AFGHANISTAN
Obama announces plan to bring home 33,000 ‘surge’ troops from Afghanistan
Scott Wilson, Washington Post- June 23, 2011
President Obama charted a middle course Wednesday for ending the U.S. military involvement in Afghanistan, outlining a departure plan that will remove troops faster than his commanders had requested but more slowly than many of his political allies would like.
Drawing Down, With a Vigilant Eye on Pakistan
David E. Sanger, New York Times- June 23, 2011
Hours after the Sept. 11 attacks, Pakistan’s leaders were given an ultimatum by the Bush administration: Because the looming war in Afghanistan could not be won without Pakistan’s help, Islamabad would have to choose between continuing its alliance with the Taliban or joining forces with the United States.
PAKISTAN
The radicalization of Pakistan’s military
Fareed Zakaria, Washington Post- June 22, 2011
Whatever their strength, American troops will not determine success in Afghanistan. Nor will the newly formed Afghan National Army. As U.S. forces are gradually withdrawn over the next three years, it is Pakistan’s 600,000-strong army that will become the dominant military force in the region and will try to shape its future.
India and Pakistan diplomats to meet in Islamabad
BBC- June 23, 2011
Senior diplomats from India and Pakistan are due to hold talks on peace and security in a bid to repair relations between the neighbors.
Pakistani makes drones for peaceful use but business risky
Sahar Ahmed, Reuters- June 23, 2011
In Pakistan’s commercial hub, a Pakistani is developing his own drone technology despite security challenges arising from the current political climate and the public anger over the U.S. use of the unmanned aircrafts.
IRAN
Ahmadinejad insists Iran not seeking nuclear bomb
Farhad Pouladi, AFP- June 23, 2011
Hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad insisted Thursday that Iran is not seeking to build an atom bomb but defiantly added that should it decide to do so “no one can do a damn thing.”
Iranian state television on Thursday quoted President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as saying: “If we do want to make a bomb, we are not afraid of anybody.”
Iran Reports Arrest of U.S. Spy Ring
Neil MacFarquhar- June 22, 2011
Iran’s state-run Press TV announced on Wednesday that the government of the Islamic Republic had arrested 30 people in May on suspicion of spying for the United States.
NORTH KOREA
Strategic Patience Is Strategic Blunder
Joel Wit and Jenny Town, Foreign Policy- June 16, 2011
Don’t believe the hype: Obama’s North Korea plan is a mess.
SAUDI ARABIA
Rising Saudi Thirst for Oil Drives Plans to Go Nuclear
Angua McDowall, Wall Street Journal- June 23, 2011Rapid population growth, wastefulness and economic development are driving up Saudi Arabia’s thirst for energy, steadily reducing the amount of oil available for export and driving the kingdom’s interest in nuclear power.
GLOBAL ZERO
The Road to Zero
Financial Times- June 22, 2011
In 1963, John Kennedy warned that by the end of the 1970s as many as 25 states could hold nuclear weapons. That nightmarish world has not materialised. Indeed, in the 66 years since the US dropped the first atomic bomb, only eight further states have joined the nuclear club. Yet despite this apparent success, the risks of nuclear proliferation are not ebbing, but growing. It is time for a renewed push towards nuclear disarmament.
