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Secret Centrifuges

Laptop of death perhaps not a laptop

Laura Rozen over at Politico (sorry, POLITICO) catches a detail I missed in the excerpts of the IAEA "secret annex."

You'll recall from yesterday's post that the information in this annex comes from a laptop reportedly delivered to the IAEA by U.S. intelligence. That story is full of holes, though; there are serious questions about the laptop's provenance, including reports that it came from the Mujahideen e-Khalq.

But now it appears that U.S. intelligence is changing its story.

Secret Centrifuges

Questionable intelligence

David Sanger and Bill Broad have a front-page story in today's New York Times that is attracting a lot of attention. Their story claims that the IAEA believes Iran has "sufficient information to be able to design and produce a workable" nuclear weapon.

The story is based on an internal IAEA report, the so-called "classified annex" we've been hearing about for months. The Institute for Science and International Security obtained the relevant excerpts from the IAEA report and posted them online (pdf).

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Peace Processing

Fallout from Biden's visit: West Bank sealed off; proximity talks appear stalled

Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas greets U.S. vice president Joe Biden in Ramallah. (Photo: AFP)
As Joe Biden wraps up his Middle East tour, Palestinian officials say they're unwilling to move forward with proximity talks unless Israel cancels its new construction in East Jerusalem; and the Israeli Defense Forces have sealed off the West Bank for 48 hours, reportedly for security concerns. Several people were injured and arrested in fighting at the Al-Aqsa mosque this morning.

Peace Processing

Biden arrives in Israel amid serious Palestinian doubts

Vice President Joe Biden and his wife arrived in Israel on Monday.
As Joe Biden lands in Israel, the Israeli government -- obviously keen to demonstrate that it's serious about restarting peace talks -- announced Monday that it will violate its West Bank settlement freeze and build 112 new homes in Beitar Illit, a settlement west of Bethlehem.

Iraqi Elections

Polls close in Iraq; media reports suggest strong turnout, relative calm

An Iraqi man on a bicycle displays his ink-stained finger after voting in Baghdad on March 7, 2010. (Photo: AP)
A handful of insurgent attacks around the country killed two dozen people, but Iraqi security forces seemed generally confident; the vehicle ban in Baghdad, scheduled to last all day, was lifted before noon. Anecdotal reports suggest a strong turnout across the country.