Charles Pierson (2018-03-14). A Nuclear Travelogue: From North Korea to Saudi Arabia. counterpunch.org As one nuclear crisis winds down in Asia (maybe) is President Donald Trump laying the foundations for a new nuclear crisis in the Middle East? On Thursday, March 8, came the surprise news that President Donald Trump had accepted an invitation to meet with Kim Jong-un of North Korea. South Korean National Security Advisor Chung More

WSWS (2018-03-14). Trump's firing of Tillerson signals further shift toward global war. World Socialist Web Site Tillerson's replacement by CIA Director Mike Pompeo is bound up with a turn toward upending the nuclear agreement with Iran and a more aggressive militarist policy.

Staff (2018-03-13). Trump Fires Tillerson at State, Replacing Him With CIA's Pompeo. Truthdig: Expert Reporting, Current News, Provocative Columnists The president ends Secretary of State Rex Tillerson's tenure and puts Mike Pompeo, an ardent foe of the Iran nuclear deal, in charge of U.S. diplomacy. | The post Trump Fires Tillerson at State, Replacing Him With CIA's Pompeo appeared first on Truthdig: Expert Reporting, Current News, Provocative Columnists.

Ken Klippenstein (2018-03-13). Saudi Arabia Using Law Firm Tied to Trump to Lobby U.S. for Nuclear Deal. MintPress News Saudi Arabia has elicited the help King & Spalding, an influential law firm tied to the Trump administration, in a bid to secure US support for a nuclear program. | The post Saudi Arabia Using Law Firm Tied to Trump to Lobby U.S. for Nuclear Deal appeared first on MintPress News.

TRNN (2018-03-13). Wilkerson: Trump Won't Make Peace with North Korea. The Real News Network It is possible to make a peace deal that would denuclearize North Korea, but don't expect Donald Trump to deliver it, says Col. Lawrence Wilkerson…

TRNN (2018-03-13). Does Pompeo at State Mean War on Iran? The Real News Network President Trump's ouster of Rex Tillerson as Secretary of State in favor of Mike Pompeo is a step closer to US war on Iran, says national security reporter Marcy Wheeler…

RT (2018-03-13). Who's next? Pompeo-Tillerson shake-up sparks Twitter speculation on Trump firings. RT US News As news of the latest Trump administration cull spreads, social media is alight with reactions and speculation. Former CIA Director Mike Pompeo will replace Rex Tillerson as secretary of state, while Gina Haspel will lead the CIA.
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Amnesty International (2018-03-13). Iran: End persecution of families seeking truth and justice for detainees who have died in detention (Joint Public Statement). Amnesty International The Iranian authorities should end their cruel campaign of harassment and intimidation against the families of detainees who have died in detention under suspicious circumstances, Amnesty International, the Centre for Human Rights in Iran, Human Rights Watch and Justice for Iran said today. The human rights organizations expressed concerns that bereaved families are facing reprisals for seeking truth and justice and renewed their calls on the authorities to establish an independent commission of inquiry and invite the UN Special Rapporteurs on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions to visit.

RT (2018-03-13). 'Bomb Iran & execute Snowden': Brief history of Pompeo's foreign policy rhetoric. RT US News Newly-installed Secretary of State Mike Pompeo doesn't have a huge amount of experience as a diplomat so what can we expect from the former Kansas congressman now that he is heading US foreign policy?
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ZeroHedge.com (2018-03-13). Trump Axes Tillerson Over Iran Deal — Replaces Him With CIA Chief Pompeo. MintPress News President Donald Trump unceremoniously dumped Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Tuesday — by tweet — and picked CIA Director Mike Pompeo to take his place. | The post Trump Axes Tillerson Over Iran Deal — Replaces Him With CIA Chief Pompeo appeared first on MintPress News.

Amnesty International (2018-03-13). Iran: End persecution of families seeking truth and justice for detainees who have died in detention. Amnesty International The Iranian authorities should end their cruel campaign of harassment and intimidation against the families of detainees who have died in detention under suspicious circumstances, Amnesty International, the Centre for Human Rights in Iran, Human Rights Watch and Justice for Iran said today. The human rights organizations expressed concerns that bereaved families are facing reprisals for seeking truth and justice and renewed their calls on the authorities to establish an independent commission of inquiry and invite the UN Special Rapporteurs on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions to visit.

