IRAN
Nuclear Watchdog Seeks Mission to Iran
Alan Cowell, NYT – November 17, 2011
dding new pressures on Tehran over its disputed nuclear program, the head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog said on Thursday he wanted to send a high-level mission to Iran to investigate a report by his agency that Iranian scientists had engaged in secret and possibly “ongoing” efforts to construct a nuclear weapon.
East-West Split Threatens Nuclear Unity on Iran
ABC News (AP) – November 16, 2011
The U.S. and its Western allies face an unpalatable choice over Iran at a key U.N. atomic agency meeting Thursday. They can defy Russia and China with a demand that the Islamic Republic start answering questions on its alleged secret nuclear arms program or face renewed referral to the U.N. Security Council.
NORTH KOREA
S. Korea, U.S., Japan to hold talks on N. Korea in Bali
Yonhap News – November 17, 2011
Senior diplomats from South Korea, the United States and Japan will hold trilateral talks in Indonesia on Thursday to coordinate their joint strategy on the North Korean nuclear standoff, a Seoul official said.
Obama says US will act firmly against any nuclear proliferation by North Korea
Washington Post (AP) – Novermber 16, 2011
President Barack Obama said Thursday that the United States will act firmly against any nuclear proliferation activities by North Korea. In a speech to the Australian Parliament, Obama said the transfer of nuclear material by North Korea to other nations would be “considered a grave threat to the United States and our allies.”
PAKISTAN
Pakistani ambassador offers resignation
Karen DeYoung, Washington Post – November 16, 2011
Husain Haqqani, Pakistan’s ambassador to the United States, has offered his resignation to defuse a growing controversy at home that threatens to aggravate already precarious relations between that country’s powerful military and its civilian government.
UNITED STATES
Obama tells Asia, U.S. “here to stay”
Caren Bohan & Lauren MacInnis, Reuters – November 17, 2011
President Barack Obama said on Thursday that the U.S. military would expand its role in the Asia-Pacific region despite budget cuts, declaring America was “here to stay” as a Pacific power which would help shape the region’s future.
Obama Says Budget Constraints Won’t Lessen U.S. Military Plans in Pacific
Julianna Goldman & Margaret Talev, Bloomberg – November 16, 2011
President Barack Obama said cutting the U.S. budget won’t reduce the nation’s military and economic commitments to the Asia-Pacific region in remarks that reflect a U.S. effort to contain China’s growing regional influence.
9 Craziest Foreign Policy Statements from Saturday’s Republican Debate
The Atlantic – November 14, 2011
Whatever you think of the Republican presidential candidates on domestic issues — which are, so far, at the heart of the 2012 race — their collective performance on foreign policy has been a bit softer.
