Center for Strategic Communication

Key Reads

 

Turkey downs Russian warplane near Syria border, Putin warns of ‘serious consequences’

Tulay Karadeniz and Maria Kiselyova / Reuters

Turkey shot down a Russian warplane near the Syrian border on Tuesday, saying it had repeatedly violated its air space, one of the most serious publicly acknowledged clashes between a NATO member country and Russia for half a century.
Paris attacks: ‘Suicide bomb belt’ dumped on street

BBC

French police are examining what appears to be a suicide bomb belt dumped on a Paris street following attacks that killed 130 people.

 

State Department issues worldwide travel alert

Eric Bradner / CNN

The United States issued a worldwide travel alert for Americans amid concerns that terror groups and individuals plan more attacks after the Paris massacres.

 

American Competitiveness

 

Inventories boost U.S. third –quarter GDP

Lucia Mutikani / Reuters

The U.S. economy grew at a healthier clip in the third quarter than initially thought, but strong inventory accumulation by businesses could temper expectations of an acceleration in growth in the final three months of the year.

 

Economy will be critical front in French President Hollande’s War against Terror

Simon Nixon / The Wall Street Journal

President François Hollande has declared that France is at war. It is a war that will be fought on many fronts. He has already stepped up bombing raids on Islamic State strongholds in Syria, declared a state of emergency at home, and promised a substantial increase in spending on defense and security.

 

National Security Strategy

 

Iran leader hosts Putin, says U.S. policies threaten Tehran, Moscow

Bozorgmehr Sharafedin / Reuters

Iran’s supreme leader, at a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Tehran, said on Monday U.S. policies in the Middle East region were a threat to both countries and called for closer ties between Tehran and Moscow.
Iranian Hackers Attack State Dept. via Social media Account

David E. Sanger and Nicole Perlroth / The New York Times

Four months after a historic accord with Tehran to limit its atomic ambitions, American officials and private security groups say they see a surge in sophisticated computer espionage by Iran, culminating in a series of cyberattacks against State Department officials over the past month.

 

Asymmetric Operations

 

Police call him an ISIS recruiter. He says he’s just an outspoken preacher

Kevin Sullivan / The Washington Post

Mizanur Rahman sat in a coffee shop in Palmers Green, wearing a court-mandated electronic ankle bracelet beneath his long, black Muslim robe. British authorities consider him an Islamic State recruiter, so they closely monitor his movements and have taken his passport.

 

Bangkok bomb: Thai court charges two over Erawan blast

BBC

Two men have been charged by a military court in Thailand in connection with the bombing of a shrine in the capital Bangkok.

 

Washington is next on François Hollande’s Tour to Press Allies for Anti-ISIS Coalition

Steven Erlanger / The New York Times

President François Hollande of France heads to Washington on Tuesday as a self-described wartime president, with his political future at stake.

 

Iran picks new battle against Islamic State with state-commissioned film

Ali Scotten / The Guardian

At a dusty compound in Robat Karim, a town just outside Tehran, a thickly-bearded commander in military fatigues gives a rousing speech in Arabic to a group of armed young men ready for martyrdom. The black flag of the Islamic State (Isis) flutters in the background.

 

Climate Security

 

EU Climate Head Warns International Agreement Far From Certain

Gabriele Steinhauser / The Wall Street Journal

Days before negotiations for a global deal to fight climate change kick off in Paris, the European Union’s climate and energy czar warned that an agreement is far from certain.

 

Charles: Syria’s War Linked to Climate Change

Rhiannon Mills / Sky News

Prince Charles has spoken exclusively to Sky News about his ongoing concerns about climate change, saying he believes there are links to the current refugee crisis and terrorism.

 

Paris climate talks: Developed countries must do more than reduce emissions

Shyam Saran / The Guardian

We are only days away from the climate change summit in Paris. Several world leaders are likely to be present to applaud a successful outcome, which is virtually guaranteed since the bar has been set so low in terms of effort expected from the major industrialized economies.

 

Energy Security

 

Moroccan solar plant to bring energy to a million people

Roger Harrabin / BBC

A giant plant using energy from the Sun to power a Moroccan city at night will open next month.

