tagged w/ Foreign Affairs
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The consecutive American messages about dialogue with Iran are accompanied by fierce threats seen in the corroboration of what the American administration is dubbing the sustainment of all the options on the table, in an attempt to give the impression that the war which was hinted to by the American and Israeli leader against Iran remained on the table, at a time when the economic sanctions aiming at increasing the pressures against Iran witnessed noticeable escalation especially after the European decision to boycott the Iranian oil. http://www.voltairenet.org/Impotence-hypocrisy-and-WesternThe consecutive American messages about dialogue with Iran are accompanied by fierce... more
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What in the holy mother of frakin' hell, Baird?!
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/baird-demands-gold-drops-canada-from-foreign-affairs-business-card/article2185969/
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"The Conservative Foreign Affairs Minister demanded – and got – gold embossing on his business cards shortly after being shuffled into the portfolio last May, contrary to government rules.
Mr. Baird then ordered the word “Canada” dropped from the standard design, also against federal policy.
And he insisted that “Lester B. Pearson Building” be removed from the standard street address for Foreign Affairs’ headquarters in Ottawa, thereby erasing the name of a former Liberal prime minister and Nobel Peace Prize winner.
The controversial changes initially provoked resistance from the senior Foreign Affairs bureaucrats who are responsible for implementing policies on government branding.
But in the end, Mr. Baird won a temporary exemption from the rules – and got his way.
A gold-embossed Canadian coat of arms now glistens from his unilingual English business cards, which lack the wordmark “Canada,” a federal branding design that features a small Canadian flag above the last letter.
With the disappearance of the large 'Canada,' the biggest type on the card now is 'The Honourable John Baird, P.C., M.P'."
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There are things in the USA that make rational people sick in their stomach, but this is a punch to the gut for Canadians everywhere, regardless of their political leanings. He refuses to represent Canada AS OUR FOREIGN AFFAIRS MINISTER!!What in the holy mother of frakin' hell, Baird?!... more
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Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's popularity seems to have grown in Egypt since he expelled Turkey's Israeli ambassador earlier this month. The move came as a result of the continued refusal on the part of Israel to apologize for the killing of 9 Turkish nationals that were on board the Mavi Marmara who had tried to break Gaza's blockade last year.
He is expected to arrive in Cairo this evening, just three days after Cairo's Israeli ambassador had to leave the country together with some 80 diplomats as the Israeli Embassy was stormed by protesters and security was breached. During the violent demonstrations, Egyptians burned the Israeli flag, and some in the crowds were seen waving Erdogan's picture.
Cairo is the first stop in Erdogan's diplomatic tour which will also take him to Tunisia and Libya. Like Egypt, these countries have recently ousted their leaders in favor of democratic reform.
http://www.examiner.com/foreign-policy-in-national/turkey-s-erdogan-begins-his-tour-of-arab-spring-countries-egyptTurkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's popularity seems to have grown in... more
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Every 'action' after that war was nothing more than a political action in which the US military was nothing more than an armed political force that was assigned to duty in foreign places to underwrite the most criminal of corporate interests which has brought us to this impasse that passes for life in 2011. (1)
From Korea to Vietnam, from Vietnam through Grenada and Panama: With side ventures in Chile and Africa, US military forces have been nothing but a bunch of paid thugs assigned to destroy other countries for US Corporate interests. Anyone in a US uniform that has served in Iraq, either in 1991 or in George Bush's illegal invasion and occupation has to know that everything they did there had nothing to do with protecting this country: Because it was always about suppressing the population to "unconditionally- surrender" to US and multinational-corporate-Oppression and the colonial Occupation of counties that were resisting American adventures in support of our Evil-Empire that has no basis in either law or humanity.
At the moment despite the doubling of our occupational forces, thru the use of mercenaries that have more than doubled the size of our expeditionary forces, we are still losing in every country we have troops today-because none of these wars are about winning they are all about continuing the flagrantly excessive military and political contracts that will never end: If they continue to have their way with the American people that are funding this entire charade.
Since the end of WWII the targets and casualties in every military action involve the killing of more than 90% civilians, in any country that is attacked: While the death toll among opposing combatants has been shrunk to less than ten percent of the actual opposing forces-and that amounts to a major and massive WAR CRIME, committed for the most part by the armed forces of the USI: The major force used in these crimes are United States forces; no matter how this is measured or reported, primarily because the mercenaries are allowed to wear US uniforms, when they are committing all those crimes against humanity worldwide.
http://www.rense.com/general94/clear.htm
http://www.davidmcelroy.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/HowDemocracyWorks-250pixels.jpgEvery 'action' after that war was nothing more than a political action in... more
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US politicians are not shy when it comes to offering opinions on foreign affairs, even when it is obvious they have not done their homework. Bloopers may be commonplace on Capitol Hill, but the American people have become the butt of the joke.
