in aid for years to come
AP (Washington Post) - November 23, 2011
Afghanistan could face economic collapse if international assistance is abruptly cut as foreign combat forces are withdrawn, the World Bank warned, stressing that the war-ravaged nation will need billions of dollars in aid for a decade or more.

Russia Does Not See Deal on NATO Missile Shield Before 2012 Summit: What We're Reading Now
Oct 31, 2011

IRAN
Michele Bachmann: Force an option against Iran after alleged US-based assassination plot
Shira Schoenberg, Boston Globe - October 30, 2011
Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann would not rule out the use of force in responding to an alleged Iranian attempt to assassinate the Saudi Arabian ambassador to the United States.

Plausible Culpability
Daniel Byman, Foreign Policy (Blog) - October 28, 2011
Incredulity has been the most common response to reports that Iran plotted with Mexican drug traffickers to kill the Saudi ambassador to the United States, Adel al-Jubeir, at a Washington, D.C. restaurant. Given past U.S. intelligence failures, the opacity of the Iranian regime, and the seemingly clumsy nature of the operation, it is easy to dismiss the Obama administration's allegations that Iran planned such a risky attack. But there are plenty of reasons to think that the Islamic Republic's senior leadership was responsible for the plot.

The Bloated Nuclear Weapons Budget
NYT Editorial - October 29, 2011
Twenty years after the end of the cold war, the United States still has about 2,500 nuclear weapons deployed and 2,600 more as backup. The Obama administration, in an attempt to mollify Congressional Republicans, has also committed to modernizing an already hugely expensive complex of nuclear labs and production facilities.

NORTH & SOUTH KOREA
Kim Jong-il to North Koreans in Libya: Don't bother coming home
John M. Gilona, LA Times - October 31, 2011
Worried they might return with provocative tales of a populist uprising that just toppled another Middle East dictator, strongman Kim Jong-il has issued a decree to North Koreans in Libya – don’t bother coming home.

N.Korea rejects preconditions for nuclear talks: What We're Reading Now
Oct 04, 2011

IRAN
Weapons-Grade Confusion: The Danger of Misreading Our Nuclear Adversaries
Patrick Disney, The Atlantic - October 4, 2011.
Miscommunication and mutual mistrust almost led us into an unwanted war with the Soviet Union - are we making similar mistakes with Iran today?

Iran Uranium Proposal Faces U.S. Skepticism
Global Security Newswire - October 3, 2011
The United States on Friday questioned Iran's stated willingness to halt production of higher-enriched uranium if it received the material from Western powers, Agence France-Presse reported

NORTH KOREA
N.Korea rejects preconditions for nuclear talks
AFP - October 4, 2011
North Korea on Tuesday rejected US preconditions for a resumption of long-stalled six-nation nuclear disarmament talks, saying Washington is trying to shift the blame for the failure to restart dialogue.

S.Korea abandons bid to send flood aid to North
AFP - October 4, 2011
South Korea said Tuesday it had abandoned efforts to send flood relief to North Korea after Pyongyang failed to respond to Seoul's offer, amid disagreement over what kind of aid to send.

Admiral says U.S. keeping eye on N. Korean leader, succession process: What We're Reading Now
Sep 28, 2011

IRAN
Iran nuclear drive heightens risk of strike: France
AFP -- September28, 2011
France's UN envoy warned that Iran faces the risk of a military strike if it pursues its nuclear drive because certain countries would not accept it having an atomic weapon.

Energy Secretary Chu On Iran's Nuclear Activities
Voice of America -- September 27, 2011
"Iran has continued to engage in a long-standing pattern of denial, deceit and evasion, in violation of its non-proliferation obligations."

NORTH KOREA
Admiral says U.S. keeping eye on N. Korean leader, succession process
Ashley Rowland, Stars and Stripes -- September 27, 2011
Kim Jong Il’s health and the ongoing succession process in North Korea could determine the timing of future North Korean attacks, the top U.S. military commander in the Pacific said Tuesday.

NK blames Libyan regime collapse on absence of nukes: outgoing British envoy
The Korean Times -- September 27, 2011
North Korean officials believe the Libyan regime would not have collapsed had it held on to its nuclear weapons, the outgoing British ambassador to Pyongyang said Wednesday, casting doubts on the likelihood that the North will relinquish its nuclear capabilities.

