Event Review – U.S. Drones Policy: Strategic Frameworks and Measuring Effects
Ashley Boyle
The American Security Project hosted a roundtable discussion about the strategic framework and effects of U.S. drones policy. The discussion, moderated by ASP Fellow Joshua Foust, included three noted counterterrorism experts: Aaron Zelin of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, Will McCants of CNA and Johns Hopkins’ SAIS, and Christine Fair of Georgetown University.
U.N. monitors pull out of Syria
Dominic Evans / Reuters
United Nations military observers left Damascus on Monday after a four-month mission in which they became helpless spectators of Syria’s spiraling conflict, instead of monitoring a ceasefire between President Bashar al-Assad’s forces and rebels.
Are drones any more immoral than other weapons of war?
Peter Beaumont / The Observer
The central issue comes down to how combatants are identified and what efforts are made to protect civilians
Drone Strategy to be examined by Analysts
David Lerman / Bloomberg News
The use of drones to fight terrorism gets a fresh look this week as demand for the unmanned aircraft continues to soar. The American Security Project, a nonpartisan public policy group, hosts a forum today in Washington aimed at assessing how effective drones are in the fight against groups such as al-Qaeda.
New Zealand PM says to move forward Afghan withdrawal
Reuters
New Zealand will accelerate the withdrawal of its soldiers from Afghanistan after it lost another three troops in a province thought to have been the country’s safest, but which is now being increasingly targeted by Taliban insurgents.
Somalia: Former UNICEF Official Confident of Clinching Presidency
Capital FM (Nairobi)/All Africa
Former UNICEF official Hassan Sheikh Mahamud has joined the list of powerful candidates in Somalia’s first democratic presidential nomination process being held Monday.
U.S. nuclear industry turning weapons into clean power
Lynn Edward Weaver / Orlando Sentinel
Disarmament hasn’t gotten much attention from the presidential candidates, but some surprising progress has been made in the effort to reduce the quantity of nuclear-weapons materials so that they don’t fall into the hands of irresponsible governments or terrorist groups. Much of the credit for this goes to the U.S. nuclear industry.
U.S., Facing Drought, Wants More Clean Energy, Poll Says
Bloomberg
Three out of four Americans think the U.S. needs “to start focusing more” on clean-energy sources like wind and solar that require less water than conventional power generation as the country faces its most widespread drought since 1956, according to a think-tank survey.
On Our Flashpoint Blog
What the United States Faces in Syria
Bryan Gold
Over the past month there has been a major change in the tempo and strategic environment of the Syrian Civil War. The acceleration of the conflict can be traced back to the bombing of a Syrian security forces meeting on July 17th that killed a number of Bashir al-Assad’s key security aids.
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
