Center for Strategic Communication

Egypt: Dictatorship, democracy, dictatorship

The Economist

On November 27th a gathering as vast as any since the heady days of Egypt’s January 2011 revolution choked the centre of Cairo in a cacophony of protest against Muhammad Morsi, a man they now condemn as a new dictator. His embattled camp is rushing out a controversial, hastily concocted, and Islamist-hued draft constitution for approval in a general referendum.

Afghan-Born Designer Hopes Mine-Clearing Ball Makes Homeland Safer

Omid Marzban and Ron Synovitz/Radio Free Europe

It looks like an enormous fluffy dandelion seed head as the wind carries it across a field. Afghan-born designer Massoud Hassani hopes his newly invented mine-clearing device — called “Mine Kafon” — will help save lives in his homeland.

 

Syria Has Just Been Taken Offline

Noah Shachtman/Wired

Syria has been largely cut off from the rest of the internet — just as rebel forces are making some of their biggest advances yet against the Assad regime.

 

U.S. gives Iran until March to cooperate with IAEA

Fredrik Dahl/Reuters

The United States set a March deadline on Thursday for Iran to start cooperating in substance with a U.N. nuclear agency investigation, warning Tehran the issue may otherwise be referred to the U.N. Security Council.

 

Will Stealth Survive As Sensors Improve? F-35, Jammers At Stake

Sydney J. Freedberg, Jr./AOL Defense

Is stealth still America’s silver bullet? Or are potential adversaries’ radars getting too smart for US aircraft to keep hiding from them?

 

Susan Rice: Not Your Typical Diplomat

Manuel Roig-Franzia/Washington Post

All eyes are on Susan Rice now that she’s presumptive front-runner to become secretary of state.

 

U.S. weighing arming Syrian rebels, recognizing opposition

Jamie Crawford/CNN

The United States is closely watching how rebel forces operate inside Syria, and what their end objectives might be as the Obama administration weighs whether or not to provide arms to the Syrian opposition.

 

Approval of Draft Constitution Spurs Large Cairo Protest

Kareem Fahim and David D. Kirkpatrick/NYT

Large groups of protesters streamed toward the central Tahrir Square on Friday as opponents of President Mohamed Morsi, galvanized and angered by his unexpected and hurried effort to pass Egypt’s new constitution, sought to marshal large numbers of demonstrators for the second time in a week.

 

U.S. Senate Backs Measure To Improve Wartime Contracting

John T. Bennett/Defense News

The U.S. Senate has voted to put in place wartime contract practices to correct problems that occurred during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

 

Cybersecurity and the natural gas delivery system

Ron Jibson and Dave McCurdy/Politico

America’s natural gas utilities operate more than two million miles of pipelines – the safest energy delivery system in the nation. Nothing is more important to us than the safe and reliable delivery of natural gas to the more than 177 million Americans who use it for heating, cooking, and hot water, as well as the industries such as steel and chemical manufacturers that are experiencing a rebirth due to the abundance of affordable natural gas.

 

A Subsidy That’s Blowin’ in the Wind

Steve Goreham/Energy Tribune

The U.S. wind industry is in despair. The Production Tax Credit (PTC), a subsidy of 2.2 cents per kilowatt hour to producers of electricity from wind turbines, is set to expire at the end of this year. The American Wind Energy Association cites a study by Navigant Consulting, claiming that, “…37,000 Americans stand to lose their jobs by the end of the first quarter of 2013 if Congress does not extend the PTC.”

 

On Our Flashpoint Blog


ASP Slides: Biofuels and National Security

DoD’s investments in biofuels are critical to mitigating national security risk. Check out these new ASP slides on the connection between alternative fuels and national security.

ASP Podcast: Nuclear Amendments in the NDAA

John Isaacs joined ASP to discuss nuclear amendments in the Fiscal Year 2013 National Defense Authorization Act currently up for debate in the Senate.

 

The Future of Coal in America

Galen Petruso

The GAO recently released their report analyzing the future of coal production and use in America. The report finds that coal, while susceptible to change and decline, is likely to remain a key fuel source.

 

Melting Permafrost Could Accelerate Global Warming

Galen Petruso

A new report from warns that melting permafrost could accelerate global warming and exacerbate the risks associated with climate change.

 

 

About the American Security Project: The American Security Project is a non-profit, non-partisan public policy and research organization dedicated to fostering knowledge and understanding of a range of national security issues, promoting debate about the appropriate use of American power, and cultivating strategic responses to 21st century challenges.

 

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