10 September 2012
Yemen says deputy regional head of al Qaeda killed
Andrew Hammond/Reuters
Yemeni armed forces have killed Said al-Shehri, a man seen as the second-in-command of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), a government website said on Monday.
Civilian ‘hacktivists’ fight terrorists online
Brian Bennett/Los Angeles Times
Civilian hackers or ‘hacktivists’ view themselves as volunteers in an undeclared cyber war. Keyboard jockeys using pseudonyms like the Jester, Raptor, and Project Vigilant have taken down dozens of jihadist forums and websites, experts say.
Leader of Al-Qaida N. African Branch Dies in Car
New York Times/Associated Press
Algerian national Nabil Makhloufi, the “emir of the Sahara”, was killed in a car crash Sunday in northern Mali.
Take Risks, Norm Augustine Urges Hill, DoD On Acquisition EXCLUSIVE
Sydner J. Freedberg Jr./Aol Defense
WASHINGTON: “If we’re going to fix it, we’re going to have to take some risks.” That’s the core of Norman Augustine’s vision for Pentagon acquisition reform: He who dares may not always win, but he who doesn’t dare never will. The military’s system for buying weapons is so afraid of failure, the legendary former Lockheed chairman told AOL Defense on Friday, that it makes even its successes needlessly expensive and painfully slow.
China’s Presumptive New Leader Is Mysteriously Absent
Ian Johnson/New York Times
Speculation intensified on Monday over the whereabouts of China’s presumptive new president, Xi Jinping, who has been missing from public view in recent days as the country prepares for a crucial leadership change.
Japan Energy Deadlock Deepens
Reuters
Deadlock in Japan between anti-nuclear activists and advocates of atomic power deepened on Monday as the government failed to produce an expected proposal to reduce the role of nuclear power in the country’s energy portfolio after the Fukushima disaster.
Shell Oil’s drilling in Alaska’s Chukchi Sea draws Greenpeace’s criticism
Lisa Demer/The Anchorage Daily News
After a day of slower-than-expected preparations in the Chukchi Sea, Shell Alaska officially began drilling into the seafloor above its Burger prospect at 4:30 a.m. Sunday, the company said. The action marks the first drilling offshore in the Alaska Arctic in two decades and is being closely watched by Alaskans and the oil industry — and criticized by environmentalists.
What Plant Vogtle means for Georgia
Christine Todd Whitman and Calvin Smyre/The Augusta Chronicle
In a landmark decision Feb. 9, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission approved construction and operation licenses for two new nuclear reactors at Plant Vogtle near Waynesboro, Ga. This approval marks the first time in 30 years that the NRC has granted licenses for new nuclear facilities, and only the second approved nuclear project in a generation.
On Our Flashpoint Blog
Sequestration: Rising Tensions and Potential Solutions
William Chodkowski
Though the specter of sequestration has been an impending reality on Capitol Hill and in the Pentagon for months, multiple recent events have brought the issue closer to the public eye. An exploration of the difficulties of defense budget reductions and potential solutions.
ASP Election Video Series
Stephen Cheney, Matthew Wallin, Mary Kaszynski, Joshua Foust, and Andrew Holland
The American Security Project releases a series of videos in which our staff discuss key national security issues facing the country during the election period. Leading up to the election in November many important issues will be discussed and argued over. We believe that the topics in this series must be part of the election debate. But they should not fall victim to simplistic partisan politics.
Indian-Chinese defense cooperation and U.S. interests
Galen Petruso
Following a high profile meeting between the Chinese and Indian defense ministers, both countries announced that they would further expand and deepen their defense cooperation, a move that further complicates the United States’ role on the continent.
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