CP Editor (2018-03-13). Mike Pompeo on North Korea, Iran, and Pakistan. counterpunch.org

Adam Johnson (2018-03-12). 'Modernization': Media's Favorite Euphemism for Military Buildup. FAIR Reuters ( 2/12/18) | One of the most effective rhetorical tools in normalizing massive military budgets is to treat spending billions—and sometimes trillions—of dollars as something one has to do in order to be "modern." "Modernization" is, after all, a normative label; who doesn't want to be modern? Here are just a handful of examples over the past month: | "The Department of Energy said the money was needed to modernize and restore the country's nuclear weapons complex." (Reuters, 2/12/18) | Pentagon Budget Seeks Billions for Modernizing Nuclear Arsenal, Missile Defense (The Hill, 2/12/18) | "The United States Army will receive increased funding in the president's fiscal year 2019 budget proposal as the service struggles to modernize while simultaneously fighting wars in current conflicts." (National Interest, 2/19/18) | "US nuclear policy is aimed at deterring Russia through the modernization…

TRNN (2018-03-12). Will Trump Help Saudi Arabia Build a Nuclear Program? The Real News Network Media reports say the U.S. is considering selling nuclear reactors to Saudi Arabia. Analyst Ali al-Ahmed is skeptical, and says Trump has just removed the fig leaf of concern for human rights abuses by the Gulf dictatorship…

Zero Hedge (2018-03-12). Trump-Kim Talks in Sweden? North Korea May Release American Detainees as a "Gift"? Wants U.S. Embassy in Pyongyang. Global Research But, as more details emerge from last week's stunning announcement that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and U.S. President Donald Trump have agreed to discuss North Korea's denuclearization before May, South Korean news agency DongA reports that the North Korean …

Federico Pieraccini (2018-03-12). Are Nuclear Weapons in a Multipolar World Order a Guarantee for Peace? Global Research In the previous article I explained how the invention of the nuclear device altered the balance of power after WWII and during the cold war era. In this second article I intend to explain why nuclear-armed powers decrease the likelihood …

Truthout Stories (2018-03-12). US Refusal to Negotiate With Russia Increases Likelihood of Nuclear War. Truthout Stories In his March 1 state of the nation speech to the Russian Federal Assembly, President Vladimir Putin claimed that Russia has developed an "invincible" intercontinental cruise missile resistant to US missile defense systems. The United States' refusal to accept Russia's offer to negotiate over nuclear weapons has increased the likelihood of thermonuclear war and put our planet's future in peril.Russian President Vladimir Putin claims the US set the stage for an escalated nuclear arms race by withdrawing from the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty. (Photo by Alexei Nikolsky / TASS via Getty Images) | On March 1, 2018, in his annual state of the nation speech to the Russian Federal Assembly, President Vladimir Putin declared that his country has developed an "invincible" intercontinental cruise missile resistant to US missile defense systems. Putin claimed the new weapon can operate at very high speeds and has…

Democracy Now! (2018-03-12). Overthrow: 100 Years of U.S. Meddling & Regime Change, from Iran to Nicaragua to Hawaii to Cuba. Democracy Now! As special counsel Robert Mueller continues his probe into Russian meddling in the 2016 election, we take a look back at Washington's record of meddling in elections across the globe. By one count, the United States has interfered in more than 80 foreign elections between 1946 and 2000. And that doesn't count U.S.-backed coups and invasions. We speak to former New York Times reporter Stephen Kinzer, author of "Overthrow: America's Century of Regime Change from Hawaii to Iraq."

Marcus Papadopoulos (2018-03-12). Russia and the Middle East Conflict. The Meaning of Russian Influence in the Region. Global Research Below is an interview of Dr. Marcus Papadopoulos by Iran's Quds newspaper on Russia's military standpoint on the crisis in the Middle East. | Q: How extensive are the changes in Russia's approach towards the Middle East in light of the …

Staff (2018-03-11). Why Won't the U.S. Give Peace a Chance? Truthdig: Expert Reporting, Current News, Provocative Columnists Give peace a chance, the song urges. | But the United States won't have it. | Olympic diplomacy seems to be working on the Korean peninsula. After a pair of South Korean envoys visited Pyongyang, they issued a promising communiqué. "The North Korean side clearly stated its willingness to denuclearize," the statement said. Considering that the Korean crisis and a derpy emergency management official had Hawaiians jumping down manholes a few months ago, this news comes as a relief. | Then comes the rub. The South Korean statement continued: "[North Korea] made it clear that it would have no reason to keep nuclear weapons if the military threat to the North was eliminated and its security guaranteed [my emphasis]." | In other words, the DPRK is saying—reasonably—we'll get rid of our nukes but only if you promise not to invade us. That guarantee…

