SYRIA
Thousands Flee Syria in Major Refugee Exodus
Jonathon Burch and Rania El Gamal, Reuters – November 9, 2012
Thousands of Syrians fled their country on Friday in one of the biggest refugee exoduses of the 20 month war after rebels seized a border town. Syria’s fractious opposition was meeting in Qatar, under increasing pressure from the United States and Qatar to unite and form a credible body capable of ruling the country effectively if President Bashar al-Assad falls.
Thousands Syria Rebels to Reorganize, Lead From Front: General
Jennie Matthew, AFP – November 9, 2012
Syria’s largest armed opposition group is undergoing a drastic reorganisation and relocating its leadership to rebel-held territory in a bid to win vital international support, a general told AFP.
IRAN
Senators Mull Tougher Iran Sanctions
Bradley Klapper, AP – November 9, 2012
Lawmakers are working on a set of new and unprecedented sanctions against Iran that could prevent the Islamic republic from doing business with most of the world until it agrees to international constraints on its nuclear program, officials say.
Iran Issues Warning After Targeting U.S. Drone
Reuters – November 9, 2012
Iran said it would deal decisively with any foreign encroachment into its airspace, an apparent warning to the United States after one of its surveillance drones was targeted by Iranian warplanes last week. On Thursday U.S. officials said the unarmed Predator drone was in international airspace when Iranian warplanes opened fire on it on November 1. The aircraft was not hit.
DEFENSE SPENDING
A Smaller, Cheaper, Stronger Military
Paul M. Barrett, Businessweek – November 8, 2012
“Gentlemen, we have run out of money. Now we must think.” Winston Churchill said that. Or maybe it was the Nobel-winning physicist Ernest Rutherford. Whatever its provenance, the quip provides a good starting point for discussing the future of American military spending.
NORTH KOREA
Japan, North Korea to hold Talks Next Week
AP – November 9, 2012
Japan and North Korea will hold talks next week that Tokyo hopes will shed light on a series of decades-old abductions. The talks are scheduled to be held in Mongolia next Thursday and Friday, according to Japanese officials and North Korean media.
NUCLEAR TERRORISM
Senate, Grassley Must Take Lead on Preventing Nuclear Terrorism
Maj. Gen. Roger R. Blunt (Ret.), The Hill – November 8, 2012
We need every tool available to prevent nuclear terrorism. Unfortunately, two treaties that have been awaiting Congressional approval for more than half a decade that will enhance our ability to protect nuclear materials and go after terrorists intent on using them are stalled in Congress. This is unacceptable.
MIDDLE EAST
Obama’s Second Term Foreign Policy Will Bring New Challenges Over Drone Strikes
Joshua Hersh, Huffington Post – November 7, 2012
The Washington Post article, written by Greg Miller, described at length what the White House had done instead, creating an internal bureaucratic process called a “disposition matrix,” which reportedly lays out the various legal and diplomatic steps that must be undertaken before a suspected militant can be targeted for assassination by drone or other strike. But, as Micah Zenko, an expert on drone killings at the Council on Foreign Relations, has noted, where accountability is concerned, even this practice essentially boils down to, “Trust us.”
PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION
Iran’s Ahmadinejad ridicules expense of US vote
Dessianing Ariyanti, Associated Press – November 8, 2012
Ahmadinejad’s own government has been criticized for human rights abuses and sanctioned for pursuing a nuclear program many suspect is aimed at obtaining weapons. A day after Americans re-elected President Barack Obama, the Iranian president told the forum in Indonesia that democracy has become a system where the minority rules over the majority.
