IRAN
How Iran and America could wind up at war
Ilan Berman, Forbes- July 29, 2011
For much of the past decade, conventional wisdom has held that Iran’s dogged pursuit of a nuclear capability – carried out in spite of mounting pressure from the international community – will ultimately become a casus belli for Washington.
U.S. sees alliance between Iran
Jay Solomon, Wall Street Jounral- July 29, 2011
The U.S. for the first time formally accused Iran of forging an alliance with al Qaeda in a pact that allows the terrorist group to use Iranian soil as a transit point for moving money, arms and fighters to its bases in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
PAKISTAN
Holding Pakistan to account
New York Times- July 29, 2011
The Obama administration’s decision to suspend $800 million of its $2 billion in annual security aid to Pakistan inevitably raises the question of why the United States should continue to give Pakistan any military aid at all.
Pakistan opposes treaty banning production of fissile material for nuclear weapons
APPl- July 29, 2011
Top nuclear envoys from North and South Korea emerged smiling from a face-to-face meeting Friday, saying they were ready to work together to resume stalled disarmament talks.
DEFENSE SPENDING
Boehner, Reid debt plan slim on defense details
Kate Brannen, Defense News- July 29, 2011
The two current debt-ceiling plans put forward by the U.S. House and Senate leaderships provide very few specifics on how defense spending would be cut.
AFGHANISTAN
Suicide Bombers Attack Tirin Kot, Afghanistan
Alissa J. Rubin and Taimoor Shah, New York Times- July 28, 2011
The Taliban launched one of their most audacious surprise attacks on Thursday, sending a squad of at least seven suicide bombers into the capital of a relatively stable southern province with the aim of assassinating the provincial governor and an influential powerbroker.
NORTH KOREA
North Korea demands peace treaty with US as a top diplomat visits New York to reopen nuclear talks
Washington Post- July 27, 2011
North Korea demanded Wednesday that the United States sign a peace treaty formally ending the Korean War, as a senior North Korean diplomat visited New York to negotiate ways to restart six-nation nuclear disarmament talks.
NATO
Afghanistan and Libya point NATO to five lessons
Kurt Volker, Christian Science Monitor- July 29, 2011
Both the wars in Afghanistan and Libya reveal serious flaws in the alliance. If they can’t be fixed, perhaps it’s time for a ‘back to basics’ NATO and a return to coalitions of the willing.