TRNN (2018-03-11). US Misses Putin's Nuclear Message (2/2). The Real News Network As Vladimir Putin unveils new weaponry, MIT Professor Theodore Postol says that the US withdrawal from a key arms control treaty, an increased killing capacity, and Trump's "dangerous and uninformed" strategy has compounded the nuclear threat…

Manlio Dinucci (2018-03-10). L'avvertimento nucleare di Putin. Global Research Il discorso del presidente russo Putin sullo stato della nazione, dedicato alle questioni interne e internazionali, ha suscitato in Italia scarso interesse politico-mediatico e qualche commento ironico. | Eppure dovrebbe essere ascoltato con estrema attenzione. Evitando giri diplomatici di parole, Putin …

Staff (2018-03-10). When a Trillion Dollars' Worth of Bombs Is Not Enough. Truthdig: Expert Reporting, Current News, Provocative Columnists For the New York Times, the US is always lagging behind the Russian menace. Previously, the Times has told us how America was losing the "scramble for the Arctic" ( 8/30/15) and falling behind in election-meddling ( 3/4/18). Now it's in the realms of cyber and nuclear war that the Times sees dangerous gaps. | In "A Russian Threat on Two Fronts Meets an American Strategic Void" ( 3/5/18), reporters David Sanger and William Broad passed along the worries of Washington—as expressed by a few military higher-ups, some guy from the arms industry mouthpiece known as the Center for Strategic and International Studies, and a disembodied "The United States"—that Trump didn't have a coherent strategy for dealing with cyber and nuclear threats from Russia. The front-page subhead warned, "Russia has ramped up its arsenal, US has done…

Staff (2018-03-10). Summit Plan Too Easy on North Korea? U.S. Rejects Criticism. Truthdig: Expert Reporting, Current News, Provocative Columnists White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders says North Korea has made promises to denuclearize, stop its nuclear and missile testing and allow joint U.S.-South Korean military exercises. | The post Summit Plan Too Easy on North Korea? U.S. Rejects Criticism appeared first on Truthdig: Expert Reporting, Current News, Provocative Columnists.

TRNN (2018-03-09). Putin, Trump, and the Nuclear Danger (2/2). The Real News Network As Vladimir Putin unveils new weaponry, MIT Professor Theodore Postol says that the US withdrawal from a key arms control treaty, an increased killing capacity, and Trump's "dangerous and uninformed" strategy has compounded the nuclear threat…

John Laforge (2018-03-09). Fukushima: A Human-Made Disaster Brought on by Bad Faith. counterpunch.org "Nearly seven years after the triple reactor meltdowns, this unique nuclear crisis is still underway," Greenpeace International's Shaun Burnie wrote in a blogpost last December. The word "unique" is an understatement but true. The March 11, 2011meltdowns are the world's first combined earthquake-tsunami-reactor catastrophe. Moreover, while other power reactors have run out-of-control, melted down and More

Fidel Castro Ruz (2018-03-09). Conversations with Fidel Castro: The Dangers of a Nuclear War. Global Research If a war breaks out in Iran, it will inevitably become a nuclear war and a global war.

Maj. Danny Sjursen (2018-03-09). Nuclear Contradictions, Hypocrisy and Absurdities. Truthdig: Expert Reporting, Current News, Provocative Columnists Now I am become death, the destroyer of worlds. | —J. Robert Oppenheimer, American nuclear scientist, after observing an early U.S. nuclear weapons test | The year was 1983. I was still in the womb, as an earlier celebrity president, also obsessed with television, sat down to view a highly touted TV movie, " The Day After." Ronald Reagan, like Donald Trump, was a star—a famous actor—and also a well-known Republican foreign policy hawk with an aggressive nuclear weapons posture. The movie was a dystopian portrayal of the aftermath of a Soviet nuclear attack in the small college town of Lawrence, Kan., where I now live. | Reagan (like Trump) wasn't keen on briefing books or detailed memos. He was a visual learner and "The Day After" deeply affected President Reagan. It wasn't quite a " Road to Damascus" moment,…

Prof Michel Chossudovsky (2018-03-09). "Fake News" and World War III. The Danger of Nuclear Annihilation. Global Research What we are dealing with is a War against the Truth. Objective reporting on the dangers of a Third World war is being suppressed. Why? The future of humanity is at stake. The danger of nuclear annihilation is not front-page news. The unfolding consensus among Pentagon war planners is that a Third World War is "Winnable".

