IRAN
Opinion: Obama should test Iran’s nuclear offer
Graham Allison, Washington Post — October 7, 2011
President Obama should take a page from Ronald Reagan’s playbook in winning the final inning of the Cold War. Obama can challenge President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to put his enriched uranium where his mouth is — by stopping all Iranian enrichment of uranium beyond the 5 percent level.
Cables Say Syria, Iran Illegally Moved Cash to North Korea
Thomas Catan, The Wall Street Journal — October 7, 2011
As it sought to stop North Korea from spreading its nuclear technology, the U.S. uncovered signs in 2007 that the country was channeling funds through a major Middle Eastern bank based in Jordan, one of its closest regional allies, according to diplomatic cables posted online by document leaking website WikiLeaks.
NORTH KOREA
N.Korea could conduct third nuclear test: Seoul
AFP — October 7, 2011
North Korea could conduct a third nuclear test or another missile launch before next year’s US and South Korean presidential elections if disarmament talks fail, a senior Seoul official warned on Friday.
Special Report: Crisis grips North Korean rice bowl
Reuters — October 7, 2011
In a pediatric hospital in North Korea’s most productive farming province, children lay two to a bed. All showed signs of severe malnutrition: skin infections, patchy hair, listless apathy.
PAKISTAN
Obama Warns Pakistanis on Militants
Rick Gladstone, New York Times — October 6, 2011
President Obama cast some doubt on the long-term relationship between the United States and Pakistan on Thursday, saying his administration was concerned about the Pakistani government’s commitment to American interests because of ties between anti-American militants in Afghanistan and Pakistan’s own intelligence service.
Pakistan may repatriate bin Laden’s wives
CNN — October 7, 2011
Pakistan has contacted the governments of Saudi Arabia and Yemen to arrange repatriation of Osama bin Laden’s three wives, Pakistani security officials told CNN Friday.
UNITED STATES
Republican Candidates Start to Engage on Foreign Policy
Richard Stevenson, The New York Times — October 7, 2011
The candidates are only now starting to engage seriously on foreign policy. Mr. Romney is delivering an address to outline his policy on Friday. According to excerpts released by his campaign, Mr. Romney would conduct a review of troop levels in Afghanistan, put more money into missile defense and the Navy and, in an echo of President Obama as he ran for the White House, “strengthen and repair relationships” with allies.
AFGHANISTAN
Afghanistan may need funds until 2025: UK envoy
Emma Graham-Harrison, Reuters — October 7, 2011
Afghanistan will need financial and military support for many years after a 2014 deadline for foreign combat troops to return home, and may not be able to balance its budget until the middle of next decade, Britain’s ambassador in Kabul said.
