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.
Iran
Israeli Army Chief Says He Believes Iran Won’t Build Bomb
Jodi Rodoren, New York Times – April 26, 2012
The Israeli military chief described the Iranian government as “rational” in interviews published Wednesday and said he did not believe it would build a nuclear bomb, appearing to put some distance between himself and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak.
Despite Sanctions, Iran Shows No Change in Nuclear Ambitions
Oren Dorell USA Today – April 26, 2012
Iran is finding ways around international sanctions meant to pressure its leaders to abandon its nuclear aspirations, even as evidence mounts that sanctions are hurting the Iranian people, Iran analysts say.
Korean Peninsula
Analysts Say North Korea’s New Missiles are Fakes
Eric Talmadge, Associated Press – April 26, 2012
Analysts who have studied photos of a half-dozen ominous new North Korean missiles showcased recently at a lavish military parade say they were fakes, and not very convincing ones, casting further doubt on the country’s claims of military prowess.
Panetta Warns North Korea to Halt Proposed Nuclear Tests
Carlo Munoz, The Hill – April 25, 2012
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta issued a stern warning to North Korea not to proceed with a new round of nuclear weapons testing, saying such tests would accelerate the “dangerous cycle” of provocation set by Pyongyang.
