15 October 2012

 

Spy Chief Gets Zen

Pam Benson/CNN

You usually don’t associate spying with being Zen, but that’s exactly what the nation’s chief intelligence officer did this week at an intelligence gathering in Orlando, Florida.

Air Force Engineer Takes on General Over Controversial Warplane Crash

David Axe/Wired

In 2012, an Air Force CV-22 Osprey tiltrotor crashed in Afghanistan, killing four people on board. When the lead accident investigator concluded that engine failure might have been to blame for the Osprey’s loss, he was overruled by a superior officer.

A Grand Experiment to Rein in Climate Change

Felicity Barringer/New York Times

On Jan. 1, California will become the first state in the nation to charge industries across the economy for the greenhouse gases they emit. Under the system, known as “cap and trade,” the state will set an overall ceiling on those emissions and assign allowable emission amounts for individual polluters.

EU Targets Syria, Iran with New Sanctions, to Assist Mali through ‘Big Step’

Al Arabiya with AFP

The European Union has agreed to a new round of sanctions targeting Iranian and Syrian firms and officials, and has also agreed to aid Mali in reclaiming its northern territory, currently held by Islamist militants.

State Sponsored Malware ‘Flame’ Has Smaller, More Devious Cousin

Kim Zetter/Wired

Researchers have discovered another state-sponsored malware connected to the Flame and Gauss malwares.  This new malware – known as “miniFlame,” “SPE,” or “John” – appears to target users in the Middle East.

Lithuanians Send Nuclear Plant Back to Drawing Board

Christian Lowe and Andrius Sytas/Reuters

Lithuanians rejected a plan to build a nuclear plant to cut dependence on imports of Russian energy, in a non-binding referendum that does not kill off the project but leaves a question mark over its future.

On Our Flashpoint Blog

A strategy for human rights

Joshua Foust

This week, Yekaterina Samutsevich, one of the three members of the Russian punk band Pussy Riot imprisoned for a February protest, has been released on a suspended sentence. Human rights groups are celebrating the release, even as they press for more action to release the other two.

Communicating Climate Change

Yong Wang

On October 10th, Climate Desk began a series of events looking at the issue of climate change in the November election and whether addressing it could be a winning strategy. That day’s segment focused on how to effectively communicate climate change. In order to engage a larger segment of the American population, the speakers argued, it is critical to localize climate change and discuss the costs of inaction.

Cohesive National Strategy Needed for Stability & Prosperity

William Chodkowski   

Economics and security are the dual purview of foreign policy. Defense, diplomacy, and development all depend on the strength of the nation as a whole. With foreign and domestic policy so closely intertwined, it is a huge liability for any policymaker to treat the issues as if they exist in isolation.

 

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.

 

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