Advising other countries on democracy seems to be a must for any US politician, and some of them get so carried away that they confuse which countries exactly they are talking about.
Commenting on democracy in Belarus, John McCain, for some reason, called it Lithuania.
“I also want to thank the President of Lithuania, a group of our members of Congress visited with her yesterday, she is a great leader, but we also had an opportunity to meet with members of the opposition, many of whom have fellow countrymen residing in prison have been beaten and tortured… Pardon, Belarus,” John McCain said, not in the least bit embarrassed.
During the same conference, the former presidential candidate and one of the most influential republican senators referred to Russia as the Soviet Union.
“We all know that our missile defense and rather modest array is earmarked and we are proceeding with it because of the threat we face from Iran, not from the Soviet Union.”
But senator McCain’s gaffes do not stop there.
“I’m afraid that it is a very hard struggle, particularly given the situation on the Iraq-Pakistan border,” McCain blurted.
Probably only in McCain’s mind did Pakistan share a border with Iraq.
But he is not the only US politician who is quick to share their expertise in world affairs without checking some facts.
George W. Bush, who now prides himself on having pushed democracy in Egypt, during his presidency thought Africa was a nation…
“Africa is a nation that suffers of incredible disease,”
Bush said back then.
The winner of hearts and minds of millions of Americans, Sarah Palin, too, thought Africa was a country some two years ago.
But now nothing seems to stop her from handing advice on how to deal with Egypt.
Mrs. Palin has further contributed to her credibility in foreign affairs when commenting on the US stance with regards to North Korea.
“Obviously, we have got to stand with our North Korean allies; we’re bound to by treaties…” Palin got up to before being corrected.
Denny Schechter, former CNN producer and media analyst, believes, “The paradox is that politicians who really know nothing about these things have to appear to know something, they have to speak out on all these issues to be considered credible figures. So Sarah Palin, who could see Russia from her door and her window, is now an expert on Russia or whatever else.”
The reason US politicians feel free to make bloopers on international issues could be that many of their audiences cannot catch the inconsistencies.
“It is very easy to manipulate people when they don’t know anything. On foreign policy generally Americans are indifferent. They don’t pay any attention to the world events and you can easily manipulate them. The costs of our public ignorance are ghastly,” says Rick Shenkman, associate history professor at George Mason University.
After waging wars in Iraq and Afghanistan for years, figures show most Americans still have difficulties finding the countries on the map.
If the public is not able to notice the ignorance of their politicians, than they will not be able to hold them accountable for their decisions. Some say that is one of the biggest threats to democracy in America.US politicians are not shy when it comes to offering opinions on foreign affairs, even... more
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Across the globe today, you'll find almost three dozen raging conflicts, from the valleys of Afghanistan to the jungles of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the streets of Kashmir. But what are the next crises that might erupt in 2011? Here are a few worrisome spots that make our list.
Breakdown of each spot in article
Ivory Coast
Colombia
Zimbabwe
Iraq
Venezuela
Sudan
Mexico
Guatemala
Haiti
Tajikistan
Pakistan
Somalia
Lebanon
Nigeria
Guinea
Congo
Out of Chaos comes Order.Across the globe today, you'll find almost three dozen raging conflicts, from the... more
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Lying is wrong, regardless of who does it. We live in a world of 'spin' ie. lies. How's that working out for us? Shouldn't we seek truth? Honesty should be a requirement, not just an option.
It's time to address the dishonesty and move along with truth. If the truth hurts, maybe they are doing something wrong?Lying is wrong, regardless of who does it. We live in a world of 'spin' ie.... more
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So have declared reporters Ninad D. Sheth, Haima Deshpande, Shubhangi Swarup of India's the "Open Magazine" with their article titled 'New Delhi under Obama's Charm'.
In New Delhi, where the Obamas will travel, the Obama t-shirts have not been selling as well as epected, according to the Hindustan Times. 'People are asking for bin Laden T-shirts, but nobody is asking for Obama's'. Derivatives of the U.S. First Lady are much more successful; for example, a copy of Michelle Obama's necklace is of great interest, where it is sold for Rs 18,000 (US$408).So have declared reporters Ninad D. Sheth, Haima Deshpande, Shubhangi Swarup of... more
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Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez admitted last week that his government is "carrying out the first studies" of a nuclear program. He attempted to portray it as an innocuous program designed solely for peaceful purposes.
