December 3

With Military’s Push, Biofuels Can Grow

Andrew Holland/The Christian Science Monitor

US Senate voted Wednesday to restore the Defense Department’s ability to buy biofuels. As the largest petroleum user in the world, the US military says its dependence on oil is a national security threat.

Internet Freedom Tops Dubai Summit Agenda

Al Jazeera

The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) – the UN agency responsible for regulating international information and communication technologies – will host a 12-day conference in Dubai.  The conference is expected to be dominated by the debate whether and how the Internet should be regulated.

Obama Plans for Climate Deal as Fiscal Cliff Talks Rage

Kim Chipman/Bloomberg

As leaders in Washington obsess about the fiscal cliff, President Barack Obama is putting in place the building blocks for a climate treaty requiring the first fossil- fuel emissions cuts from both the U.S. and China.

Clinton Warns Syria Against Using Chemical Weapons

Michael R. Gordon/New York Times

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Monday warned President Bashar al-Assad of Syria not to use chemical weapons and said that the United States was prepared to act if he ignored the warning.

Are US Shale Gas Resources Overstated? Part 1

Jon Hurdle/Aol Energy

A forthcoming book argues that the country’s shale gas plays contain only about a quarter of the fuel that has been estimated by the US Energy Information Administration, and other widely used industry and academic assessments.

Plastic Bulb Development Promises Better Quality Light

Matt McGrath/BBC News

US researchers say they have developed a new type of lighting that could replace fluorescent bulbs. The new source is made from layers of plastic and is said to be more efficient while producing a better quality of flicker-free light. The scientists behind it say they believe the first units will be produced in 2013.

On Our Flashpoint Blog

20 Years of Cooperative Threat Reduction

Mary Kaszynski

Today’s Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction (CTR) Symposium, hosted by the Department of Defense and featuring remarks by President Obama, marks the 20th anniversary of the program to secure and eliminate weapons of mass destruction in former Soviet states.

Guest Post – Grant: Myanmar’s Money, Obama’s Visit and China

Dan Grant

Now that the presidential election has been put to rest, Barack Obama has turned his attention to his administration’s most ambitious foreign policy project: rebalancing America’s global focus to East and South Asia. It’s predicted that close to half of all global growth over the next five years will come from this area, so it’s unsurprising that America would deepen its involvement there. There is a more unspoken element of this policy, however: this shift allows the United States to keep a watchful eye and potential checking power on China.

Nov. 28th ASP Event: Raj Fernando’s Speech on American Competitiveness

Raj Fernando

On November 28th, ASP held an event launching its new report entitled: “American Competitiveness Report-An Issue of National Security”. At the event, Raj Fernando, ASP Board Member and CEO of Chopper Trading, gave a great speech focusing upon pushing America to be as successful in the 21st century as it was in the 20th through proper investments in America’s infrastructure, educational system, and immigration system.

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.

For more information, visit www.americansecurityproject.org. info@americansecurityproject.org