Morning Joe: May 21, 2009
"Greed is Good. A World Without Nuclear Weapons is Better."
Stories we're following today:
Coverage of Last Night's Ploughshares Event at the Italian Embassy with Michael Douglas, Chuck Hagel, and Bob Gallucci
- Nuclear Warfare Meets Hollywood: Michael Douglas Hosts Proliferation Panel - Washingtonian [link]
- Michael Douglas: No-nukes world would be good deal - Associated Press [link]
- Douglas Sits in with Arms Control Experts - Washington Examiner [link]
The security of Pakistan's nuclear arsenal - Lawrence Korb in The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists [link]
- Pakistan isn't about to descend into chaos, nor will it be taken over by the Taliban any time soon.
- Given the strategic location of Pakistan and the fact that it has nuclear weapons, it's easy to see why some might embrace a worst-case scenario. But based on my visit, I don't buy it at this time.
The Nightmare Scenario - Steven David in Foreign Policy [link]
- A Pakistan plunged into chaos raises the threat that its nuclear weapons might fall into the hands of those who would use them against the United States or its allies.
Iranian Missile Test Politically Motivated - Thomas Lippman in Council on Foreign Relations [link]
- Lippman says Ahmadinejad is facing a challenge from three main opponents: Mohsen Rezai, Mehdi Karroubi, and Mir-Hossein Mousavi. "I don't know whether his position [as president] is really in jeopardy," Lippman says, "but I think the timing [of the missile test] is not an accident."
- He adds that "my sense is that this really is not about any greater threat to Israel than is already posed, but that there's some other message here to Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states about the fact that Iran is on the march and is not about to be deterred by anyone in the Gulf."
Russia observes Victory Day - The Boston Globe's "Big Picture" [link]
