Center for Strategic Communication

8 November 2012

Red Cross says it ‘can’t cope’ with with Syria emergency

BBC News/ Middle East

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) — the only international aid agency able to operate within Syria — has said it cannot keep up with the deteriorating situation inside the country.  The nature of the conflict makes it difficult for the ICRC to plan its operations and reach victims.

 China’s Hu says graft threatens state, party must stay in charge

Sui-Lee Wee and Ben Blanchard / Reuters

Outgoing Chinese President Hu Jintao warned the country’s new leaders that graft threatens the ruling Communist Party, saying that “combating corruption and promoting political integrity” must be a commitment of the new leadership.

S. Korean candidates offer Pyongyang talks

Simon Mundy / Financial Times

Two of South Korea’s leading presidential candidates on Thursday promised to overhaul relations with North Korea if elected in December, and to aim for a renewal of top-level talks.

Iran not ruling out nuclear talks with US but in no hurry

Asia One News / AFP

Iran, reeling from international sanctions over its nuclear programme and facing four more years with Barak Obama as leader of arch-enemy the United Sates, does not rule out direct talks with Washington but says they will not come overnight.

Obama Must Mend Divided Country, Seek Realistic Energy Policy

Andres Cala/Energy Tribune

It looks as if the U.S. may be uniting around an increasingly realistic view of the health, environmental and climate costs of burning coal. Add in the economic forces acting against coal at a time of low natural-gas prices, and there’s reason to think policy makers might now be encouraged to enact a tax on carbon emissions as part of a broader tax-reform package to help reduce the deficit.

Exports will be next divisive U.S. oil tangle

Ayesha Rascoe/Reuters

After decades when the concept of energy independence seemed a pipe dream, the river of oil flowing from shale formations in North Dakota and Texas is reshaping U.S. energy policy. With oil and gas output increasing, the United States is quickly entering an era where it will have to decide how to manage its newfound energy wealth.

 Harsher energy regulations seen in Obama’s second term

Nichola Groom and Braden Reddall / Reuters

Energy producers braced for tighter regulation in President Barack Obama’s second term, with coal companies expecting more emissions restrictions and drillers anticipating less access to federal land even as his platform promotes energy independence.

Reid on climate change: ‘I hope we can address it’

Ben Geman / The Hill

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said Wednesday that he hopes the Senate will act to address climate change. But he didn’t say how.

 After Obama win, U.S. backs new U.N. arms treaty talks

Louis Charbonneau/Reuters

Hours after U.S. President Barack Obama was re-elected, the United States backed a U.N. committee’s call on Wednesday to renew debate over a draft international treaty to regulate the $70 billion global conventional arms trade. The month-long talks at U.N. headquarters broke off in July.

 Europe Cannot do Soft Power

Judy Dempsey / Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

Any doubts you might have harbored about the effectiveness of the EU’s soft power have been confirmed by a devastating report by the European Court of Auditors. The detailed report, published last week, gives a blow-by-blow account of the EU’s failure in Kosovo.

 Laser lab shifts focus to warheads

Geoff Brumfiel / Nature

After an unsuccessful campaign to demonstrate the principles of a futuristic fusion power plant, the world’s most powerful laser facility is set to change course and emphasize its nuclear weapons research.

ASP In the News

ASP Board Member Christine Todd Whitman Featured in NY Times

Former Governor of New Jersey and EPA Administrator Christine Todd Whitman discussed the importance of climate change for President Obama’s second term.

Nick Cunningham Featured in E!Sharp

Nick Cunningham wrote an article for E!Sharp, an online publication based in Europe, discussing Russia’s waning power over European energy

ASP Published Today

Fact Sheet – The United States Information Agency

William Chodkowski

The United States Information Agency (USIA) ran America’s public diplomacy efforts from 1953 until it was disbanded in 1999. This fact sheet takes a look at some of these issues, telling a brief history of the program and how public diplomacy is operated today.

 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.

 

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