Key Reads

Lawmakers introduce bicameral ISIS war authorization

Kristina Wong / The Hill

Two House lawmakers on Thursday introduced a measure to authorize military force against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), making it the first bipartisan and bicameral measure to do so.

Global climate talks stumble near finish line, Fabius optimistic

David Stanway and Lesley Wroughton / Reuters

Efforts to craft a global accord to combat climate change stumbled on Friday with China and many other nations refusing to yield ground, forcing host France to extend the U.N. summit by a day to overcome stubborn divisions.

 

American Competitiveness

U.S. Stocks Poised for Big Weekly Decline Amid Commodities Rout
Corrie Driebusch and Christopher Whittall / The Wall Street Journal
U.S. stocks headed for their biggest weekly decline in nearly a month as the price of U.S. crude oil fell below $36 a barrel.

Fannie and Freddie’s small gesture to struggling homeowners

Andrea Riquier / Market Watch

Mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are suspending evictions for the holidays, they announced Thursday. The eviction moratorium, a regular annual event, is meant to “provide a greater measure of security to families during the upcoming holiday season,” as Freddie wrote in a release.

 

National Security Strategy

Underestimating US in Asia a ‘Severe Miscalculation’: Senior Defense Official

Prashanth Parameswaran / The Diplomat

“U.S. commitment to Asia should not be underestimated, and to do so would be a severe miscalculation,” Abraham Denmark, the U.S. deputy assistant secretary of defense for East Asia, told an audience at The Heritage Foundation, a D.C.-based think tank.

Kerry to head to Moscow for talks on Syrian peace plan

The Daily Mail

US Secretary of State John Kerry will head to Moscow on Tuesday on a delicate diplomatic mission to try to keep the fragile Syrian peace process on track.

 

Asymmetric Operations

U.S. Airstrikes in Iraq Killed 350 ISIS Fighters in Past Week, Pentagon Says

Robert Burns / Associated Press

U.S. airstrikes in recent days killed an estimated 350 Islamic State fighters holed up in the western Iraqi city of Ramadi, an American military spokesman said Thursday, suggesting the extremists lost as much as half of their defending force.

Like Kurds, Sunnis in Iraq Want Direct US Arms Shipments to Fight ISIS

Bryant Jordan / Military.com

Three former Iraqi government officials said Sunni forces in the campaign against Islamic State are asking Congress for direct delivery of U.S. arms needed for the fight.

 
Climate Security

Following the intelligence community’s lead on climate change

Rear Admiral David W. Titley / The Washington Examiner

The presidential debates, research on how a mega drought may have contributed to instability in Syria and the negotiations in Paris have brought a lot of attention recently to the idea of climate change as a national security threat. This is not a new idea, however, and it’s certainly not a partisan one. It’s something both our defense and intelligence communities have been worried about for a long time.

These Are the Disagreements Holding Up Paris Climate Change Talks

Justin Worland / Time

Less than 24 hours remain before negotiations in Paris aimed at crafting the world’s most significant agreement to address climate change are scheduled to close. The draft agreement now measures just less than 20,000 words, down from nearly 35,000 last month, as negotiators have whittled down their options, according to a site tracking the fine print of negotiating progress.

House backs bill to exclude climate change from trade deals
The Associated Press
As negotiators in Paris worked to finalize a global agreement on climate change, the Republican-controlled House on Friday approved a bill that would block trade deals from being used to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

 

Energy Security

Oil Traders Aren’t Dancing the Crude Contango This Time Around

Naomi Christie and Rakteem Katakey / BloombergBusiness

he financial crisis was seen as a short, sharp shock to oil demand that wouldn’t endure, according to Eugene Lindell, an analyst at JBC Energy GmbH, a consultant in Vienna. That meant later prices far exceeded immediate ones. Now, the most enduring glut in decades leaves traders believing the market’s recovery could be much slower.

 

Nuclear Security

Iran Was Building a Nuclear Bomb. So What?
Jeffrey Lewis / Foreign Policy                                               

The Iran nuclear deal is nearing another mile marker, this one relating to the International Atomic Energy Agency’s investigation of Iran’s pre-2003 nuclear weapons program.

 

On Our Flashpoint Blog

Paris Update: Climate Adaptation Builds Global Security
Andrew Holland
As the Paris COP climate negotiations continue, Secretary of State Kerry has announced an increased American pledge for adaptation aid to $800 million per year by 2020. As ASP’s CEO wrote in “Strengthening national security through climate resiliency,” funding for adaptation aid is cost-effective because it will address the risks presented by climate change before American troops have to be deployed.

US LNG Exports are Good for America and the World

Spencer Shweky

This week the U.S. House of Representatives takes up ‘The North American Energy Security and Infrastructure Act.’ If passed, it’s supporters claim it would re-stock the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, modernize America’s energy infrastructure, and streamline the approval process for LNG export projects. Lawmakers may also vote on a repeal of the 40 year old ban on crude oil exports. The White House has promised to veto the legislation.

Global Military Leaders Call for Action on Climate along with COP 21
Ngoc H. Le
On Monday, 7 December 2015, in Paris, a group of military leaders from around the world launched the “GMACCC Call for Action 2015” at COP 21. The Global Military Advisory Council on Climate Change (GMACCC) members emphasized the need to adapt to climate stress, with the military as a key contributor to climate preparedness.

BCAS Member Fortinet: Fast and Secure Tour 2015
Anil Powers
Join Business Council for American Security member Fortinet at their Reston, VA offices December 7 – 11 for their 2015 “Fast and Secure Tour 2015,” lead by the 18-wheeled FortiExpress.

Andrew Holland and Ricky Gandhi Featured in The Hill
Andrew Holland and Ricky Gandhi
ASP’s Andrew Holland and Ricky Gandhi recently published an op-ed editorial in The Hill in support of the Nuclear Energy Innovation Capabilities Act. In it, they discuss the various provisions of the bill, as well as their implications on the nuclear energy sector.

 

Upcoming Events

Hill Briefing: Understanding What’s Next in Fusion Energy
December 15 @ 12:00pm – 1:30pm
Leading experts in fusion from the public and private sector will discuss the new developments that have been featured over the last several months in major media outlets like Time Magazine, the New York Times, Science, and Nature. ASP is the leading think tank detailing a plan for the future of fusion.

 

 

ASP Recently Published

Perspective – Alleviating the Resource Curse
American Security Project
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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