We’re in deep doo-doo.Dick Cheney, in a closed-door meeting with congressional Republicans, on the situation in North Korea. Cheney may be right, but his credibility is undermined both by his own record of assessing foreign threats and, perhaps more significantly, the fact that he used the word “doo-doo” to describe the prospect of nuclear war. He gets points, however, for reportedly wearing a cowboy hat to the meeting. source
North Korea has moved a missile with “considerable range” to its east coast, South Korea’s defense minister said Thursday, but he added that there are no signs that Pyongyang is preparing for a full-scale conflict.
The report came hours after North Korea’s military warned that it has been authorized to attack the U.S. using “smaller, lighter and diversified” nuclear weapons. It was the North’s latest war cry against America in recent weeks. The reference to smaller weapons could be a claim that Pyongyang has improved its nuclear technology.
South Korean Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin said he did not know the reasons behind the North’s missile movement, and that it “could be for testing or drills.”
While officials continue to downplay the North’s rhetoric, it’s hard to imagine U.S. and South Korean officials writing off the North’s actions for much longer. Particularly considering a United States missile defense system will be sent to Guam in response to Thursday’s saber-rattling. Any guess on how this all ends?
I think the individuals in North Korea understand that Austin, Texas, is now a very important city in America, as do corporate CEOs and other people who are moving here in record numbers.Texas Governor Rick Perry, explaining his theory on why Kim Jong-un listed Austin, TX as a possible target for a nuclear strike. source
North Korea has said it plans to restart its main atomic complex, a move that could bolster its nuclear arsenal and add to tensions in the region.
The regime said on Tuesday that it would restart all facilities at its main Yongbyon nuclear complex to ease its electricity shortage and strengthen its nuclear capability.
The reactor was shut down in 2007 as part of international nuclear disarmament talks that have since stalled.
Looks like things aren’t exactly cooling off between North and South Korea, though the Guardian notes that the reactor in question only generates enough to plutonium to create one (possibly unusable) nuclear weapon per year.
‘Time has come’: North Korea readies rockets
(Photo: Jon Chol Jin / AP)
Isolated and impoverished nation is “not a paper tiger” and its repeated attack threats should not be dismissed as mere bluster, a U.S. official warns.
So yeah, this sounds promising.
Controversial creator of Pakistan’s nuclear program considers politics: Abdul Qadeer Khan, who in the 1970s and 1980s helped Pakistan catch up with India by building a nuclear program, wants to help add a spark to his country’s political scene. (This is despite a 2004 fall from grace, when he was put under house arrest for selling state secrets to Iran — something that’s made him a bit of a controversial figure to this day.) “I want to bring change and help the people of Pakistan, like I did back in 1974, when India test fired its nukes,” Khan said. “Now, today, once again this country needs my help.” It’ll be interesting to see if he can make a comeback.
India tests nuclear-capable missile: Unlike the one North Korea recently tested, this actually worked, leading government officials to hail the launch as “proof that the country has taken its place among the world’s most powerful and scientifically advanced nations.” With a reach of 3,100 miles, the missile can conceivably reach Beijing and Shanghai, but not many other Chinese cities. While it’s not as powerful as it could be, it does add a degree of complexity to the diplomatic situation in the region. (photo by India’s Ministry of Defense/AP)
Talking nukes in Seoul: President Obama is presently en route to South Korea, where he’ll join with more than fifty other world leaders in a summit on nuclear security. In addition to discussions with South Korea, a U.S. ally, he reportedly plans to specifically meet with the leaders of Russia, Turkey, and Kazakhstan. The summit is already thick with tension, with recent claims by North Korea that they intend to launch a satellite (ostensibly a tribute to former dictator Kim Il-sung, still the official, posthumous president of North Korea) into space, via rocket. South Korea, Japan, and the U.S. have decried the launch, believing it to be a long-range missile test under the guise of official ceremony. source
» That is, if it’s even developing one. According to Reuters, it’s the consensus among Israel, the US, and European allies that not only is Iran is a long way from developing a nuclear weapon; there’s a good chance it’s not even actively attempting to do so. A communications intercept from 2006 or 2007 revealed Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, a top Iranian officer and physicist, complaining that the country’s leadership had halted its weaponization program. US intelligence ultimately concluded that, while Iran has likely taken steps to allow for the possibility of future warhead construction, it hasn’t had an active nuclear weapons program since 2003. The whole report is very much worth reading; it’s one of the most in-depth, detailed examinations of the subject we’ve ever seen.
I’m moving back to New York in a few days. Unlike past...
OMG. I got so...
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Tumblr this morning. [h/t anne]
#@#$%!.tumblr.com
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“I think the pressure of the sanctions, the diplomatic pressures from everywhere, Europe, the United States, elsewhere, it’s working to put pressure on them,” Panetta explained on Sunday. “To make them understand that they cannot continue to do what they’re doing. Are they trying to develop a nuclear weapon? No. But we know that they’re trying to develop a nuclear capability, and that’s what concerns us. And our red line to Iran is, do not develop a nuclear weapon. That’s a red line for us.”
Important part bolded with italics. (thanks nhaler)
Santorum, on why it’s bad for Iran to have nukes: “When your principle virtue is to die for Allah” … it encourages them to use nuclear weapons.
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