Pressure Builds Around Iran Nuclear Report

On the radar: Uncomfortable details from IAEA; Feinstein on avoiding war with Iran; Kristol calls for war with Iran; Firewall between HASC assertion and budget facts; Paper pushed on plutonium plant; Reidel on containing Pakistan; US-North Korea meetup in Geneva; and the Bar that fed the bomb builders.

October 17, 2011 | Edited by Benjamin Loehrke and Mary Kaszynski

Pressing IAEA for details - “President Obama is pressing United Nations nuclear inspectors to release classified intelligence information showing that Iran is designing and experimenting with nuclear weapons technology,” write David Sanger and Mark Landler in The New York Times.

--”Officials familiar with the evidence say it creates extraordinarily uncomfortable questions for the Iranians to answer, but does not definitively point to the construction of a weapon. Instead, it details work on individual technologies essential for designing and detonating a nuclear device,” Sanger and Landler write.

--IAEA Director General Amano is cautious about releasing the most sensitive data on Iran as he is “concerned that his inspectors could be ejected from Iran, shutting the best, though narrow, window into its nuclear activities.” http://owl.li/6ZCFY

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Feinstein urges caution on Iran - "If you project out a number of years, we are on a collision course. If we want to avoid it, we have to take action to avoid it," said Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) on Fox News Sunday in response to questions on last week’s alleged terror plot from Iran.

--"Our country should not be looking to go to war. I think we should be looking to stop bad behavior, short of war," said Sen. Feinstein. http://owl.li/6ZCJ0

Kristol beats the drum - The plot against the Saudi ambassador is an “engraved invitation” for a military strike against Iran, writes Bill Kristol. Ali Gharib details this and other calls for war. http://owl.li/6ZCLo

Clash over modernization funding - Senate aides are pushing back against a claim by HASC members that the FY12 Senate E&W Appropriations Bill moves $8.3 billion from the nuclear modernization budget to water projects. The wall between security and non-security funding, as defined by the Budget Control Act, makes such a move impossible, the aides said. John Bennett reports for The Hill. http://owl.li/6ZCNb

CMRR record of decision - “Following a supplemental environmental impact analysis and public input process, NNSA has selected the Modified CMRR-NF [Chemistry and Metallurgy Research Replacement Nuclear Facility] Alternative described in the Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement to proceed forward with the design and construction of the nuclear facility at Los Alamos National Laboratory,” said NNSA in a press release.

--"It's more like a record of indecision because nothing new was decided," said Scott Kovac of Nuke Watch New Mexico. "This indecision is a blatant attempt to snowball the project and start preconstruction activities that alone could cost up to three-quarters of a billion dollars...This is despite the fact that the actual elevation, type of structure and total estimated costs are still unknown." http://owl.li/6ZCOB

Event: Transatlantic Missile Defense - The Atlantic Council’s annual conference on transatlantic missile defense features briefings by Lt. Gen. Patrick O'Reilly from the Missile Defense Agency and Undersecretary of State Ellen Tauscher, as well as two expert panels assessing progress to date and the future of transatlantic missile defense. Tomorrow, 9-2:30. Event details and RSVP here: http://owl.li/6UZDx

Riedel on containing Pakistan - “America needs a new policy for dealing with Pakistan. First, we must recognize that the two countries’ strategic interests are in conflict, not harmony, and will remain that way as long as Pakistan’s army controls Pakistan’s strategic policies,” writes Bruce Riedel in The New York Times.

--His proposal aims to “contain [the Pakistani Army’s] aggressive instincts, while helping those who want a progressive Pakistan and keeping up the fight against terrorism.” In his recommendations: hold officers in the Pakistani army and ISI accountable for actions aiding terrorism, reduce aid to Pakistan while increasing trade, and increase strategic dialogues with India about conciliatory approaches toward Pakistan. http://owl.li/6ZCR3

US-North Korea talks - The US and North Korea will meet in Geneva next week to discuss restarting talks on North Korea’s nuclear program, reports Jeremy Laurence for Reuters. http://owl.li/6ZCTd

Bomb fuel, with green chilies - “There were 240 people who knew about the first test. 239 of them were scientists or military personnel, high-ranking political figures, generals, and the President of the United States. One of them was grocer and a cook: J.E. Miera...”

--From “The Birth of the Atomic Cheeseburger: The untold story of the burger that fed the sunburned men who built the atom bomb” by Jason Sheehan. xhttp://owl.li/6ZCW6