Nigeria Boko Haram crackdown kills 35
BBC News – Africa
The Nigerian army reports that 35 alleged Islamist militants were killed and approximately 60 more detained in counterterrorism operations throughout Adamawa and Yobe states.
A Matchmaker for Energy Startups and Power Utilities
Martin LaMonica / Technology Review
A new investment company will try to solve one of the most difficult challenges for energy startups: getting to scale. Called Broadscale Group, the New York-based company will create a network of corporate investors in the power and utilities industry who are seeking out new energy technologies.
House Passes Anti-Environmental Package before Recess
OMB Watch
The legislative package, short-titled the “Stop the War on Coal Act of 2012,” passed by a vote of 233 to 175 and would place far-reaching limits on EPA’s authority to protect the public. One of the bills included in the package is the Coal Residuals Reuse and Management Act (H.R. 2273), which would require the EPA to defer to states with respect to the regulation of coal combustion residuals, or coal ash, and limit federal oversight.
AFRICA: Religious leaders rally for environmental conservation
IRIN News
Faced with environmental degradation that threatens the livelihoods of many people in Africa, a group of 50 religious leaders met in Nairobi earlier this month and pledged to take concrete steps to mitigate the effects of climate change.
Setting The Table For Diplomacy
Paul Rockower / The CPD Blog
In the latest instance of flag following fork, the U.S. State Department launched a new culinary diplomacy program, entitled “Diplomatic Culinary Partnership: Setting the Table for Diplomacy” The new Diplomatic Culinary Partnership initiative was unveiled on September 7th at the penthouse of the State Department, and this gastrodiplomat was on hand for the lovely soiree.
Obama’s policy on Iran bears some fruit, but nuclear program still advances
Joby Warrick / The Washington Post
Barack Obama’s presidency was only hours old when a fierce debate erupted among top Iranian officials over the new U.S. leader and his offer to “extend a hand” to the Islamic republic. Hard-liners suspected a trick, convinced that Obama was no different from his predecessor, but others saw potential for a long-sought diplomatic thaw.
Iran’s president dismisses threats on nuke program
John Daniszewski / AP
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Monday dismissed threats of military action against Iran’s nuclear program, arguing that his country’s project to enrich uranium is only for peaceful purposes and saying that Iran has no worries about a possible Israeli attack.
Reports
Fact Sheet – Moving Towards Tallinn: Drafting the Shape of Cyber Warfare
Ashley Boyle
The Tallinn Manual on the International Law Applicable to Cyber Warfare, a 215-page unofficial document compiled by the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence, provides a litmus test on how experts from the international community foresee international law applying to the cyber environment. To aid understanding of this document, the American Security Project has compiled this condensed fact sheet with key findings from the manual.
In the News
International law takes on cyber: significant challenges ahead
Ashley Boyle / The Hill
In an op-ed for the Hill, Adjunct Fellow Ashley Boyle discusses the challenges policy makers face in adapting existing international law to the cyber environment.
Defend our veterans at home like they defend us abroad
William M. Chodkowski / The Hill
ASP’s William Chodkowski explores the plight experienced by many veterans upon returning home at the completion of their service. Troubling trends include rates of unemployment and suicide, often stemming from symptoms of PTSD, that outpace similar figures for the general civilian population. The article examines how this issue is politically unique due to the extremely high regard in which the American public continues to hold the military.
On Our Flashpoint Blog
MV-22 Protests Latest in History of Okinawan Unrest
Elizabeth Deal
Roughly 30-50,000 people gathered in a park in Ginowan on September 9th calling for the removal of the MV-22 Osprey aircraft, decrying them mechanically unsafe and dangerous to operate around the urban Futenma air station.
The Nuke Review, September 17 – September 24
Mitchell Freddura
Read about the budding relationship between Iran and North Korea; Secretary Panetta’s recent trip to New Zealand; continued fallout from the Y-12 breach; and a UN resolution not to nuke…Mongolia?
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