Mel Gurtov (2018-03-09). Getting to "Yes" with North Korea. counterpunch.org For the first time in quite a few years, direct US-North Korea dialogue seems within reach thanks to North-South Korea talks involving Kim Jong-un and top officials of the Moon Jae-in administration. Whether or not North Korea's complete and verifiable denuclearization, which has long been the chief US demand, will actually be on the table More

Sarah K. Burris, Raw Story (2018-03-09). 'Liberal Redneck' Compares Trump and Kim Jong-un to Drunk Guys Discussing Brain Surgery. AlterNet.org He doesn't have a lot of confidence that it's going to work out. | "Liberal Redneck" comedian Trae Crowder doesn't anticipate President Donald Trump being able to work out the nuclear problems with North Korea. During a discussion with Bill Maher Friday, he admitted Trump has made strides in getting some potential negotiation; the difference, he explained, is that Trump is no Barack Obama. "Still, I'm not going to sit here and say I have a lot of inspired confidence of this working out," he said. "Watching these two guys debate on what to do about the nuclear situation in North Korea is like watching two hammered drunk bricklayers talk about what to do with a brain tumor. "Republican strategist Ana Navarro can't imagine it working out. "What are they going to do? Put their buttons on the table and see who's got the bigger. . .

Ted Rall (2018-03-09). Why Does the U.S. Hate Peace? counterpunch.org Give peace a chance, the song urges. But the United States won't have it. Olympic diplomacy seems to be working on the Korean peninsula. After a pair of South Korean envoys visited Pyongyang, they issued a promising communiqué. "The North Korean side clearly stated its willingness to denuclearize," the statement said. Considering that the Korean More

TRNN (2018-03-09). Can Trump, Kim, and Moon Make Peace in Korea? (1/2). The Real News Network After months of bellicose rhetoric and fears of nuclear war, President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un have agreed to historic face-to-face talks. Independent journalist Tim Shorrock and Christine Ahn of Women Cross DMZ discuss the prospects for an agreement and the overlooked role of South Korea in getting both sides to the table…

Prof Michel Chossudovsky (2018-03-09). Towards a World War III Scenario: The Dangers of Nuclear War. Global Research Today, people are finally waking up to the dangers of a world war, which might emanate from the highest levels of the US government. | We are no longer dealing with a hypothetical scenario. The threat of World War III is …

Cody Fenwick (2018-03-09). Trump May Meet with North Korea's Leader Kim Jong-un by May. MintPress News In a stunning turnaround from a year of playground insults and threats of nuclear annihilation, President Donald Trump agreed Thursday to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un by May. | South Korean official Chung Eui-yong said in an announcement on the White House driveway that Kim "pledged that North Korea will refrain from any further nuclear missile tests" the run-up to the meeting. | Trump "will accept the invitation to meet with Kim Jong Un at a place and time to be determined," said White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders. "We look forward to the denuclearization of North Korea. In the meantime, all sanctions and maximum pressure must remain." | If the meeting goes as planned, it will be the first time a sitting American president has met with a North Korean leader. In many ways, this could be a…

RT (2018-03-09). Trump agrees to meet Kim but says 'sanctions will remain' until denuclearization deal is reached. RT US News Donald Trump has accepted a personal invitation from the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to discuss the possible denuclearization of the Korean peninsula, but also has vowed to keep sanctions in place until a firm deal is reached.
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Maj. Danny Sjursen (2018-03-09). Nuclear Contradictions, Hypocrisy and Absurdities. Truthdig: Expert Reporting, Current News, Provocative Columnists Now I am become death, the destroyer of worlds. | —J. Robert Oppenheimer, American nuclear scientist, after observing an early U.S. nuclear weapons test | The year was 1983. I was still in the womb, as an earlier celebrity president, also obsessed with television, sat down to view a highly touted TV movie, " The Day After." Ronald Reagan, like Donald Trump, was a star—a famous actor—and also a well-known Republican foreign policy hawk with an aggressive nuclear weapons posture. The movie was a dystopian portrayal of the aftermath of a Soviet nuclear attack in the small college town of Lawrence, Kan., where I now live. | Reagan (like Trump) wasn't keen on briefing books or detailed memos. He was a visual learner, and "The Day After" deeply affected President Reagan. It wasn't quite a " road to Damascus" moment,…

