IRAN
Iran grapples with currency market turmoil
Farhad Pouladi, AFP – January 4, 2012
Iran’s currency market was in turmoil Wednesday as the central bank imposed draconian measures to try to shore up its beleaguered rial in the face of existing and looming Western sanctions.
Iran’s Nuclear Fuel Rod Isn’t Military Threat, U.S. Analysts Say
Brian Wingfield, Blommberg Businessweek – January 4, 2012
Iran’s development of a nuclear fuel rod for medical research isn’t a milestone in a quest for atomic weapons, according to energy analysts in the U.S.
Strait talk with Iran
Fredrick W. Kagan, LA Times (Op-Ed) – January 4, 2012
Iran’s threat to close a vital international waterway if stricter sanctions are imposed on Iranian oil exports is more than just bellicose and provocative. It is also a test of U.S. will and commitment in the Persian Gulf at a time when our role in the region is changing.
NORTH KOREA
Amid N. Korea succession, China makes push for stability
Chico Harlan, Washington Post – January 4, 2012
In the days after Kim Jong Il’s death, China’s most powerful leaders hurried to the North Korean Embassy in Beijing, where they fanned across the embassy’s parquet floor and bowed three times to Kim’s portrait. One Chinese state councilor was “hardly” able to keep back tears, North Korea’s state-run news agency later said.
Reunification Could be Trouble for Seoul
TIME Magazine (AP) – January 4, 2012
A single, reunified Korea has long been a cherished dream of people on both sides of the world’s most heavily fortified border. South Korea even has a Cabinet-level ministry preparing for the day. And while Kim Jong Il’s death last month has raised those hopes higher among some in Seoul, few are eager to talk about the cold reality: Sudden reunification could be traumatic for both countries.
UNITED STATES
Mitt Romney celebrates GOP win; 2 rivals flounder
Kasie Hunt, AP – January 4, 2012
A squeaker of an Iowa victory in hand, Mitt Romney headed into the New Hampshire primary insisting that staying power sets him apart from runners-up Rick Santorum and Ron Paul and the rest of the GOP presidential field. Two rivals already looked shaky — last-place finisher Michele Bachmann canceled a campaign trip Wednesday and Rick Perry was heading home to Texas to think things over.
Romney wins Iowa by 8 votes
Ben White, Poltico – January 4, 2012
Fallout: Perry done; Santorum strong; Gingrich angry – Cordray recess appointment? – Oil surges on Iran fear
The Greatness of Ron Paul
Robert Wright, The Atlantic – January 3, 2012
By introducing moral imagination to the foreign-policy conversation, the Republican candidate is doing the nation an important service.
Bomb Iran (Rick Santorum) versus withdraw from the world (Ron Paul)
Brent Budowsky, The Hill (Blog) – January 4, 2012
The most important political effect of Iowa is that the day before the vote, Romney was not supported by 75 percent of Republicans, and the day after the vote, Romney was not supported by 75 percent of Republicans. Now watch the Romney negative-attack armada focus on slaughtering Santorum while a very different and important debate begins between Santorum and Ron Paul about security.
OTHER
Sanctions do more harm than good
Ramesh Thakur, The Australian (Opinion) – January 4, 2012
Sanctions became popular as a bridge between diplomacy and force for ensuring compliance with UN demands, yet their track record in ensuring compliance is pitiful. They inflict pain on citizens while imposing questionable costs on leaders.
