North Korea to abandon disarmament over U.S. exercises: (CNN) -- North Korea said Sunday it would no longer move forward with nuclear disarmament in response to a planned U.S.-South Korean joint military exercise.
The announcement was made by the official Korean Central News Agency, or KCNA.
"The maneuvers clearly indicate once again that the U.S. and the South Korean authorities are the harassers of peace and warmongers keen to bring a war to this land," the statement said.
North Korea also announced it would no longer abide by the armistice that brought a truce to the Korean War, saying that South Korea violated the agreement by participating in the military cooperation with the United States.
Disarmament talks were already at an impasse between North Korea, the United States and other nations. The military exercises would bring negotiations to a standstill and push North Korea to boost its nuclear arsenal, the statement said.
"The process for the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula will naturally come to a standstill and (North Korea) will bolster its nuclear deterrent for self-defense," the statement said.
All talks between North Korea, the United States and South Korea will be suspended if the joint exercises go through as planned, North Korea said.
U.S. envoy: Iraqis 'deserve congratulations' for vote: Baghdad, Iraq (CNN) -- Iraq's elections "really went very, very well" and the "Iraqi people deserve a lot of congratulations from us," the United States' ambassador to Baghdad said Monday.
"The election was supported by the overwhelming majority of Iraqi people," Christopher Hill told CNN's "American Morning" program, saying there was "a great deal of support for this political process."
Hill was speaking a day after millions of Iraqis turned out to cast ballots for the country's parliament, despite the ongoing threat of violence.
Militants intent on disrupting the vote carried out dozens of attacks, leaving 38 people dead.
Gen. Ray Odierno, the top U.S. military commander in the country, said most of the casualties came from a single incident when bombers collapsed an apartment building in Baghdad, portraying the overall level of security nationwide as good.
"In the rest of Iraq, it was extremely peaceful," he said. "I was very impressed with the coordination and work done by the Iraqi security forces."
Hamdiya al-Husseini, a commissioner of the Independent High Electoral Commission said Monday that the election turnout was 62 percent nationwide and 53 percent in Baghdad.
The general feeling on election day was the longing for change, of electing a government that will be able to provide basic services like water and electricity, jobs, and security, a CNN crew posted at a Baghdad polling station reported.
Palin should cut the hypocrisy: by Roland Martin (CNN) -- Sarah Palin's most ardent supporters in "real America" love to suggest that those of us who don't buy into her shtick fail to grasp why they love her, citing her realness, plain-spokenness and whatever else they can conjure up.
... Why haven't I cottoned to Palin? Because she portrays herself as a straight-talking politician who wants to lead a movement in the "Lower 48th" -- but is nothing more than a political celebrity willing to cash every check she can grab.
What truly exposed her for me? It was the ridiculous way she reacted in opposing ways last week to two political heavyweights who used the word "retard."
... Sarah, I haven't bought into your fake "I'm-a-real-American" persona. You slam the president for using teleprompters, but write crib notes on your hand to remember basic beliefs that should be easy to regurgitate.
You decry the "lamestream" media, but you bask in its glory and have joined its payroll as a Fox News contributor, even having the network build a studio in your home. Talk about media elite.
You give a speech riddled with falsehoods about the president and national security, and then try to shrug them off as the "lamestream" media attacking you.
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