Morning Joe: June 12, 2009

Iran's Election & the Possible Outcomes

Stories we're following today:

Four Iranian Outcomes, And What They Mean For The U.S. - The Atlantic [link]

• So what does Iran's election mean for the U.S.? It all depends on what happens. Here are four outcomes, the last of which speaks to the question on everyone's mind: what if Mousavi wins?

Value of N. Korea Sanctions Disputed - Washington Post [link]

• As the United Nations moves this week to sanction North Korea for its second nuclear test, there is strong evidence that a previous international squeeze did not work.

Russia Rejects the Notion of a Joint Missile System in Europe - New York Times [link]

• Responding to remarks by Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, a top Russian diplomat said Thursday that Russia would not collaborate with the United States on missile defense unless Washington scrapped plans to deploy elements of the shield in Poland and the Czech Republic.
• Some observers saw positive signs in the exchange... “What’s new,” Maj. Gen. Vladimir Dvorkin said, “is a desire and determination for cooperation on many issues.”

Pentagon Orders Massive Bunker-Busters for Underground WMD - Wired's "Danger Room"[link]

• North Korea may be readying another nuclear test — one of many reasons why the Pentagon is stepping up efforts to neutralize hardened bunkers, packed with weapons of mass destruction. It’s a tricky problem; to do it, you need something out of the ordinary.

Two Cents: Nukes Remain Top Security Issue - Kingston Rief in The Deming Headlight [link]

• Minimizing the global danger posed by nuclear weapons is a top U.S. national security priority and something we owe to future generations. Achieving deep, verifiable, and legally binding nuclear reductions is a necessary first step toward achieving that goal.
• [Nod to Nukes of Hazard, a blog from The Center for Arms Control & Non-Proliferation]

Some in Qaeda Leave Pakistan for Somalia and Yemen - The New York Times [link]

• American officials say they are seeing the first evidence that dozens of fighters with Al Qaeda, and a small handful of the terrorist group’s leaders, are moving to Somalia and Yemen from their principal haven in Pakistan’s tribal areas.