IRAN
Obama vows new bid to thwart Iran nuclear effort
AP – November 13, 2011
President Barack Obama says sanctions on Iran are having “enormous bite,” but he still wants to work with Russia and China to find more ways of putting pressure on Tehran to halt its nuclear program.
Politics stokes fears over Iran nuclear plans
Roula Khalaf, Financial Times – November 14, 2011
In January this year, Hillary Clinton sounded an unusually relaxed note about Iran’s nuclear programme. “The sanctions are working,” the US secretary of state declared, adding that the US authorities’ best estimate was that the programme had been “slowed down”.
Behind Iran’s Nuclear Quest: An Ancient Civilization’s Pride and Insecurity
Karl Vick, Time (Blog)- November 13, 2011
Every nation has its pride, but the feeling runs especially deep in Iran. There, the sense of nationhood extends back 2,500 years, to the time of Darius and Xerxes and other names that Americans might possibly have heard of somewhere — maybe in the action movie 300 — but which anchor modern Iranians to a stream of history that predates every Abrahamic religion, including Islam, and carries real implications for the nuclear issue. For outsiders, it makes the issue a lot tougher.
McManus: Facing a nuclear Iran
Doyle MacManus, LA Times (Op-Ed) – November 13, 2011
Republicans are critical of Obama’s approach, but their own policies aren’t that different.
NORTH & SOUTH KOREA
Historic rivalry as Japan heads to N Korea
Jean H. Lee, AP – November14, 2011
From schoolchildren in Adidas tracksuits to soldiers in uniform, they jostle for a good view of the team that has become a symbol of national pride. That pride will be at stake Tuesday when the North Korean men face off against Japan at Kim Il Sung Stadium in a much-anticipated World Cup qualifier that promises to be about far more than just soccer.
Source: Hundreds of NK nuclear and missile experts working in Iran
The Korea Times – November 13, 2011
Hundreds of North Korean nuclear and missile experts have been collaborating with their Iranian counterparts in more than 10 locations across the Islamic state, a diplomatic source said Sunday.
UNITED STATES
GOP contenders spar over Pakistan, foreign aid at debate
Seema Metha, LA Times – November 12, 2011
The Republican presidential rivals took on national security policy Saturday night in a South Carolina debate that saw the field splinter over how candidates would deal with Pakistan, foreign aid and waterboarding, but largely united in their view that President Obama has weakened the nation’s standing in the world.
What We Learned at the Foreign Policy Debate
Molly Ball – The Atlantic – November 13, 2011
Perry wants to zero out all foreign aid, Cain doesn’t know if Pakistan is friend or foe, Romney supports enhanced interrogation — and more
Obama fires back at Republicans on foreign policy
Laura MacInnis & Caren Bohan, Reuters – November 14, 2011
President Barack Obama hit back on Sunday at criticism by Republican presidential candidates of his handling of Iran and other international issues, and said a new Congress may be needed to heal the U.S. economy.
On Asia-Pacific trip, Obama’s focus is on China
Peter Nicholas & Christi Parsons, LA Times – November 14, 2011
The president is expected to signal that the U.S. can serve as a reliable counterweight to Beijing, and that it wants to shore up alliances in the region.
