The Daily Talking Points

News and views relevant to U.S.-Iran relations for November 11, 2010.

  • National Review Online: Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) fellow Benjamin Weinthal blogs that while U.S. President Barack Obama used his trip to Indonesia to scold Israel for new settlement construction in east Jerusalem, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper “found the right language this week” by defending Israel against its critics. “Obama lacks a singleness of purpose when it comes to stopping Iran’s drive to go nuclear,” writes Weinthal. “One hopes that Act III of Obama’s foreign policy toward the Middle East will focus not on housing units in Jerusalem but on compelling Iran to stop its drive to go nuclear,” he concludes.
  • World Politics Review: WPR senior editor and Hudson Institute senior fellow Richard Weitz examines the issue of whether a ballistic missile defense (BMD) should become a NATO alliance-wide mission, noting that Washington would like to see NATO leaders offer a collective commitment to BMD. Weitz writes both the Obama administration and NATO leaders “share American concerns about Iran’s emerging potential to launch ballistic missiles, perhaps armed with a nuclear warhead, against European targets.”

Eli Clifton

Eli Clifton reports on money in politics and US foreign policy. He is a co-founder of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft. Eli previously reported for the American Independent News Network, ThinkProgress, and Inter Press Service.

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