On Sept. 21, I held a briefing for journalists and regional experts where I revealed for the first time information about Chavez's nuclear program and his troubling and substantial collaboration with Iran. This research -- conducted during the past 12 months by a team of experts who analyzed sensitive material obtained from sources within the Venezuelan regime -- paints a far darker picture of Chavez's intentions.
Chávez has been developing the program for two years with the collaboration of Iran, a nuclear rogue state. In addition to showing the two states' cooperation on nuclear research, these documents suggest that Venezuela is helping Iran obtain uranium and evade international sanctions, all steps that are apparent violations of the U.N. Security Council resolutions meant to forestall Iran's illegal nuclear weapons program.
Chávez's suggestion that he is merely studying the idea of a nuclear energy program is misleading. In fact, in November 2008, Iranian and Venezuelan officials signed a secret "science and technology" agreement formalizing cooperation "in the field of nuclear technology." (The text of the agreement, available in Farsi and Spanish, is available here.) The week after the agreement was signed, Venezuela's Ministry of Energy and Petroleum prepared a presentation for the International Atomic Energy Agency documenting the establishment of a "nuclear power programme" in Venezuela. That presentation, obtained from sources within the Venezuelan government, reveals that an "Atomic Energy Committee" has been managing the nuclear program since 2007.
All countries have the right to a peaceful nuclear energy program under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, of which Venezuela is a signatory. However, Chávez's decision to rely on one of the world's worst proliferators to help develop his country's capabilities in this sensitive technology sets alarm bells ringing. And his recent public declarations understating the nature of his nuclear program raise more questions than they answer.
It's not only Venezuela's cooperation with Iran on its own nuclear program that raises questions -- other documents provided by sources within the Venezuelan government reveal a suspicious network of Iranian-run facilities in that South American country that could contravene Security Council sanctions.
For example, a November 2008 contract between a Venezuelan state-run firm, CVG Minerven, and the Iranian government firm Impasco grants the Iranians a "gold mine" concession in the heart of the Roraima basin in the southeastern state of Bolivar, which sits along the Venezuela-Guyana border. Although gold mining in Venezuela goes back decades, the basin is also home to one of the world's largest deposits of uranium, according to a survey by the U308 Corp., a Canadian uranium exploration company.
There is nothing illegal about the commercial mining of uranium -- unless it is conducted by Iran. Security Council Resolution 1929, passed this June after an aggressive diplomatic effort by the United States, ordered all governments to prohibit any Iranian involvement in "uranium mining, production or use of nuclear materials and technology." If Iran's Impasco has struck gold in Venezuela, that is nobody's business. If it is mining uranium, that is quite a different matter.
In addition to acquiring a mine strategically located above substantial uranium deposits, Iranian firms have taken over nearby industrial facilities and seem to be using them for purposes other than those publicly stated. For example, a "cement plant" produces little if any cement, a "tractor factory" produces few tractors, and both facilities are well situated for supporting Iran's shadowy activities in an area that is far from everything but uranium.
two page article, with a very truthful end paragraph. READ MORE:
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2010/10/05/chavez_s_secret_nuclear_programVenezuelan President Hugo Chávez admitted last week that his government is... more
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Farmer fires home-made cannon to defend land
BEIJING (Reuters) – A Chinese farmer has declared war on property developers who want his land, building a cannon out of a wheelbarrow and pipes and firing rockets at would-be eviction teams, state media said on Tuesday.
Yang Youde, who lives on the outskirts of bustling Wuhan city, in central Hubei province, says he has fended off two eviction attempts with his improvised weapon, which uses ammunition made from locally sold fireworks.
"I shot only over their heads to frighten them," the China Daily quoted him saying of his attacks on demolition workers sent to move him off his land. "I didn't want to cause any injuries."
The rockets can travel over 100 meters, and exploded with a deafening bang, the official paper added. It did not say if anyone had been injured.
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http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100608/od_nm/us_china_cannonFarmer fires home-made cannon to defend land
BEIJING (Reuters) – A Chinese... more
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WMR's intelligence sources in Asia suspect that the March attack on the South Korean Navy anti-submarine warfare (ASW) corvette, the Cheonan, was a false flag attack designed to appear as coming from North Korea.
One of the main purposes for increasing tensions on the Korean peninsula was to apply pressure on Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama to reverse course on moving the U.S. Marine Corps base off Okinawa. Hatoyama has admitted that the tensions over the sinking of the Cheonan played a large part in his decision to allow the U.S. Marines to remain on Okinawa. Hatoyama's decision has resulted in a split in the ruling center-left coalition government, a development welcome in Washington, with Mizuho Fukushima, the Social Democratic Party leader threatening to bolt the coalition over the Okinawa reversal.
