Friday, April 13, 2012

Commentaries, Opinions, And Editorials -- April 13, 2012

South Koreans walk past a screen in a Seoul railway station showing a TV report on North Korea's rocket launch. Photograph: Kim Hong-Ji/Reuters

North Korean Missile Launch Failure: What It Means For West -- Peter Grier, Christian Science Monitor

Washington’s snap reaction to the North Korean missile launch failure contained decidedly mixed emotions, including relief and concern about what the regime might try next.


A North Korean satellite launch on Friday ended in epic failure as the booster rocket broke up over the Yellow Sea, embarrassing the Pyongyang regime at the moment it is celebrating the 100th birthday of its late founder, Kim Il-sung.

Earlier in the week, normally secretive North Korean officials had bused foreign journalists to the launch site of the Unha-3, or Galaxy-3, in an effort to show off the state of their space technology. In the end this display of rare openness backfired, as North Korean state media four hours after launch admitted that their Kwangmyongsong-3 satellite had not reached its preset orbit.

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MILITARY AND INTELLIGENCE NEWS BRIEFS

The Kim dynasty's satellite of love -- Pepe Escobar, Al Jazeera

Why North Korea Gets Away With It: Pyongyang's Skillful Deterrence -- Jennifer Lind, Foreign Affairs

North Korea's botched "satellite" launch: Admission of failure -- The Economist

Turning a blind eye to North Korea’s ‘hidden gulag’ -- Washington Post editorial

How to Tell if the Iran Talks Are Working -- Mark Hibbs, Ariel Levite, and George Perkovich, New York Times

Why Iran Will Compromise -- Javad Heydarian, The Diplomat

Battle for Bahrain: What One Uprising Meant for the Gulf States and Iran -- Brandon Friedman, World Affairs

Egypt: Power struggle gains momentum -- Ayman Mustafa, Special to Gulf News

A Tormenting in Moscow: Why is Russia harassing President Obama’s new ambassador? -- Leon Aron, Foreign Policy

Why Germany Should Leave the Euro Zone -- Michael Sivy, Time

Brazil's Erratic Behavior -- Sean Goforth, National Interest

Latin America’s new strategy in the war on drugs -- Mary Speck, Washington Post

Lift Latin America's 'drug curse' -- Christian Science Monitor editorial

Should the U.S. legalize hard drugs? -- George Will, Washington Post

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