3 October 2012
Kyrgyzstan: Nationalist MPs and Rioters Attempt to Storm Parliament
EurasiaNet
Police in Bishkek clashed with protestors calling for the nationalization of a strategic gold mine on October 3. Dozens of men climbed over the fence surrounding the parliament building, known as the White House, before police drove them away with tear gas and stun grenades.
MRAPs On the Way Out
Capt. Brett Friedman, USMC/US Naval Institute
On Monday the Pentagon ceased production of the Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicle (MRAP), perhaps the most iconic acquisition program of the past ten years.
Islamists in Mali recruit, pay for child soldiers
Krista Larson and Baba Ahmed/Associate Press
Islamists operating in the northern region of Mali have recruited up to 1,000 child soldiers from rural and impoverished villages. According to one teen recruit interviewed, he was promised as much as $30 per day for his services and a $400 monthly allowance for his family.
Cyber attackers disrupt Internet in Iran: official
Reuters
An Iranian state official has stated that cyber attacks on Iranian infrastructure and communications companies have disrupted internet access across the country.
DHS ‘fusion centers’ portrayed as pools of ineptitude, civil liberties intrusions
Robert O’Harrow Jr./Washington Post
An initiative aimed at improving intelligence sharing has done little to make the country more secure, despite as much as $1.4 billion in federal spending, according to a two-year examination by Senate investigators.
Iran’s President Ties Recent Drop in Currency to U.S.-Led Sanctions
Thomas Erdbrink, New York Times
Speaking during a news conference broadcast live by several domestic and international Iranian news channels, the president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, said Iran was facing a “psychological war” waged by the United States and aided by what he described as internal enemies. He said the currency’s fall was caused in part by the sanctions imposed by the West over Iran’s disputed nuclear program, which have prevented it from selling oil and transferring money.
Decline in immigrant entrepreneurship threatens U.S. competitiveness
J.D. Harrison/Washington Post
The proportion of new firms founded by the foreign-born is falling, and a bitter partisan divide over visa changes is blocking a remedy.
Reports
India in the Indian Ocean Region – Re-calibrating U.S. Expectations
As the U.S. re-balances its global engagements to acknowledge the growing importance of the Asia-Pacific region, it is crucial to understand India’s stance to recalibrate expectations and further strengthen the Indo-American partnership based on a realistic identification of short- and long-term objectives.
In the News
Andrew Holland Quoted by Association of Opinion Journalists
ASP’s Senior Fellow for Energy and Climate, Andrew Holland, spoke last week at a panel event hosted by the Association of Opinion Journalists (AOJ), and a summary of his talk appeared in an article by AOJ.
On Our Flashpoint Blog
The Presidential Debate Series-An Energy Question for the First Presidential Debate
Yong Wang
A look at the first upcoming Presidential debate and the issue of energy.
START: Twenty Years Later
Sean Boers
This week marks the twentieth anniversary of the ratification of START, the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty between the U.S. and Russia. Given the timing, it would be appropriate to discuss the continued enhancement of strategic stability provided by START and its successor, New START.
The Presidential Debate Series-A Climate Change Question for the First Presidential Debate
Xander Vagg
A look at the first upcoming Presidential debate and the candidates’ track record on climate change.
ASP Board members Adm Fallon and Sen Hagel call for nonpartisan discussion of Iran
Mitchell Freddura and Mary Kaszynski
In a recent Washington Post Op-ed ASP board members Admiral William Fallon, Senator Chuck Hagel, joined Ambassador Thomas Pickering, General Anthony Zinni (USA, ret.) and Lee Hamilton (former representative from Indiana and vice-chair of the 9/11 Commission Report) in calling for a “nonpartisan, reasoned discussion” of U.S. policy towards Iran.
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.
