Iran

Bush Admin Planning To Sign First Nuclear Pact With Middle Eastern Nation — The Bush administration plans to sign its first nuclear-cooperation agreement with a Middle Eastern nation within the next few weeks, according to a senior U.S. official, raising concerns among congressional critics who say the deal could fuel nuclear proliferation in the region. The proposed deal with the United Arab Emirates has attracted attention because the U.A.E.'s largest trading partner is Iran. The U.A.E. has served in the past as a transshipment point for technology with military applications headed to Iran.... [Tags: bush administration, congressional critics, iran, middle eastern nation, military applications]

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US Tests New Missile Defense — pumpkinpuss writes "The US military yesterday shot down a missile in a test simulating a long-range ballistic missile attack by a potential adversary such as North Korea or Iran. The target missile was launched from Kodiak Island, Alaska, at 3:04 PM Eastern time, tracked simultaneously by several ground and ship-based radars, and intercepted by a 'kill vehicle' 3,000 kilometers away over the Pacific 25 minutes later, according to the Missile Defense Agency. Lt. Gen. Patrick O'Reilly said, 'The kill vehicle was sent to a very accurate spot in space giving us great confidence.'" Reader gilgsn points out the testing of... [Tags: adversary, ballistic missile attack, confidence, eastern time, iran]

“America’s Margin Of Safety Is Shrinking, Not Growing” — The Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism will release its report this week. The bottom line:The odds that terrorists will soon strike a major city with weapons of mass destruction are now better than even, a bipartisan congressionally mandated task force concludes in a draft study that warns of growing threats from rogue states, nuclear smuggling networks and the spread of atomic know-how in the developing world.Gordon Chang's prescription delineates the immense difficulty of doing anything to stop it:We must, for instance, disarm North Korea, stop Iran and Syria, and stabilize Pakistan. And to... [Tags: armchair generalist, bottom line, cure cancer, developing world, draft study]

Yglesias: Bill Kristol's next war — In addition to being a booster of the two actual wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, Bill Kristol and/or his publication has, at one time or another, also called for the United States to go to war with North Korea, Syria, Iran, and Sudan. And now he’s got another war he’s like to start...... [Tags: afghanistan, bill kristol, iran, iraq, north korea]

Kristol's Next War: Send The US Marines After Somali Pirates — In addition to being a booster of the two actual wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, Bill Kristol and/or his publication has, at one time or another, also called for the United States to go to war with North Korea, Syria, Iran, and Sudan. And now he's got another war he's like to start: And while [Bush is] at it, perhaps he could tell various admirals to stop moaning about how difficult it would be to deal with the pirates off the coast of Somalia (isn't keeping the shipping lanes open a core mission of the Navy?) and order the Navy... [Tags: admirals, afghanistan, africa, bill kristol, bush]

Gates offers Obama stability but not perfect match — By Andrew Gray WASHINGTON, Nov 30 (Reuters) - President-elect Barack Obama's reported decision to ask Robert Gates to stay as U.S. defense secretary has been widely praised but it may lead to at least a few awkward moments for both men. While Gates has tried to stay out of domestic politics and avoided direct criticism of Obama during the election campaign, he has advocated policies that have been at odds with Obama on issues such as the Iraq war and relations with Iran.... [Tags: andrew gray, awkward moments, barack obama, defense secretary, domestic politics]

Iran: U.S. responsible for economic crisis — Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad blamed the West for the global financial crisis on Saturday, saying other countries were being dragged in to help resolve Western problems.... [Tags: economic crisis, global financial crisis, iran, iranian president mahmoud, iranian president mahmoud ahmadinejad]

Blogging And Freedom II — Never forget the next generation in Iran. Waiting for their Obama moment too: Iran: A nation of bloggers from Mr.Aaron on Vimeo.... [Tags: bloggers, blogging, freedom, iran, next generation]

Nato chief’s interpreter, Daniel James, gets ten years for Iran spying — An Iranian-born Territorial Army corporal who spied for Tehran while serving as an interpreter to a British commander was sentenced to ten years in prison at the Old Bailey yesterday.... [Tags: british commander, corporal, daniel james, interpreter, iran]

World’s Best Blog is from Cuba — Deutsche Welle’s The BOBs is over, and according to them, the best weblog is Generación Y, a Cuban blog in Spanish authored by Yoani Sanchez. Russian Radio Grinch received the price for best podcast, and 4equality (in Persian) got the Reporters Without Borders price. Placed under house arrest, Zeng Jinyan describes her life under constant surveillance by the Chinese authorities. The Persian Weblog 4equality is working to gather 1 million signatures on a petition for women’s rights in Iran. The Sunlight Foundation’s Party Blog, which exposes what groups and companies sponsor fundraising events for US politicians, won the Best Weblog... [Tags: 1 million, bobs, chinese authorities, cuba, deutsche welle]

A terrorist attack in Mumbai is on the other side of the world, but it's all surprisingly connected. India and Pakistan are constant bitter enemies. Both are nuclear powers. Pakistan may be on the verge of becoming a failed state. Their new PM is the widower of a recently assassinated leader and the Taliban, which is encamped in tribal areas near the Afghan border, are wielding more power in Pakistan. There's fear they might get control of one or more of Pakistan's nukes. Also camped out in the tribal areas are Al Qaeda, and if he's still alive, almost for... [Tags: afghan border, afghanistan, afhanistan, al qaeda, allies]

Iran reports rocket launch amid nuclear tension — TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran has successfully launched a rocket called "Kavosh 2," Iran's state media reported on Wednesday, displaying the Islamic state's advances in ballistics at a time when the West is worried about its nuclear ambitions.... [Tags: ballistics, iran, islamic state, kavosh, nuclear ambitions]

Why Is Gates Staying? — Steve Clemons has a theory:He wants to try and push Iran-US relations into a constructive direction. He wants to change the game in Afghanistan -- and the answer will not be a military-dominant strategy. He wants to try and stabilize Iraq in a negotiated, confidence building process that includes Saudi Arabia, Iran, Turkey and other regional forces. And he wants to support a big push on Israel-Palestine peace and reconfigure relations between much of the Arab League and Israel.And Obama asked him. And trusts him. There will be more Scowcroft under Obama than under Bush.... [Tags: afghanistan, arab league, bush, confidence building, dominant strategy]

Report: Iran launches new missile — Explorer 2' is believed to be part of Tehran's satellite program.... [Tags: explorer 2, iran, missile, satellite program, tehran]