Ryan Grim (2018-03-09). George Nader, Cooperating Witness in Mueller Probe, Was Arrested for Child Pornography in the 1980s. The Intercept George Nader, reportedly a cooperating witness in Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into collusion between Donald Trump's presidential campaign and Russia, was arrested in 1985 on child pornography charges. | A frequent visitor to the Trump White House in 2017, Nader is the latest enigmatic character to saunter onto the stage as part of Mueller's inquiry. A New York Times story last weekend said that Mueller was looking into whether Nader, a Lebanese-American with access to Persian Gulf elites, had helped funnel foreign money toward Trump's campaign. On Tuesday, the paper said that Nader was cooperating with Mueller's investigation. | The 1985 criminal case against Nader on child pornography charges was eventually dismissed, according to court documents obtained by The Intercept. The existence of the charges was first reported by The Atlantic. | "The court found that Mr. Nader's constitutional…

Juan Cole (2018-03-09). Saudi Prince Dubs Iran, Turkey and Extremist Religious Groups "Triangle of Evil" MintPress News Egypt's al-Shuruq newspaper, which tilts liberal and secular, reports on the press conference in Cairo conducted by neophyte crown prince Muhammad Bin Salman, 32 on Wednesday. | Bin Salman said that the current "Triangle of Evil" [paraphrasing George W. Bush's speechwriter David Frum] was Iran, Turkey and extremist religious groups. He alleged that the Muslim Brotherhood had exploited democracy, while the Turks a striving to revive the Ottoman Caliphate. He insisted that the Prophet Muhammad had never said anything about a caliphate, or prescribed any particular form of government. [This is true — JC]. | He complained that the Ottoman sultans had destroyed the first Saudi state. Moreover, he averred, any enemy of Egypt's is an enemy of Saudi Arabia's. | The Egyptian journalists asked him when the Qatar crisis would end. He told them not to bother their heads with it.

Jacob Sugarman, AlterNet (2018-03-08). Will Trump Help Saudi Arabia Become a Nuclear Power? AlterNet.org A new lobbying effort threatens to upend the Middle East. | The House of Saud is angling for approval on a new nuclear power program, and Donald Trump just might grant it. According to The Young Turks' Ken Klippenstein, King & Spalding, a law firm that has previously represented the president in his real estate dealings, registered last month to lobby the White House on behalf of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Justice Department filings reveal the firm will receive $450,000 over a 30-day period to start, and talks are set to begin in a matter of weeks. King & Spalding's ties to the Trump administration are numerous. Beyond the link to the president, FBI director Christopher Wray served as a litigator at the firm from 2005-2017. As Klippenstein notes, the appointment drew the ire of the ACLU's political director Faiz Shakir,. . .

Cody Fenwick, AlterNet (2018-03-08). Trump Accepts Invitation to Meet with North Korean Leader Kim Jong-un by May. AlterNet.org Trump is prepared to sit down with the totalitarian leader he once called "Little Rocket Man. " | In a stunning turnaround from a year of playground insults and threats of nuclear annihilation, President Donald Trump agreed Thursday to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. South Korean official Chung Eui-yong said in an announcement on the White House driveway that Kim "pledged that North Korea will refrain from any further nuclear missile tests" in the run-up to the meeting. Trump "will accept the invitation to meet with Kim Jong-un at a place and time to be determined," said White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders. "We look forward to the denuclearization of North Korea. In the meantime, all sanctions and maximum pressure must remain. "If the meeting goes as planned, it will be the first time a sitting American president has met with a. . .

Staff (2018-03-08). South Korea Leader Sees More Obstacles to Disarming North. Truthdig: Expert Reporting, Current News, Provocative Columnists President Moon Jae-in says that many "critical moments" still lie ahead to end the nuclear crisis despite North Korea's recent outreach to Seoul and Washington. | The post South Korea Leader Sees More Obstacles to Disarming North appeared first on Truthdig: Expert Reporting, Current News, Provocative Columnists.

Robert J. Burrowes (2018-03-08). Homo Sapiens on Track to Extinction? Climate and Nuclear Threats. Can Humanity Survive? Global Research Anyone reading the scientific literature (or the progressive news outlets that truthfully report this literature) knows that homo sapiens sapiens is on the fast track to extinction, most likely some time between 2025 and 2040. | For a taste of the …

Will Parrish (2018-03-08). The University of Nuclear Bombs. counterpunch.org When Nobu Hanaoka was 8 months old, the city where he lived and played was consumed by a fiery hell. On Aug. 9, 1945, a U.S. warplane released an atomic bomb over Nagasaki, Japan. The blast, heat, fire, and radiation from the bomb killed 40,000 people almost instantaneously. Roughly 70,000 died by year's end. Three days prior, the U.S. military had also exploded an atomic bomb over Hiroshima. Those killed immediately numbered some 90,000. Those dying by the end of 1945 numbered some 140,000. More