IRAN
Israeli Report Cites a Thwarted 2010 Move on Iran
Jodi Rudoren, New York Times – November 4, 2012
An Israeli news channel reported Sunday night that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak asked the Israeli military in 2010 to prepare for an imminent attack on the Iranian nuclear program, but that their efforts were blocked by concerns over whether the military could do so and whether the men had the authority to give such an order.
The real Iranian threat: Cyberattacks
David Goldman, CNN Money – November 5, 2012
Iran is believed to be behind a slew of massive attacks in September that took down a string of U.S. banks’ websites. The country is also thought to have launched a devastating cyber time bomb on Saudi Oil company Aramco in August and to have coordinated a similar attack on Qatar’s RasGas, an Exxon Mobil (XOM, Fortune 500) subsidiary.
PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION
Who might serve on Romney’s national security team?
CNN – November 5, 2012
If Mitt Romney is elected the 45th President of the United States on Tuesday, he will have the task of filling an entire presidential cabinet as opposed to President Obama who will likely have less vacancies to fill. Foreign policy analysts say the national team is unique from other cabinet positions in that their agencies work closely together on a daily basis. Those who are picked to be members of the national security team will need to be consensus players with the entire national security team and able to confront difficult situations abroad, while the vast focus of the early days of the administration focused on rejuvenating the nascent economic recovery – a central theme of the Romney campaign.
Early Voting Results 2012: Latest Figures From Colorado, Florida, Ohio & More
Huffington Post – November 5, 2012
About 30 million people have already voted in 34 states and the District of Columbia, either by mail or in person. No votes will be counted until Tuesday but some key states are releasing the party affiliation of those who vote early.
ISRAEL
Israel Upgrades Iron Dome Anti-Missile Batteries
CBN News – November 5, 2012
In the face of continued rocket and missile threats from all sides, Israel is upgrading its anti-missile defense systems. A series of tests on the fifth Iron Dome anti-missile battery — to be added to the four already deployed in the south — proved successful, the Ministry of Defense announced Sunday.
MISSILE DEFENSE
Missile Defense Agency says it completed largest test in history
W.J. Hennigan, LA Times – October 25, 2012
Multiple missiles screaming above the Pacific Ocean were successfully intercepted by the military’s ballistic defense system in a test that the U.S. Missile Defense Agency is calling its biggest and most complex exercise to date.
NORTH KOREA
North Korea’s economic dreams are, well … dreams
Ju-min Park, Reuters – November 5, 2012
Despite talk of reform by the secretive state after the third generation of the Kim family dynasty took over nearly a year ago, about all that seems to be growing is the gap between the tiny population of rich and the already malnourished poor. And while the government is hoping to lure in foreign investment, more often the money, and tens of thousands of workers, are heading out of the impoverished North.
DEFENSE SPENDING
Russia’s defense spending surges as U.S. cuts
F. Michael Maloof, WND – November 4, 2012
Moscow is to increase its annual defense spending by 59 percent by 2015 as it attempts to modernize its military – while the United States looks to ways to downside in the face of major spending cuts, according to a report from Joseph Farah’s G2 Bulletin.