The Cheonan was sunk near Baengnyeong Island, a westernmost spot that is far from the South Korean coast, but opposite the North Korean coast. The island is heavily militarized and within artillery fire range of North Korean coastal defenses, which lie across a narrow channel.
The Cheonan, an ASW corvette, was decked out with state-of-the-art sonar, plus it was operating in waters with extensive hydrophone sonar arrays and acoustic underwater sensors. There is no South Korean sonar or audio evidence of a torpedo, submarine or mini-sub in the area. Since there is next to no shipping in the channel, the sea was silent at the time of the sinking.
However, Baengnyeong Island hosts a joint US-South Korea military intelligence base and the US Navy SEALS operate out of the base. In addition, four U.S. Navy ships were in the area, part of the joint U.S-South Korean Exercise Foal Eagle, during the sinking of the Cheonan. An investigation of the suspect torpedo's metallic and chemical fingerprints show it to be of German manufacture. There are suspicions that the US Navy SEALS maintains a sampling of European torpedoes for sake of plausible deniability for false flag attacks. Also, Berlin does not sell torpedoes to North Korea, however, Germany does maintain a close joint submarine and submarine weapons development program with Israel.
The presence of the USNS Salvor, one of the participants in Foal Eagle, so close to Baengnyeong Island during the sinking of the South Korean corvette also raises questions.
The Salvor, a civilian Navy salvage ship, which participated in mine laying activities for the Thai Marines in the Gulf of Thailand in 2006, was present near the time of the blast with a complement of 12 deep sea divers.
Beijing, satisfied with North Korea's Kim Jong Il's claim of innocence after a hurried train trip from Pyongyang to Beijing, suspects the U.S. Navy's role in the Cheonan's sinking, with particular suspicion on the role of the Salvor. The suspicions are as follows:
1. The Salvor engaged in a seabed mine-installation operation, in other words, attaching horizontally fired anti-submarine mines on the sea floor in the channel.
2. The Salvor was doing routine inspection and maintenance on seabed mines, and put them into an electronic active mode (hair trigger release) as part of the inspection program.
3. A SEALS diver attached a magnetic mine to the Cheonan, as part of a covert program aimed at influencing public opinion in South Korea, Japan and China.
The Korean peninsula tensions have conveniently overshadowed all other agenda items on Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's visits to Beijing and Seoul.
http://onlinejournal.com/artman/publish/article_5930.shtmlWMR's intelligence sources in Asia suspect that the March attack on the South... more
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On May 28, while many of us were gearing up for a 3-day weekend, father and American lawyer Peter Erlinder was being wrongfully detained on charges of genocide denial overseas in Rwanda. Only the actions of concerned US citizens will help free him before it's too late, so please ACT!
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2010/06/01/Locked_Up_in_RwandaOn May 28, while many of us were gearing up for a 3-day weekend, father and American... more
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American lawmakers have overwhelmingly backed a proposal to provide Israel with $205m (£142m) to speed up the deployment of a short-range anti-missile system.
The US House of Representatives voted 401-4 in favour of President Barack Obama's plan to fund Israel's Iron Dome project, designed to protect the country from rocket and artillery shell attacks.
Analysts said the US donation is a sign that the Obama administration wants to rekindle relations with the Israeli government; these had been severely strained by Israel's announcement in March that it would build hundreds of new Jewish homes in Arab-dominated East Jerusalem, which was captured by Israel in 1967 and later annexed.
"The Obama administration has been trying hard to change the atmospherics," said Jonathan Spyer, senior researcher at the Centre for Global Research in International Affairs in Herzliya. "It didn't help their cause to be perceived as humiliating the Israeli government."
Israel ordered the Iron Dome project three years ago after its 2006 war with Lebanon, during which thousands of rockets landed in Israeli territory. Some 1,200 Lebanese, mostly civilians, were killed in the conflict, as were 160 Israelis.
more at the link...
"Atmospherics?" Who the f*ck is Jonathan Spyer and what the hell is the Centre for Global Research in International Affairs.
Jonathan Spyer is mid-level, yuppie scum and he works for fascist, NWO front group that hocks foreign policy advice to puppet governments in order to scam them into wars, make money for the military industrial complex, sink them into debt and eventually get taken over by the Illuminati banking cartel, also known as the New World Order.
Our tax dollars at work.American lawmakers have overwhelmingly backed a proposal to provide Israel with $205m... more
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WASHINGTON—
Leaders from 47 countries are descending on Washington for a two-day summit the Obama administration hopes will kick-start efforts to make all nuclear materials secure from smugglers and terrorists within four years.
