What We're Reading Now
Aug 29, 2011
IRAN
Iran launches production of banned carbon fiber
Nasser Karimi, The Associated Press -- August 27, 2011
Iran has inaugurated its own production of carbon fiber, a material under U.N. embargo because of its potential use in the country's controversial nuclear program, the official IRNA news agency reported Saturday.
Iran starts mass production of anti-armor rockets
Xinhua -- August 29, 2011
Iran's Defense Minister Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi inaugurated on Monday a mass production line of anti-armor rockets used to destroy tanks, armored vehicles and enemy's ammunition depots, the English-language satellite Press TV reported.
NORTH KOREA
China-North Korean Leader Repeats Offer for Nuclear Talks
Edward Wong, New York Times -- August 26, 2011
The North Korean leader, Kim Jong-il, reiterated Friday that he would return to the so-called six-party talks on his country’s nuclear program with no preconditions, Xinhua, the Chinese state news agency, reported.
A test for North Korea's deals on wheels
Donald Kirk, Asia Times -- August 29, 2011
The greatest mystery surrounding Kim Jong-il's visits to Russia and China has nothing to do with secret deals on commerce or six-party talks on his nukes. It's what he brings with him and takes away in that 14-car train in which he travels whenever he crosses the border into those forbidding lands beyond.
Much happens in a week
Sep 22, 2009
Last Thursday, President Obama boldly killed President Bush’s misguided missile defense deployment in Europe, and this Thursday, he continues to push his nuclear agenda forward at a United Nations Security Council summit meeting.
The meeting, the first of its kind chaired by a U.S. president, is designed by Obama to continue the momentum toward nuclear security and arms control that the President initiated in his unforgettable Prague speech in April.
At the United Nations, the U.S. is putting forth a resolution (the draft can be seen here) that calls upon all countries to pursue “a treaty on general and complete disarmament under strict and effective international control.” In addition, the resolution calls for universal ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty and promotes a breadth of arms control and nonproliferation initiatives.
Care to show your support for President Obama’s nuclear agenda? You can send a message to the White House supporting his commitment to pragmatic steps on the way to a world free of nuclear weapons here.