What We’re Reading Now
Aug 01, 2011

PAKISTAN
Getting Bin Laden
Nicholas Schmidle, The New Yorker- August 1, 2011
What happened that night in Abbottabad.

Pakistan says U.S. missiles kill 3 near border
Associated Press- August 1, 2011
American drone-fired missiles slammed into a car near the Afghan border on Monday, killing four suspected Islamist militants, Pakistani intelligence officials said.

UNITED STATES
Obama and leaders reach debt deal
Carl Hulse and Helene Cooper, New York Times - July 31, 2011
President Obama and Congressional leaders of both parties said late Sunday that they had agreed to a framework for a budget deal that would cut trillions of dollars in federal spending over the next decade and clear the way for an increase in the government’s borrowing limit.

What We’re Reading Now
Jul 14, 2011

IRAN  
Iran moves nuclear enrichment programme to underground bunker
Damien McElroy, Telegraph- July 13, 2011
Iran has begun efforts to shift its nuclear enrichment programme to an underground bunker where experts warn it could stage a last dash for a nuclear weapon.

The rise and fall of Iran's Ahmadinejad
Karim Sadjadpour, Washington Post- July 13, 2011
While Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s demagoguery and Holocaust revisionism on the world stage have earned him alarmist comparisons to Adolf Hitler, his recent, ignoble fall from grace reveals the Iranian president for what he really is: the dispensable sword of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

PAKISTAN
Pakistan violence flares after Minister's comments
Hamid Shaikh and Zeeshan Haider, Reuters- July 13, 2011
Fresh political violence gripped Pakistan's commercial capital, Karachi, on Thursday, leaving 14 people dead in fighting sparked by a senior ruling party leader's criticism of the city's dominant political group.

US-Pakistanis meet amid tension, military aid
Kimberly Dozier and Pauline Jelinek,Associated Press- July 13, 2011
High-level U.S.-Pakistan visits were unfolding Wednesday for the first time since Washington announced it was cutting more than one-third of its military aid to its terrorism-fighting partner.

What We’re Reading Now
Jul 06, 2011

IRAN  
Iran's nuclear steps deepen Western suspicions
Fredrik Dahl, Reuters- July 6, 2011
Expanding uranium enrichment, a new atomic energy chief said to have military expertise, missile tests -- Western analysts see fresh signs that Iran may be seeking to develop the means to build nuclear warheads.

Iran's nuclear program helped by China, Russia
Eli Lake, Washington Times- July 5, 2011
The foundation of Iran’s nuclear program can be traced to extensive Chinese and Russian cooperation in the 1990s, according to a former U.S. intelligence official who specialized on Tehran’s program.

Weapons prove Iranian role in Iraq, US says
Ed O'Keefe and Joby Warrick, Washington Post- July 5, 2011
Iranian-backed militias in Iraq are using more sophisticated weapons than in the past to target U.S. troops and military installations in Iraq, according to senior U.S. officials.

NORTH KOREA
Analysis blames North Korea for cyberattack on South Korea
Lolita C. Baldor, Associated Press- June 22, 2011
North Korea or its sympathizers were likely responsible for the cyberattack against South Korean government and banking websites earlier this year, according to a new analysis that said it also appears to have been linked to the 2009 massive computer-based attack that brought down U.S. government Internet sites.

What We're Reading Now
Jul 01, 2011

IRAN
Israeli minister: Don't take eyes off Iran
George Jahn, Associated Press - July 1, 2011
Israel's foreign minister warned Thursday that Iran is using Mideast unrest as a smoke screen to advance missile and nuclear programs in its alleged development of nuclear arms.

US Suspects Iran behind increase in troop deaths in Iraq
Ed O'Keefe and Tim Craig, Boston Globe - July 1, 2011
Iran is furnishing new, more deadly weapons to Shiite Muslim militias targeting U.S. troops in Iraq as part of a pattern of renewed attempts to exert influence in the region, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said.The U.S. has raised the attacks with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and others, said Gates, who leaves office today. Gates will be succeeded by Leon Panetta, director of the Central Intelligence Agency.

NORTH KOREA
S. Korea still waiting for N. Korea's response on bilateral nuclear talks
Yonhap News Agency, July 1, 2011
South Korea is still waiting for North Korea's response to its proposal to hold bilateral talks to gauge the North's sincerity on denuclearization, despite a recent series of fiery threats from the communist neighbor, Seoul's foreign minister said Thursday.