IRAN
Iran says will strike its foes pre-emptively
Nasser Karimi, Associated Press – February 21, 2012
As pressure mounts over Iran’s nuclear program, a top Iranian general warned Tuesday that the nation will pre-emptively strike anyone who threatens it.
Nuclear Inspectors Say Their Mission to Iran Has Failed
David E. Sanger and Alan Cowell, New York Times – February 21, 2012
A visit by international nuclear inspectors to Iran ended in failure Tuesday. Tehran not only blocked access to a site the inspectors believe could have been used for tests on how to produce a nuclear weapon, they reported, but it also refused to agree to a process for resolving questions about other “possible military dimensions” to its nuclear program.
In Din Over Iran, Rattling Sabers Echo
Scott Shane, New York Times – February 21, 2012
The United States has now endured what by some measures is the longest period of war in its history, with more than 6,300 American troops killed and 46,000 wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan and the ultimate costs estimated at $3 trillion. Both wars lasted far longer than predicted. The outcomes seem disappointing and uncertain. So why is there already a new whiff of gunpowder in the air?
Poll: 32% say Iran greatest enemy
Mackenzie Weinger, Politico – February 20, 2012
A record number of Americans believe the United States’s public enemy number one is Iran, according to a new poll out Monday.
KOREAN PENINSULA
North Korea calls Seoul nuclear summit a “childish farce”
Jeremy Laurence and Ben Blanchard, Reuters – February 22, 2012
Isolationist North Korea lashed out at its neighbour on Wednesday for hosting an international nuclear security summit in Seoul next month, calling it a “childish farce” and an “intolerable grave provocation”.
SOUTH ASIA
Pakistan receives US surveillance aircraft
Agence France-Presse – February 21, 2012
The Pakistani navy took delivery Tuesday of two state-of-the-art, US-made surveillance aircraft nine months after Islamist militants destroyed two similar planes, officials said.
UNITED STATES
Lockheed again misses Pentagon’s F-35 fighter goals
Andrea Shalal-Esa, Reuters – February 21, 2012
Lockheed Martin Corp lost $31.5 million in award fees for its new F-35 fighter jet in 2011, the second consecutive year it did not meet Pentagon development goals for the aircraft, which is now facing a third restructuring.
U.S. raises specter of ‘additional measures’ in Syria
CNN – February 21, 2012
U.S. officials called Tuesday for international action to stop the violence orchestrated by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and left open the possibility of “additional measures” if the bloodshed continues.
