15 November
Event Invites
Whitman: American Competitiveness and National Security
A Conversation with James Kitfield: National Security in an Era of Global Upheaval
Meeting of the Financial Intelligence and Information Sharing (FIIS) Working Group
What We Are Reading
Obama eyes diplomacy on Iran nukes but says no imminent talks
Paul Eckert/Reuters
President Barack Obama said on Wednesday that he will renew efforts for a diplomatic resolution to Iran’s suspected attempt to build a nuclear weapon, but denied that any talks with Tehran were imminent.
EU’s Ashton to host meeting on Iran in Brussels on Nov. 21
Reuters
EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton will host a meeting of representatives of six major powers in Brussels on Wednesday, as part of efforts to dissuade Iran from its nuclear programme, a spokeswoman for Ashton said on Thursday.
U.N.’s Nuclear Report on Iran May Not Be All Bad News for West
Fredrik Dahl/Reuters
A U.N. report on Iran’s nuclear programme is also likely to show this week that it continues to use some of its most sensitive material for reactor fuel, at least temporarily making it unavailable for any quick atom bomb bid.
Benjamin Loehrke: The $640 Billion Nuclear Question
Benjamin Loehrke / Roll Call Opinion
In a time when tough budget choices need to be made to avoid the looming fiscal cliff, there is a major question before Congress — will America spend $640 billion on nuclear weapons and related programs or reshape our military budget to match 21st-century realities?
Droning On: MIT Fights the Boredom of Piloting Robot Spy Planes
Benjamin Plackett/Danger Room in Wired
Researchers at MIT are exploring how to combat one of the challenges UAV pilots face: boredom.
Congo-Kinshasa: UN Report Finds Evidence of Arbitrary Killings in Easter DR Congo, Prompts Calls for Action
UN News Service in AllAfrica
UN human rights investigators report that rebels in eastern DR Congo “arbitrarily executed at least 264 civilians, including 83 children, over a five-month period this year,” and warned of a worsening security environment as the conflict is increasingly “ethnically charged.”
Panetta ‘Disappointed’ as Cyber Legislation Stalls
American Forces Press Service
Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta is “disappointed” that an effort to move pending cybersecurity legislation forward failed in the Senate yesterday, Pentagon Press Secretary George Little said.
The Ultimate ‘Grand Bargain’: A U.S. – China Climate Deal
Allen Carlson/The Diplomat
With regimes solidified for the foreseeable future in China and the U.S., it is plausible leadership might find common ground in fostering the development of a new, rigorous multilateral agreement on climate issues.
Fact Sheet
Mali – Timeline and Factsheet
Mali’s North is now under the control of Islamist extremists, generating concerns for further instability and violence. The American Security Project has compiled this factsheet to trace the development of the crisis in Mali and understand the implications of the potential military intervention.
In the News
BGen Cheney: Military Needs to Lead on Climate Change
ASP CEO BGen Steve Cheney, USMC (Ret.) participated in a panel discussion as part of the Climate Reality Project, a 24-hour newscast on climate change.
Reports
National Security Challenges
The American Security Project is dedicated to fostering fact-driven, non-partisan debate about critical national security issues. To that end, we asked our friends and colleagues both within ASP and associated with the Consensus for American Security to answer the question: what is the biggest issue facing us in the next four years that isn’t on anyone’s radar?
On Our Flashpoint Blog
Carbon Tax included in Fiscal Cliff Package?
Nicholas Cunningham
The carbon tax is being considered as a way to address deficit reduction. Why now?
Climate Challenges Facing the Intelligence Community
Galen Petruso
Recently, the National Academies released a report seeking to analyze the major factors affecting the relationship between climate change and national security.
Dissecting the American Oil Boom
Martin Bee
Recent reports suggest that U.S. oil production has the potential to overtake Saudi Arabian production by 2017. What does this mean for America and its energy future?