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Ploughshares Blog: Middle East

Iran Project Calls for Accelerating Diplomacy With Iran
Recently, The Iran Project released its much anticipated third report entitled “Strategic Options for Iran: Balancing Pressure with Diplomacy.” As a group of highly respected national security experts and former U.S. government officials, it provides thoughtful analysis on the complex U.S.-Iran relationship. This report offers concrete, strategic policy recommendations that call for the administration to invest as much energy in negotiations with Iran as it has in putting pressure on the Iranian government. Read more »
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Posted by Hilary Johnson on April 24, 2013
Middle East, Iran and weapons of mass destruction, Iran Project, Sanctions against Iran, Iran
Rethinking the Proliferation Cascade: Iran and Saudi Arabia
  On the radar: If Iran goes, Saudis unlikely to follow; Watch for falling space rocks; Dealing with Pyongyang; Obama’s nuclear agenda; Garn and Graham on CTBT; Hanford leak; and Tracking fallout in tendons.   Read more »
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Posted on February 19, 2013
Former Top-Ranked Military Officers Favor Negotiations over Conflict with Iran
During a roundtable discussion hosted by the American Security Project, Admiral William J. Fallon (USN Ret.) and Lieutenant General Frank Kearney (USA Ret.) spoke about the U.S. military policy options towards Iran. American Security Project’s CEO, Brigadier General Stephen A. Cheney USMC (Ret.), moderated the conversation. Read more »
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Posted by Yelena Altman on January 17, 2013
Middle East, Partners, Iran
Apocalypse Averted, Nuclear Threat Remains
On the radar: Actual existential threats; North Korea-Iran cooperation; Suspect uranium enrichment facilities in DPRK; Dealing with Khamenei; Y-12 break-in still evident; MidEast WMD-free zone; and Celebrating the apocalypse in a Russian bunker. Read more »
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Posted on December 21, 2012
Plutonium Facility Gets Lifeline from Authorizers, Fate Still Grim
  On the radar: Analysis of the NDAA; Trident report; Dominoes not falling; Iran talks update; Iran nuclear graphs, revisited; Park presidency; Costs of war; and North Korea’s first video game.   Read more »
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Posted on December 20, 2012
The Danger of Brinksmanship in the Middle East
On the radar: Ignatius warns of Mideast war; Estimative language and an Iranian ICBM; Sanctions at the Genius Bar; CRS on PGS; Weaning hospitals off HEU; Iran envoy says Iran will not escalate; LockMart likes managing Sandia; and That one time we put nukes in duffel bags.   Read more »
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Posted on July 12, 2012
A Promise Kept, A New Beginning
As a candidate, Barack Obama distinguished himself by his anti-war stance. It was a popular move in a nation that was fatigued by a multi-year conflict with no clear end in sight. Today, President Obama has annouced the end to the war he campaigned against, keeping a major promise and opening up a new opportunity for new beginnings in both nations.  Read more »
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Posted by Margaret Swink on October 21, 2011
Middle East, Conflict, Iraq, Joe Cirincione, Joel Rubin, U.S. Foreign Policy, Obama
Clock Ticking on Nuclear Policy Guidance
A Presidential Policy Directive for a New Nuclear Path - Robert S. Norris and Hans M. Kristensen in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists Read more »
Posted on August 11, 2011
The Budget and the Bomb
GOP Candidates, What Do You Say About Savings in Military Budget? - Greg Thielmann in the Des Moines Register Read more »
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Posted on August 4, 2011