Posts Tagged ‘Iran’
Worldwide Delivery in 30 Minutes or Less… Or the next one is on us!
The HD watched the much anticipated Countdown to Zero (the documentary without an agenda LOL/JK) last night. Although quite short (approximately 80 minutes), the film helps to scare the sh*t out of viewers without providing a realistic, comprehensive solution towords a world free of nuclear weapons. One learns that the world could be destroyed in the time it takes to watch an episode of LOST (WITHOUT COMMERCIALS)! We have to go back, Kate! WE HAVE TO GO BACK!!!!!
The movie features some prominent players, including Fair Game Valerie Plame, calling for no nukes and international bodies to handle highly enriched uranium and plutonium. Yet the movie doesn’t deal with the question of rogue states like Iran and North Korea (and states that “just want to see the world burn”). How do we deal with the necessity of cutting American and Russian nuclear arsenals while convincing rogue states to do the same and/or not develop nuclear weapons in the first place? Unfortunately, the movie doesn’t deal with that. Without incentivizing every single country that it is in their national interest to have a world free of nuclear weapons, Countdown to Zero is really Countdown to Our Demise! As countries unilaterally cut their nuclear arsenals, each nuke becomes more valuable. If one were to pursue the ideal Countdown to Zero, then at the end the man with one eye nuke would be king!
BONUS SECTION!!!:
START ribune’s Ross Monten vs. Washington Post’s Charles Krauthammer
AND THE WINNER IS??? Colonel Willie Sharp: Get off… the nuclear… warhead.
The Legend of Juha Strikes Again!
Readers will remember Juha for his analysis on the Marc Sageman’s lecture on political violence. Well, he’s back! This time he is explaining Iran’s foreign policy behavior. It’s a great post so take the time to read it. The HD only has two pedantic complaints: Juha using behaviour? LOLOUL! And by God(zilla), it’s time for a new mugshot! As you can see it is not the critic who counts, and Juha’s writings should propel him to the upper echelons of academia.
(Jump to Conclusions map from the Rand Corporation)
Further readings from the Rand Corporation on Iran: “Iran’s Political, Demographic, and Economic Vulnerabilities” (PDF here) and “Mullahs, Guards, and Bonyads: An Exploration of Iranian Leadership Dynamics” (PDF here).
Hey Rand, pay Juha top dollar!
A Lot of Action Next Week, A LOT OF ACTION!
Ambassador Nicholas Burns is speaking at the LSE on Tuesday the 13th at 6.30pm on the “Global Challenges for Europe and America” (so basically the global challenges for America… The HD kids, he kids, he just makes a little joke).
He is speaking again at the House of Commons the following day on “The U.S. Perspective on Afghanistan and Iran”. Both events are not to be missed! The HD will be rolling with his usual entourage so be sure to holler if you see us! As Under Secretary for Political Affairs at the State Department, Ambassador Burns was the third-ranking official after the Secretary of State and the Deputy Secretary of State.
ADDED: Be sure to skip lunch and catch Marc Sageman speaking (quote: “Afghanistan is not in our vital interest – there’s nothing for us there.”) on “Understanding Terror Networks- The Turn to Political Violence” at the House of Commons on Tuesday the 13th at 1pm! If you can’t skip lunch, read his book at your desk! The HD has been led to believe that Juha will be in attendance. His academic specialty is political violence so the HD looks forward to some festive questions!
Shit Just Got Real
Remember that great NYTimes article that gamed an Israeli strike on Iran?
“Saudi Arabia has conducted tests to stand down its air defences to enable Israeli jets to make a bombing raid on Iran’s nuclear facilities, The Times can reveal.”
“I’m the veteran, and today, I find my son — who never put the uniform on — is in combat”
Fiachra Ó Luain, a close friend of the HD, is currently in an Israeli jail after contesting his deportation. More here.
And via Glenn Greenwald: “I wonder what people would be saying if Iran had intercepted a humanitarian ship in int’l waters and killed 15 or so civilians on board.”
The HD’s solution: we use Israel’s crack commandos to fight the Somali pirates.
You can’t say nuclear, that really scares me.
Could the Middle East become a nuclear-free zone? “If major countries wish to address Iran’s nuclear dossier, they can do that by bringing Israel and Iran to the negotiating table.” -Egyptian Ambassador to the UN Maged Abdel Aziz
Article VI of the TREATY ON THE NON-PROLIFERATION OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS (Signed at Washington, London, and Moscow July 1, 1968): “Each of the Parties to the Treaty undertakes to pursue negotiations in good faith on effective measures relating to cessation of the nuclear arms race at an early date and to nuclear disarmament, and on a Treaty on general and complete disarmament under strict and effective international control.”
Watch this amazing trailer for the movie, Countdown to Zero, with footage of Presidents Obama, Reagan, and Kennedy dubbed over epic inspirational music in the second half.
And watch this amazing mash up by the Daily Show between President Reagan’s and Obama’s statements on nuclear weapons.
And the Doctor of Diplomacy himself, Henry Kissinger, on the effort to be “Toward a Nuclear-Free World”.
