Nonproliferation News - November 5, 2009

FISSILE MATERIAL
Nuke negotiator heads to U.S. to discuss N.K.
Korea Herald by Kim Ji-hyun

Iran wants to be seen as regional power: ElBaradei
Reuters by Louis Charbonneau

Iran On the Edge
Foreign Policy by Hossein Askari

Mohamed ElBaradei looks to US to fix nuclear system 'in tatters'
CSM by Howard LaFranchi

EAST ASIA
1. Nuke negotiator heads to U.S. to discuss N.K.
Korea Herald by Kim Ji-hyun
Wi Sung-lac, the nation`s top nuclear negotiator, yesterday headed for the United States to discuss Washington`s upcoming meeting with North Korea, which is expected to be a prelude to future discussions on ending the North`s nuclear weapons programs.

2. 'N.K. accepts U.S. conditions for talks'
Korea Herald by Kim So-hyun
The United States is expected to respond to North Korea's call for bilateral talks soon amid growing impatience in Pyongyang, which recently made announcements about progress in its nuclear arms program.

MIDDLE EAST
3. Iran wants to be seen as regional power: ElBaradei
Reuters by Louis Charbonneau
Iran's nuclear program, which Tehran says is only intended to generate electricity, is an attempt to force the world to acknowledge it as a regional power, U.N. nuclear chief Mohamed ElBaradei said on Wednesday.

4. Iran: Too divided for nuclear deal?
BBC by Roger Hardy
As international pressure mounts on Iran over its nuclear programme, there are signs that political divisions are hampering its ability to make a deal.

5. Expert Says U.S. Could Use Cold War Strategy to Prevent Iran From Producing Nukes
GSN by Martin Matishak
The United States might have to adopt a "mini Cold War" strategy to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons, a leading arms control expert said yesterday (see GSN, Nov. 3).

SOUTH ASIA
6. India worried about Pak N-control
Times of India
With the Taliban unleashing a series of attacks on Pakistan's defence installations, including a military base linked to its strategic programme, there is growing worry about Islamabad's ability to safeguard its nuclear arsenal.

RUSSIA/FSU
7. Russian, U.S. officials discuss new arms control deal
RIA Novosti
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov and U.S. Ambassador to Russia John Beyrle have discussed a new arms control agreement, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday.

EUROPE
8. Multilateral Input Needed on German Plan for U.S. Nukes, NATO Head Says
GSN
Germany should accept outside input in deciding whether to demand the withdrawal of U.S. nuclear weapons from its territory, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said yesterday (see GSN, Oct. 30).

9. Kouchner hardens stance against Iran's nuclear dallying
AFP
French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said Wednesday that talks with Iran on its nuclear programme were on the point of breakdown and warned of a "dangerous situation" in the Middle East.
  
INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
10. Mohamed ElBaradei looks to US to fix nuclear system 'in tatters'
CSM by Howard LaFranchi
Mohamed ElBaradei, the outgoing director of the United Nation's nuclear watchdog agency, has a categorically negative view of the world's nuclear security system.

MISCELLANEOUS

OPINION
11. Iran's nuclear diversion
WP by Ray Takeyh
As the Obama administration grapples with the conundrum of Iran, it must balance its proliferation concerns with its moral responsibilities. Iran's post-election tremors have hardly subsided; in fact, the regime is systematically eviscerating its democratic opposition.

12. Iran On the Edge
Foreign Policy by Hossein Askari
Iran is at a tipping point, and President Obama's policies in the next few months could define the Iran that emerges from the current turmoil. In considering the next step in its engagement with Iran, the Obama administration must take a hard look at the country's increasingly unstable domestic situation.

13. Iran looks to Argentina for nuclear fuel
Asia Times by Kaveh L. Afrasiabi
However, despite lingering tensions between Tehran and Buenos Aires over the infamous attack on the Argentine Israelite Mutual Association - in her speech, Kirchner restated Argentine demands for the extradition of Iranians wanted by Interpol over the bombing - there is still a chance of the nations reviving their nuclear ties after a 15-year lull.

14. Is Obama's Iran policy doomed?
Asia Times by Dilip Hiro
While the tone of the Barack Obama administration is different from that of its predecessor, and some of its foreign policies diverge from those of George W Bush, both administrations subscribe at their core to the same doctrine: whatever the White House perceives as a threat - whether it be Iran, North Korea, or the proliferation of long-range missiles - must be viewed as such by Moscow and Beijing.

15. Nuclear rainy day
Haaretz by Yossi Melman
Now that Turkey has joined Iran, Libya and Egypt in demanding that Israel give up its nuclear weapons, or at least open its nuclear facilities to international inspection, it is time to start worrying. Turkish Prime Minister Racep Tayyip Erdogan has displayed open hostility toward Israel since Operation Cast Lead, and he appears to be leading his government toward abandoning the strategic alliance between the two countries. Now, his call to curb Israel's nuclear program has added momentum to a worrying trend, which is gaining momentum, even among Israel's friends in the West.

16. 'A World Without Nuclear Weapons' Might Still Be Possible
Huffington Post by Phyllis Bennis
Washington's current debate over escalation in Afghanistan, the continuing war in Iraq, and the administration's refusal, so far, to exert any serious pressure on Israel, do not bode well for Obama's foreign policy. But in another key conflict area -- Iran -- President Obama appears to be implementing, at least for the moment, his campaign commitment to engage rather than threaten, to use diplomacy rather than force.

17. War, Peace and Obama’s Nobel
In These Times by Noam Chomsky
The hopes and prospects for peace aren't well aligned--not even close. The task is to bring them nearer. Presumably that was the intent of the Nobel Peace Prize committee in choosing President Barack Obama.