The conference, which officially begins Monday evening, is the third act in a monthlong effort by the White House to give momentum to nuclear disarmament, following a new nuclear military doctrine released by the Pentagon on Tuesday and an arms-control treaty with Russia signed on Thursday.
But a series of high-profile foreign-policy challenges could overshadow the administration's nonproliferation efforts here next week. At least two of those involve China, whose president, Hu Jintao, will hold talks with President Barack Obama just before the summit starts.
China, Iran's largest market for oil, has resisted supporting stiff new sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program. Beijing has also resisted pressure to revalue its currency, a move that Washington says would make U.S. exports more competitive.
Meanwhile, the decision by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to withdraw from the summit at the last minute, in order to avoid questions about his country's undeclared nuclear arsenal, has caused ripples before the summit has begun.
Senior administration officials said they are working to keep the summit narrowly focused on nuclear security, saying they expect several countries to announce moves similar to that of Chile, which last month began shipping its highly enriched uranium to the U.S. for safekeeping.
"You can be sure that the president will devote 100% of his time to this summit and to guiding it and keeping it on track, on theme, on message," said U.S. National Security Adviser James Jones.
Senior administration officials acknowledged that discussions on the formal sidelines of the summit are likely to stray from the agenda, particularly in formal bilateral meetings Mr. Obama is holding with other leaders.
More-
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304703104575174180505414718.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_sections_worldWASHINGTON—
Leaders from 47 countries are descending on Washington for a... more
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President Barack Obama welcomed the Dalai Lama for closely-watched White House talks Thursday, risking fallout in China over the get-together and Obama's statement supporting preservation of Tibet's identity and human rights.
"The president commended the Dalai Lama's 'Middle Way' approach, his commitment to nonviolence and his pursuit of dialogue with the Chinese government," White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said after the more than hourlong private meeting.
Speaking to reporters on the White House driveway, the Dalai Lama declared himself "very happy" with the session. The exiled Tibetan leader said he spoke to Obama about the promotion of human value, religious harmony, a greater leadership role for women around the world and the concerns of the Tibetan people. He said Obama was "very much supportive."
Obama's largely symbolic meeting with the Dalai Lama was kept low-key by comparison to other visiting leaders, out of deference to China. With Beijing considering the Buddhist monk a separatist, Obama doesn't want to overly anger China at a time when its cooperation is needed on nuclear standoffs with Iran and North Korea, climate change and other priorities.
So Obama sat down with his fellow Nobel Peace Prize laureate in the Map Room rather than the much-more-photographed Oval Office where presidents usually visit with international leaders. Their talks were held entirely out of view of cameras and the public. Instead, the White House only released just a single White House photo.
Even the description the White House press office gave reporters of the talks was done on paper.
All these gestures - small to many but important in the supersensitive world of diplomacy - were meant to tamp down China's displeasure that Obama was holding the meeting in the first place.
"The optics of this thing are incredibly important to the Chinese," said Michael Green, former President George W. Bush's senior Asia adviser. "The Chinese government is preoccupied with protocol and how things look."
It may not seem inflammatory to Americans accustomed to presidential meet-and-greets of many shapes and sizes. But a Dalai Lama-Obama appearance held in public would enrage China, which believes that official foreign contact with the monk infringes on Beijing's sovereignty over Tibet. Although the Dalai Lama is revered in much of the world, Beijing accuses him of seeking to overthrow Chinese rule and restore a feudal theocracy in the expansive mountainous region. The Dalai Lama and analysts say that is untrue.
Still, China's feelings matter because relations between Washington and Beijing have been strained for years, most recently because of the Dalai Lama's visit and the Obama administration's approval of a multibillion-dollar arms sale to Taiwan, the self-governing democratic island that China claims as its own.
At the same time, Obama has to balance China's views against criticism from U.S. lawmakers and activists that he buckled to China too much already on the topic, by not meeting with the Dalai Lama when he came to Washington in October.
read more:
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_OBAMA_DALAI_LAMA?SITE=VTBEN&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULTPresident Barack Obama welcomed the Dalai Lama for closely-watched White House talks... more
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of the over 100,000 foreign students in U.S., 40% are from just three Asian countries:
China, India, South Korea.of the over 100,000 foreign students in U.S., 40% are from just three Asian countries:... more
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"even though the United Nations was conceived as an instrument of great power, third world nations took its rhetoric at face value.""even though the United Nations was conceived as an instrument of great power,... more
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"Congres is cooperating: foreign governments reluctant."
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Iranian nuclear challenge becomes clearer; people look to Obama
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