CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS
Cuban Missile Crisis Passes Quietly, 50 Years Later
Nick Miroff, NPR – October 16, 2012
On the morning of October 16, 1962, President John F. Kennedy was first told the Soviet Union had installed nuclear weapons in Cuba, and the tense 13 days that followed brought the world as close as it’s ever been to nuclear war.
IRAN
Cuban Missile Crisis Provides Lessons on Iran, Scholars Say
Kari Andren, Triblive – October 15, 2012
Fifty years after the Cuban Missile Crisis, the resolution of that conflict is relevant today as the United States and Israel weigh how to handle Iran’s development of nuclear weapons, Cuban missile crisis scholars said during a panel discussion on Monday.
PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION
Amanpour: How Obama and Romney See Iran’s Nuclear Ambition
Christiane Amanpour, CNN – October 15, 2012
No one is going to lose the U.S. election by sounding and acting too tough on Iran, but resolving this nuclear issue will require creative and comprehensive engagement, and direct U.S.-Iranian negotiations. Doing so would set the stage for a more stable and secure Middle East and the world.
Obama and Romney on Foreign Policy: Beyond the Rhetoric, Some Genuine Differences
Stewart M. Patrick, Council on Foreign Relations – October 16, 2012
Presidential campaigns should come with a disclaimer: “past promises are no guarantee of future policies.” Candidates are notorious for exaggerating modest differences with opponents, then doing precisely the same thing once elected. Remember Bill Clinton, blasting George H. W. Bush for toasting the “butchers of Beijing,” later cozying up to China. Or a junior senator from Illinois, Senator Obama, who condemned George W. Bush’s “global war on terrorism,” but adopted aggressive homeland security and counterterrorism measures of his own, from extending provisions of the Patriot Act to expanding targeted killings via drone strikes.
AFGHANISTAN
Suicide ‘Insider’ Attack Kills Six in Afghanistan
Alissa J. Rubin and Taimoor Shah, New York Times – October 16, 2012
A member of the Afghan intelligence service detonated a suicide vest Saturday, killing two Americans and four Afghan intelligence agency colleagues, Afghan and international officials said Monday. Also on Monday, Afghan officials charged that a coalition strike against a Taliban target had killed three young children — two boys and a girl — from one family over the weekend.
NORTH KOREA
S. Korea, US Discuss N. Korea, Territorial Issues in Seoul
Yonhap News – October 16, 2012
The number two diplomats of South Korea and the United States held talks on Tuesday in Seoul to discuss regional security concerns including North Korean issues and territorial rows in Northeast Asia, Seoul’s foreign ministry said Tuesday. During their strategic dialogue, Vice Foreign Minister Ahn Ho-young and Deputy Secretary William J. Burns explored ways to maintain security on the Korean Peninsula, with an emphasis on keeping North Korea in check ahead of both countries’ presidential elections, the ministry officials said.
North Korea’s Progress Seems to be More Style Than Substance
Barbara Demick, Los Angeles Times – October 14, 2012
Despite new construction, fashions and items to buy, ‘Day to day, our life is actually harder,’ says one North Korean, who struggles to get enough to eat.
MISSILE DEFENSE
The US Should Make Annual Declaration to Russia of its Missile Defense Plans
Steven Pifer, Brookings Institution – October 16, 2012
Moscow’s principal concern about U.S. missile defenses should be their impact on the offense-defense relationship, that is, whether they could, in the future, pose a genuine threat to Russian strategic ballistic missiles and the strategic balance. In order to help Moscow make this assessment, the United States could offer to provide Russia an annual declaration of its missile defense plans.
