Morning Joe: June 16, 2009

Unrest in Iran

Stories we're following today:

Obama's Message to Iran - David Ignatius in The Washington Post[link]

• Obama is "chipping away" at the radical narrative and "increasing the number of alternatives to that radical view," he explained. "He's making more attractive the idea that change can occur outside the radicalization process."
• What we're seeing in Tehran is a reminder that millions of Muslims hunger for change -- but they want to make it themselves.

Hillary's Tricky Iran Game - Leslie Gelb in The Daily Beast [link]

• [The Iranian government] will have to throw some bones to the popular fervor. In particular, they’ll have to do something on the economy.
• But there isn’t much Tehran can do to improve these conditions without reconnecting with the West and especially the United States.
• All this will be complicated and drawn-out, but it will occur now because it’s in the interests of both Tehran and Washington to work together—or at least not be outright enemies. Which explains as well the rather mild reaction to the mullahs' electoral thievery by the American administration.

Nuclear Weapons Debate Takes New Form - Boston Globe [link]

• Prague was arguably the most important presidential speech in decades. Again, what made that resounding call for a new "form of the forms of thought" about nuclear weapons, was the president's starting point - an acknowledgment of special American culpability.

Dennis Ross, Iran Adviser, Moves to White House - TIME [link]

• Dennis Ross, the Obama Administration's special adviser on Iran, will be leaving his post at the State Department to become a senior adviser at the National Security Council (NSC) with an expanded portfolio.

U.S. to Confront, Not Board, North Korean Ships - New York Times [link]

• In discussing President Obama’s strategy on Monday, administration officials said that the United States would report any ship that refused inspection to the Security Council. While the Navy and American intelligence agencies continued to track the ship, the administration would mount a vigorous diplomatic effort to insist that the inspections be carried out by any country that allowed the vessel into port.

Follow The Developments In Iran Like A CIA Analyst - The Atlantic [link]

• Don't assume.
• There's plenty of misinformation out there... so we need to be careful about how we judge the information.