IRAN
Iranian Commander Says Israel Will ‘Definitely’ Face Retaliation if Iran Attack is Launched
AP – October 18, 2012
Israel will “definitely” face fierce retaliation if it attacks Iranian nuclear sites, the acting commander of Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guard warned Thursday. The remarks by Gen. Hossein Salami appear to be part of Iranian efforts to portray any strike against it as the trigger for a regional conflict that could draw in Iranian proxies, such as Lebanon’s militant Hezbollah group, on Israel’s borders.
The Myth of “Surgical Strikes” on Iran
David Isenberg, Time – October 18, 2012
For all the years that the world has focused on the confrontation between Western nations and Iran, oceans of ink have been spilled over many aspects of its nuclear program…Yet, almost nothing has been written about one critical factor: the impact on Iranian civilians, if the U.S. and/or the Israelis were to attack Iran’s nuclear facilities.
UN Nuclear Chief Rejects Iran “Saboteurs” Accusation
Maria Golovnina and Fredrik Dahl, Chicago Tribune – October 17, 2012
The U.N. nuclear chief dismissed Iran’s allegation his agency may have been infiltrated by saboteurs and voiced concern about “intensive activities” at the Parchin military installation that his inspectors want to examine.
RUSSIA
After 20 Years of US Aid, Russia Goes Solo on Controlling Loose Nukes
Voice of America – October 18, 2012
The day that Russia’s government decided last week to end its participation in the Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction program, a huge, mushroom-shaped cloud rose high in the air over Orenburg. In this case, the dust was kicked up by massive, accidental blasts of conventional weapons, largely stores of Soviet-era artillery shells.
NORTH KOREA
South Korean President Visits Island Shelled by North in 2010
Choe Sang-Hun, New York Times – October 18, 2012
President Lee Myung-bak on Thursday made a surprise visit to a South Korean border island that was attacked by North Korean artillery in 2010, and he vowed to defend his country’s disputed western sea border against the Communist North. Mr. Lee is the first South Korean president to visit the island of Yeonpyeong, which lies just south of the so-called Northern Limit Line, the disputed Yellow Sea border between the two Koreas. In November 2010, a North Korean coastal artillery unit just miles to the north shelled the island, killing two civilians and two marines.
US Warns Pyongyang Against Provocations
UPI – October 18, 2012
Any provocation from North Korea ahead of the U.S. presidential election next month would be counterproductive, a U.S. envoy said from Seoul. Glyn Davies, U.S. special envoy for North Korean policy, arrived Thursday in Seoul for a three-day visit to discuss security issues on the Korean Peninsula.
MISSILE DEFENSE
US Troops Arrive in Israel for Missile Defense Exercise
Isabel Kershner, New York Times – October 17, 2012
The first of 1,000 United States troops have begun to arrive in Israel to take part in a joint missile-defense exercise, which the lead American planner described on Wednesday as the largest in the history of the two countries’ relationship and a testament to the strength of their military ties.
AFGHANISTAN
Karzai: Afghanistan Ready to Take Over Security
Voice of America – October 18, 2012
President Hamid Karzai says Afghanistan’s police and military forces are ready to take full responsibility for security if the U.S.-led coalition decides to pull out of the country early.
Karzai made his comments Thursday at a joint news conference in Kabul alongside NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen.
CHEMICAL WEAPONS
Syria’s Chemical Weapons Secure – For Now
Karin Laub, AP – October 16, 2012
The U.S. and regional allies are closely monitoring Syria’s chemical weapons — caught in the midst of a raging civil war — but options for securing the toxic agents stuffed into shells, bombs and missiles are fraught with risk.
