Iran
Barak: Israel must take U.S. vote into account when mulling Iran strike
Jonathan Lis, Haaretz – March 19, 2012
Defense Minister Ehud Barak called on Israel yesterday to take into account the U.S. election campaign, hinting that it would be unwise to launch an attack on Iran without American support.
U.S. War Game Sees Perils of Israeli Strike Against Iran
Mark Mazzetti and Thom Shanker, New York Times – March 19, 2012
A classified war simulation held this month to assess the repercussions of an Israeli attack on Iran forecasts that the strike would lead to a wider regional war, which could draw in the United States and leave hundreds of Americans dead, according to American officials.
Stop the Press on ‘Preemptive’: Media Adopt Pro-War Rhetoric on Iran
Peter Beinart, Daily Beast – March 19, 2012
Unchastened by Iraq misinformation, the media are passing on pro-war statements as fact again. This time, it’s Iran. The Iraq War debate was not among American journalism’s finest hours. Despite, or perhaps because of, the media’s incessant coverage of the run-up to war, the public ended up wildly misinformed. An August 2003 Washington Post poll found that 69 percent of Americans thought it either “very likely” or “somewhat likely” that Saddam Hussein had been involved in the 9/11 attacks. Eighty percent of Fox News viewers believed either that Iraq and al Qaeda were closely linked, that the U.S. had found weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, or that world public opinion favored the war.
How bad would Iran be with the bomb?
Walter Pincus, Washington Post – March 19, 2012
Which would be worse if sanctions and diplomacy fail: the aftermath of an Israeli or U.S. attack on Iran to set back its nuclear program, or the Tehran regime having the bomb? Of course, one hopes the sanctions/diplomacy route succeeds. But what if it doesn’t?
Korean Peninsula
Pyongyang Seeks Return Of U.N. Nuclear Inspectors
Associated Press – March 20, 2012
North Korea has invited the International Atomic Energy Agency to return, three years after expelling its nuclear monitors, the agency said Monday. The U.S. said such a move would be welcome, but remained critical of the North’s missile test plans.
United States
Reality Check: Nuclear Weapons Spending and New START
Arms Control Association – March 19, 2012
In recent weeks, a handful of Congressional Republicans have charged that the Obama administration and the Defense Department are failing to modernize the U.S. nuclear arsenal and weapons production complex “as promised” in 2010 during consideration of the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START).
Momentum stalls on Obama nuclear agenda
Matt Spetalnick and Alister Bull, Reuters – March 20, 2012
Shortly after taking office, U.S. President Barack Obama set the goal of eventually ridding the world of nuclear weapons as a central theme of his presidency and pledged dramatic steps to lead the way. But after lofty rhetoric and a few steps forward, Obama is facing fresh doubts about whether he is willing to take the political, diplomatic and budgetary risks that may be needed to bring his vision closer to reality.
Mexico relieved of all weapons-usable nuclear material
Rachel Maddow, MSNBC (Video) – March 19, 2012
All of Mexico’s highly enriched uranium has been removed to the United States. Rachel Maddow talks with Sarah Dickerson, National Nuclear Security Administration threat reduction director, and Anthony Wayne, U.S. Ambassador to Mexico, about the distribution of nuclear material around the world by the U.S. and how the deal was made with Mexico to take their nuclear material off their hands.
