5 November
After Sandy, environmentalists, military find common cause
Juliette Kayyem/Boston Globe
It doesn’t make sense to cast all public policy challenges as “wars on (fill in the blank).” The combative language can seem way too harsh when applied to, say, drug dependency; military terms can’t really convey the deeply personal implications of cancer treatment and research. But war might be an entirely accurate — and now even more appropriate — word to describe the urgency of the effort to curb climate change. As Hurricane Sandy swept through this country, environmental activists found an unexpected ally: the military, a group not usually known for its liberal leanings.
Hurricane Sandy gives climate change a moment in the sun
Ben Geman / The Hill
Hurricane Sandy accomplished what pleas and protests from environmentalists couldn’t: it put climate change front and center in the presidential campaign.
Climate Change Could Alter Eating Habits
Steve Baragona / Voice of America
Climate change might force changes in diets around the world as certain staple foods become harder to produce, according to international agriculture researchers. However, future shortfalls could be offset by switching to crops which can thrive in those altered climates.
Somalia to get first female foreign minister
BBC News – Africa
New Somali Prime Minister Abdi Farah Shirdon has chosen Fauzia Yusuf Haji Adan as the country’s foreign minister. If her appointment is approved by the parliament, Adan will be Somalia’s first female foreign minister and one of ten politicians to join the Prime Minister’s cabinet.
U.S. Handoff in Afghanistan Includes Radio Training
Sean Carberry/NPR
From the outside, this white metal container looks like all the other mobile structures at Forward Operating Base Shank, the main NATO base in Afghanistan’s Logar province. But rather than housing soldiers, offices or latrines, the building contains a fully functioning — if spartan — radio studio.
Iran President Backs Down in Political Clashes
Ali Akbar Dareini/ Associated Press
TEHRAN, Iran—Iran’s embattled president has backed down from a public dispute with the country’s judiciary, a day after his nation’s top leader called such spats treason. In a letter to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad pledged to concentrate on overcoming Western economic sanctions instead.
Brand New ASP Reports and Factsheets
Fact Sheet- Science and America’s National Security
Martin Bee
Scientific innovation bolsters America’s national security. While this sentence is simple, it belittles a long and crucial relationship. Through scientific advancements, the United States government has developed technology and tools that have bettered American lives, spurred economic growth, and strengthened our military. Science and national security have intertwined since the very first days of the American Republic, with both sides driving the other towards greatness.
Climate Security Report 2012
Andrew Holland and Catherine Foley
One of the most significant challenges to the global security system in the 21st Century will be a changing climate; the effects of these changes are already being felt all over the world. Climate change poses a clear and present danger to the United States through its effects on our global allies as well as its direct effects on our agriculture, infrastructure, economy and public health.
On Our Flashpoint Blog
Sandy & Homeland Security: Inflection Point or Affirming the Status Quo?
William Chodkowski
As clean-up from Hurricane Sandy continues and the rebuilding process begins, our national response to the historic storm should be examined through the lens of government. A look at the evolution of homeland security and how Sandy can institutionalize a holistic concept of national security.
The difficult art of stabilization in Somalia
Matt Freear
A series of bombings in the city since September this week resulted in large-scale arrests by the Kenyan forces eager to maintain security. Underlying complex clan tensions and rival interests vying for control of the port’s revenue exacerbate the precarious security situation. Long term peace will depend on how different clan groupings see their prospects for political power and economic wealth around the port’s economy play out.
