Revising the outdated, expensive nuclear strategy can pay dividends
Terri Lodge/The Hill
Reducing unnecessary nuclear spending will alleviate the pressure to cut funding for our troops and other important defense programs.
The growing importance of Africa to U.S. policy
Joshua Foust/PBS Need to Know
Africa is a continent of such enormous potential and enormous challenges that everyone seems to be scrambling to see what they can get out of it. The U.S. has the opportunity to get involved without being exploitative.
Blast Kills Top Security Aides to Assad
Neil McFarquhar and Dalal Mawad/New York Times
A suicide bomber attacked a “crisis group” of the Syrian regime in central Damascus this morning, killing Syrian Defense Minister Daoud Rajha, and the deputy chief of staff of the Syrian military, Asef Shawkat, also President Bashar al-Assad’s brother-in-law.
Blast on Bulgaria bus carrying Israeli tourists, 4 dead
Tsvetelia Tsolova/Reuters
At least four people were killed and dozens injured by an explosion on Wednesday on a bus carrying Israeli tourists outside an airport in Bulgaria that the Israeli prime minister immediately blamed on Iran.
Panetta hails F-35 jet as key for UK, U.S.
Jim Wolf/Reuters
U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said Wednesday that Lockheed Martin Corp’s F-35 Joint Strike Fighter aircraft represents the “future of tactical aviation” for U.S. and British forces, as Britain prepares to take delivery of its first test aircraft.
China aims to rewrite perceptions on Africa investment push – envoy
Reuters
Hoping to change perceptions of its investments in Africa, China’s special envoy to Africa, Zhong Jianhua explains that “[Africa] can step into a track that China has taken in the past to develop their own industry.”
Taliban bomb destroys 22 NATO supply trucks in Afghan north
Reuters
Just days after an anti-Taliban lawmaker was murdered in Samangan Provice in northern Afghanistan, a bomb planted by the Taliban has damaged or destroyed 22 fuel and supply vehicles entering Afghanistan from Uzbekistan
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards ‘overseeing huge expansion of country’s nuclear programme
Con Coughlin / The Telegraph
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards are overseeing a massive expansion of the country’s nuclear weapons programme in an attempt to bring forward the date when the regime can produce its first warhead, according to a leading Iranian dissident group.
Obama Picks Diplomats for Afghanistan and Pakistan
Peter Baker/The New York Times
President Obama chose veteran diplomats to fill two of the most difficult overseas posts as he seeks to manage an evolving transition in war-torn Afghanistan while repairing relations with neighboring Pakistan after a period of deep friction
On Our Flashpoint Blog
The Nuke Review: July 9 – July 15
Daniel Painter
The U.S. Department of Justice announced the indictment of Chinese and Iranian nationals in a plot to illegally export U.S. origin materials to Iran that could be used to construct, operate, and maintain gas centrifuges for uranium enrichment.
Shale Gas Regulation
Nicholas Cunningham
By now, it hasbecome a widely accepted axiom that advances in hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling are “revolutionizing” the U.S. energy landscape. The critical question is how to do it in a responsible, safe, and environmentally benign manner.
Updated: Law of the Sea Treaty: A Compilation of Opinion-Editorials
A compilation of recent opinion-editorials supporting the ratification of the Law of the Sea Treaty.
Big Business for Law of the Sea
Lauren Haigler
Leaders of all the industries impacted by the Law of the Sea Treaty give their overwhelming support for ratification.
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
