Political Prisoners: A Strong Voice in Iranian Politics

by Mohammad Ali Kadivar In a historic letter to President Barack Obama, 55 Iranian political prisoners describe the effect of the crippling sanctions regime on the Iranian people and plead for a new approach to the nuclear issue. They write: Mr.… Continue Reading

IAEA Reliance on Third-Party Data Could Compromise Political Credibility

Beginning with a reference to a contentious report by the AP that used an alleged Iranian document provided by an “unnamed country” to suggest “that Iran is working on a bomb,” Mark Hibbs, a senior associate in Carnegie’s Nuclear Policy Program, writes that… Continue Reading

Guardian: No Persian Speakers at IAEA Safeguards Department for security reasons

Can this be true? According to Julian Borger: The Guardian has also learned that for security reasons, there are no longer any Farsi speakers in the safeguards department to analyse the flow of documents coming in about the Iranian nuclear… Continue Reading

Despite 2009 “Surge” Taliban Remains Force to be Reckoned with in Afghanistan

Foreign Policy’s Stephen Walt highlights a chart by Belfer Center fellow Matt Waldman showing that as the US-led 2009 “Surge” in Afghanistan proceeded, US casualties increased. The pace in 2012 is also roughly similar to the toll from the previous two years: Equally important,… Continue Reading

Major US-UK Tiff Over Legality of Iran Strike

Amidst reports that Great Britain has denied the US military use of important British bases for an assault against Iran, Pentagon Press Secretary George Little told reporters on Friday that whenever the DOD considers military action “we do it within… Continue Reading