The Coming of Al-Qaeda 3.0
Bruce Riedel / The Daily Beast
The global terror alert shows the jihadists aren’t just alive and well – they are thriving.

Iran’s President Rouhani says determined to resolve nuclear issue
Reuters
Iran’s new President Hassan Rouhani said on Tuesday he was “seriously determined” to resolve a dispute with the West over Tehran’s nuclear program and was ready to enter “serious and substantive” negotiations on the issue.

Energy Past, Energy Future
John Frary / The Portland Daily Sun
It is far from certain that Princeton’s wizards and their international partners will succeed in solving the problems of cold fusion, but it is certain that if they do every other energy investment will suffer a steep loss. Many, or most, will sink without a trace.

DoD to Industry: Invest in R&D
Marcus Weisgerber and Zachary Fryer-Biggs / Defense News
The Pentagon’s acquisition chief is calling for defense companies to maintain self-funded research-and-development initiatives, particularly as US Defense Department investment in these technology programs declines.

Taliban reject Afghan elections, vow to fight until troops leave
Dylan Welch / Reuters
The Afghan Taliban will not take part in next year’s presidential elections and will wage war until foreign troops leave the country, the group’s elusive leader, Mullah Mohammad Omar, said in a message released on Tuesday.

Japanese Navy Unveils Biggest Warship since WWII
Hiroshi Hiyami / AFP
Japan unveiled its biggest warship since World War II on Tuesday, a $1.2 billion helicopter carrier aimed at defending territorial claims.

Terrorism’s shifting face
Juan Zarate and Thomas Sanderson / Washington Post
The new threat warnings of an al-Qaeda driven plot in the Middle East and North Africa have reminded Americans that the terrorist threat persists even though Osama bin Laden is dead and the core of al-Qaeda is decimated.

TransCanada to Face Hurdles in Quest for Eastern Pipeline
Gerrit De Vynck / Bloomberg
TransCanada Corp., (TRP) facing opposition to its Keystone XL pipeline in the midwestern U.S., is encountering challenges at home from environmental groups and provincial lawmakers over a proposed C$12 billion ($11.6 billion) line to ship oil to the Atlantic Coast.

Arctic Sea Ice Loss Creates Ripple Effects
Christa Marshall / Climate Wire
From disease to weather patterns, the meltdown of Arctic sea ice—close to record levels again this year—is changing the globe.

New Mexico is the driest of the dry
Julie Cart / Los Angeles Times
As an extended drought bakes the West, nowhere are ravages of changes in the climate worse than in New Mexico.

U.S. and Britain Withdraw Personnel from Yemen
Alan Cowell / New York Times
After days of alarms and embassy lockdowns, the United States and Britain on Tuesday stepped up security precautions in Yemen, with Washington ordering “nonemergency” government personnel to leave and the Foreign Office in London saying it has withdrawn its diplomatic staff in the capital Sana

Will global warming lead to more war? It’s not that simple.
Brad Plumer / The Washington Post
Last week, various news outlets were publishing all sorts of dire headlines about climate change and war. The occasion? A big new study published in the journal Science which examined the link between higher temperatures and violence.

ASP Recent Publications
Perspective – U.S. Public Diplomacy towards Iran
Lívia Pontes Fialho and Matthew Wallin
For over 30 years, the U.S. and Iran have not held formal diplomatic relations. In recent years, tensions have risen over as Iran’s nuclear program has deeply concerned the international community. This report explores several types of public diplomacy aimed towards Iran, and looks into some of the challenges and potential of these programs as part of an overall strategy for addressing U.S. national security interests.

Fact Sheet- U.S.- EU Trade and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership
Justin Winikoff
The United States and European Union recently began negotiations on what would be, if completed, the largest trade agreement in world history. The TTIP intends to eliminate barriers to transatlantic trade, including tariffs, duties and burdensome regulations. This fact sheet provides a detailed history of U.S.- EU trade relations, and explains the goals, economic benefits and security imperatives  of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership.

American Security Quarterly V2 Issue 3
Over the past quarter, ASP has continued to examine a host of issues and their implications for our national security. From American competitiveness to Nuclear Strategy to Public diplomacy, we have published a wide array of articles on what we feel are the most pressing matters in the security dialogue of our nation.

Fact Sheet- DoD Installation Energy
Andrew Holland, Nick Cunningham, Kaitlyn Huppmann, and William Joyce
Military installations are important for preparing, training and housing war fighters. These bases are the staging grounds for emergency response scenarios such as responding to natural disasters. They are therefore critical to national security. DoD is undertaking ambitious efforts to install renewable energy and energy storage at its military installations. This fact sheet details some of the military’s efforts to improve resiliency and redundancy on its bases through clean energy.

Fact Sheet- Yemen
Ollie Engebretson
Yemen is currently in a historic period of political transition following the 2011 revolution and the end of former President Saleh’s regime. At the mid-point of its National Dialogue process, designed to forge a unified solution to the various issues beleaguering the country, Yemen still faces many challenges to achieving political stability and economic growth. Here are some basic facts about what the U.S. is doing in Yemen, organized into three broad categories of relevance.

On Our Flashpoint Blog
Easing Jordan’s Burden Requires a Targeted Aid Strategy
Ollie Engebretson
As the debate over supplying aid to the Syrian opposition continues, Jordan, the welcoming neighbor to the south, moves further and further towards socio-economic crisis.

The BBG Gets Three New Members
Christian Mull
The Senate has recently confirmed three new members to the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG), the U.S. government’s international broadcasting arm.

Linking Climate Change and Conflict – New Report Stirs Old Debate
Andrew Holland
For national security planners and professionals, we don’t need a scientific consensus directly linking past changes in climate or temperature to violent conflict. When national security planners look at threats to our security, they know that you cannot act with certainty: once you have 100% certainty, it is too late to act. The truth is that so long as there’s a persuasive chance that climate change will cause conflict, prudent actions to mitigate that threat are in order.

Gauging the Possibility for Change in Iran’s Nuclear Stance
Chris Smith
While the Supreme Leader of Iran, Ali Khamenei, is ultimately responsible for the foreign policy of Iran, Rouhani will play an important foreign policy role as he is responsible for nominating individuals to fill important government positions.

Public Diplomacy-You may not know it when you see it
Christian Mull
There are many other types of public diplomacy constantly taking place right under our noses – though we may not realize it.

“Grand Bargain” Makes an Age-Old Jobs Argument for Competitiveness
Justin Winikoff
President Obama’s “grand bagain” hopes to create jobs through tax cuts and infrastructure. Both issues need reform, but is job growth the right argument?

ASP in the News
Op-ED from ASP Board Member Christine Todd Whitman Featured in NY Times
ASP Board Member Christine Todd Whitman contributed to a recent NY Times op-ed piece regarding the Republican case for climate change action.

ASP cited by the Climate Desk
The Climate Desk cited ASP recently in an article on the increasing frequency of superstorms in the future.

ASP CEO BGen Quoted in “Breaking Energy”
ASP’s CEO Brigadier General Stephen Cheney, USMC (Ret.) was quoted in an article in “Breaking Energy” about the connection between climate change and national security.

Adjunct Fellow Dan Grant Writes Op-Ed on TTIP for “The Hill”
ASP Adjunct Fellow Dan Grant recently published a blog for “The Hill” on the impact of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) on China.