Iran
Iran Nuke Talks to Continue, Sign of Progress
George Jahn, Associated Press – May 15, 2012
Negotiators for the U.N. nuclear agency and Iran say they have made progress in talks focused on the agency’s probe of Tehran’s alleged work on nuclear weapons. International Atomic Energy Agency chief negotiator Herman Nackaerts and Iranian envoy Ali Asghar Soltanieh told reporters Tuesday that the two sides will meet again next week for more talks in Vienna.
Iran nuclear concession would test big power unity
William Maclean and Fredrik Dahl, Reuters – May 16, 2012
Facing an imminent toughening of sanctions, Iran is hinting at a readiness to give some ground in its long nuclear stand-off with world powers, but any flexibility could split their ranks and lead to protracted uncertainty about how to respond.
Living with a nuclear Iran
Charles Pena, McClatchy News Service (Op-Ed) – May 15, 2012
After months of heated rhetoric, the threat of a conflict with Iran over its nuclear program seems to be subsiding.
Korean Peninsula
China pushes North Korea to drop nuclear test plan
Benjamin Kang Lim, Reuters – May 16, 2012
China has been quietly and gently pressuring North Korea to scrap plans for a third nuclear test, said two sources with knowledge of closed-door discussions between the countries, but there is no indication how the North will react. If North Korea goes ahead with the test, China would consider taking some retaliatory steps, but they would not be substantive, a source with ties to Pyongyang and Beijing told Reuters.
Defense Budget
Panel Calls For Steep Cuts In US Nukes
Associated Press – May 15, 2012
An influential panel is calling for an 80 percent reduction of U.S. nuclear weapons and an elimination of all nuclear armed intercontinental ballistic missiles. In a report for the advocacy group Global Zero, retired Gen. James Cartwright and others argue that the U.S. needs no more than 900 total nuclear weapons for its security in a post-Cold War world. The report chaired by Cartwright, a former vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff known to be close to President Barack Obama, comes at a time that the president is weighing a range of sharp nuclear reductions.
Obama administration threatens veto over Defense bill
Jeremy Herb, The Hill (Blog) – May 15, 2012
The Obama administration threatened Tuesday to veto the House version of the Defense authorization bill that’s headed to the floor this week over restrictions on implementing the New START treaty, reducing the U.S. nuclear arsenal and limiting the transfer of Guantanamo detainees.
United States
Military Curbs F-22 Flights Over Oxygen Concerns
Elisabeth Bumiller, New York Times – May 15, 2012
Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta on Tuesday ordered immediate restrictions on flights of the F-22 Raptor fighter jet after a “60 Minutes” program that profiled two pilots who refused to fly the planes because of fears of oxygen deprivation in the cockpit.
