Obama to tap Hagel for Pentagon, Brennan for CIA
Matt Spetalnick / Reuters
President Barack Obama on Monday will nominate Republican Chuck Hagel as his next defense secretary and counterterrorism adviser John Brennan to head the CIA, two choices likely to stoke controversy as he fills out his second-term national security team.
South Africa to send 400 soldiers to CAR
Al Jazeera
South African President Jacob Zuma authorized the deployment of 400 soldiers to the Central African Republic (CAR). The soldiers will join others from Chad, Cameroon, Gabon, and the Republic of Congo to assist the CAR army in curbing the threat from rebel groups.
Vatican ATMs Down, Circuit Breakers, JPMorgan: Compliance
Carla Main / Bloomberg
Credit and debit processing in the Vatican remains suspended after the Bank of Italy “refused a request to keep providing the services by the operator, Deutsche Bank AG’s Italian unit” because the Vatican does not comply with international money laundering standards.
Hobbled on Energy, India Ponders a Multitude of Dams
Rachel Nuwer / New York Times
India’s government has been grappling with growing pressure to increase the dependability of its electricity service for the growing numbers who have intermittent power and the 400 million who live without it. As a solution, the government proposed constructing 292 dams throughout the Indian Himalayas — roughly a dam every 20 miles.
Australia Scorching, Prime Minister Blames Climate Change
Deutche Wells
Australian has been bracing for near-record temperatures, with bushfires ablaze in five out of six states. Prime Minister Julia Gillard warned Australians of high bushfire risks in coming days, highlighting global climate warming as the probable cause.
Oil Rig Aground in Alaska Is Towed From Shoreline
Henry Fountain / The New York Times
Nearly a week after it ran aground in the Gulf of Alaska, a stricken Shell Oil drilling rig was refloated by salvage crews late on Sunday, officials reported on Monday.
Pulling Carbon Dioxide Out of Thin Air
Anne Eisenberg / The New York Times
Whether streaming from the tailpipes of cars or the smokestacks of so many power plants and factories, carbon dioxide emissions keep growing around the globe. A Canadian company has developed a cleansing technology that may one day capture and remove some of this heat-trapping gas directly from the sky. And it is even possible that the gas could then be sold for industrial use.
ASP Published Today
AMERICAN SECURITY QUARTERLY V2 Issue 1
This edition of the American Security Quarterly delves into the critical security issues facing the United States today, including American competitiveness, nuclear strategy, international law and cyber security, and much more. Read all about ASP’s varied and non-partisan recommendations here.
On Our Flashpoint Blog
ASP’s Top 20 Blog Post of 2012
2012 was an exciting year for ASP. We have written on a wide range of diverse subjects, from Syria, drones, nuclear weapons, climate change, public diplomacy and to analysis on next generation energy issues. Here is a collection of our top twenty blog reads in 2012.
An Expert View: The Need for Long Term Thinking
BGen Stephen A. Cheney USMC (Ret.)
After lawmakers and the Obama administration hit the brakes and kept the country from going over the fiscal cliff at the close of 2012, Washington now lurches forward with a new two-month deadline in yet another last-ditch attempt to avoid broad federal spending cuts. We need to steady ourselves, rather than shoot from the hip again.
ASP Board Member Chuck Hagel’s Positions on Climate Change
Andrew Holland
There has been discussion about Senator Hagel’s position on climate change, most related to the Byrd-Hagel resolution of 1997, a resolution adopted by the Senate by a vote of 95-0. The following outlines five key actions taken by Sen. Hagel while in office to address climate change.
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