 

Opinion: World at tipping point for renewable energy

Adnan Z. Amin and Fatih Birol / CNN Money

The world has reached a tipping point: Energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies are now the solutions of choice, with other options taking second place.

 

Oil Prices Rise After Turkey Shoots Down Jet on Syria Border

Georgi Kantchev and Nicole Friedman / The Wall Street Journal

Oil prices rose on Tuesday after the Turkish military shot down a Russian jet fighter along the Syrian border and the dollar weakened.

 

Nuclear Security 

U.S. Policy toward North Korea: Weighing the Urgent, the Important, and the Feasible

Scott A. Snyder / The Diplomat

It is easy to become frustrated as one reviews the inventory of seemingly failed or inadequate policy recommendations for how the United States might more effectively deal with North Korea. But frustration cannot be allowed to turn into fatalism, and important interests should not fester unattended until they metastasize into an even larger problem that will inevitably require even more dramatic, bold, and costly responses.

 

On Our Flashpoint Blog

Lt. General Norman Seip, USAF (Ret.) Joins ASP Board of Directors

Maggie Feldman-Piltch

On November 17th, American Security Project’s Board of Directors unanimously confirmed Lieutenant General Norman “Norm” Seip, USAF (Ret.) as its newest member. Lt. General Seip has been an active member of ASP’s Consensus for American Security and regular participant on the National Security and Climate Change Tour in recent years.

 

Unlocking the Secrets of Cyber Hazards

Maggie Feldman-Piltch

Security products are like crack to security professionals—they just cannot get enough. These products appear to be the panacea practitioners are seeking, but they often are not what they seem. They do not always solve problems, and they leave security experts continually looking for yet more new products, solutions and techniques for managing cyber risk. This raises the question: Why do enterprises and government organizations find protecting themselves from cyber-crime so difficult?

 

Event Review: TPP – The Implications of the Trans-Pacific Partnership for Global and Regional Stability

Maggie Feldman-Piltch

On Thursday, November 19th American Security Project hosted “TPP: Implications of the Trans-Pacific Partnership for Global and Regional Stability.” The conversation included Ambassador Carl Worker, Charge d’Affaires at the New Zealand Embassy; BGen. Stephen A. Cheney, USMC (Ret), CEO of American Security Project; Minister Kanji Yamanouchi is Minister for Economic Affairs, Embassy of Japan; and Dr. Rob Shapiro, CEO of Sonecon.

 

What’s wrong with Venezuela

John Bugnacki

Venezuela is going through very tough times. According to the World Bank, Venezuela’s economy will contract 10% this year, the most of any in the world. In order to keep the country afloat, the central bank of Venezuela has already burned through $25 billion in cash reserves. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has stated that inflation is heading toward near unprecedented levels – 159% during this year alone – and the Venezuelan economy is expected to remain in recession until at least 2016. During the next year, export revenues from oil will barely cover providing for the country’s import needs and servicing its debt.

 

Upcoming Events

 

Department of Defense Action on Climate Change – Insights from the Pentagon and a Two Year National Tour

December 11 @ 12:00pm – 1:30pm

One year ago, the Department of Defense released its landmark Climate Adaptation Roadmap, which outlined the steps that all areas of the DoD must take to prepare for a changing climate. On Friday, December 11, ASP will host Maureen Sullivan, Director of Environmental Management in the Office of the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense (Installations & Environment), responsible for overseeing the implementation of the Department’s climate change adaptation efforts. She will give an update on DoD efforts around Climate Change.

 
ASP Recently Published
Perspective – Alleviating the Resource Curse

American Security Project

Very soon, the Securities and Exchange Commission is expected to announce new proposed regulations under Section 1504 of the 2010 Dodd-Frank Financial Reform Act. The goal is to increase transparency and provide the public with greater access to information related to the payments that U.S.-listed companies make to foreign governments to extract oil, gas, and mineral resources. The rulemaking has been delayed by lawsuits and SEC inaction. But now the SEC has an opportunity to put in place a policy for disclosure that is accessible and effective.

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