Center for Strategic Communication

The second-term climate

Editorial Board / Washington Post

PRESIDENT OBAMA hardly mentioned climate change during long stretches of his first term. As he rebuilds his administration and refines his second-term agenda, he should give this challenge the priority it deserves.

U.S. mayors focus on ‘local warming,’ urge Obama to act

Valerie Volcovici and Patrick Rucker / Reuters

Jan 18 (Reuters) – Reeling from an historic drought, the hottest year on record and more frequent wild weather, mayors from a number of U.S. cities urged the White House this week to take the lead on setting an agenda to address climate change.

The new black: Soot is even worse for the climate than was previously thought

The Economist           

SOOT—also known as black carbon—heats up the atmosphere because it absorbs sunlight. Black things do. That is basic physics. But for years the institutions that focus on climate policy have played down the role of pollutants such as black carbon that stay in the atmosphere for a short time, and concentrated on carbon dioxide, which, once generated, tends to remain there. That may soon change.

China’s Citizens Will Get a Say on Beijing Pollution

Dexter Roberts / Bloomberg BusinessWeek

In another sign that Beijing officials are, for now, leaning toward openness, officials will allow the city’s 20 million residents to weigh in on draft regulations aimed at curbing the Chinese capital’s horrendous air pollution, according to a notice posted Jan. 20 on the Beijing municipal government website. The public can comment on the proposed new measures until Feb. 8, the day before China shuts down for the annual Chinese New Year festival, said the statement issued by the city’s legal affairs office.

South Korea makes billion-dollar bet on fusion power

Soo Bin Park / Nature

South Korea has embarked on the development of a preliminary concept design for a fusion power demonstration reactor in collaboration with the US Department of Energy’s Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) in New Jersey.

With 2 percent inflation target, Japan signals new strategy to boost economy

Chico Harlan / Washington Post

SEOUL — Japan’s central bank on Tuesday doubled its inflation target to 2 percent, a main pillar in the country’s new aggressive strategy to break away from a two-decade economic stagnation.

Iran courts restart of nukes talks, but snubs UN

Associated Press in USA Today

Iran has floated specific dates for reopening talks with the U.S. and other world powers about its nuclear program. At the same time, Tehran has left U.N. nuclear inspectors empty-handed when it comes to addressing Western suspicions that it’s conducting tests related to nuclear weapons.

Pursuing Ambitious Global Goals, but Strategy is More

David E. Sanger / NY Times

WASHINGTON — Not quite nine months into his presidency, Barack Obama woke to the news that he had won the Nobel Peace Prize — not for anything yet accomplished, but for the promise that he would end the Iraq war, win the “war of necessity” in Afghanistan, move toward the elimination of nuclear weapons, tackle climate change and engage America’s adversaries.

Yet beyond Iraq, his first-term accomplishments from that list are sparse. In a fractured world, President Obama struggled to define a grand strategy for America’s role, apart from preserving its pre-eminence while relying increasingly on a changing cast of partners.

German, Dutch Patriot missiles arrive in Turkey: NATO

AFP / France 24

AFP – Four batteries of Patriot missiles arrived in Turkey on Monday as part of a NATO mission to protect the Turkish border from any spillover of the conflict in neighbouring Syria, a NATO source told AFP.

Ban Ki-Moon tells militaries to dump nukes

Kevin Baron / Foreign Policy

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon issued a strong new call for global nuclear disarmament on Friday in California, criticizing the size of modern military budgets and the arms industries they support.

Iran courts restart of nukes talks, but snubs UN

Associated Press in USA Today

Iran has floated specific dates for reopening talks with the U.S. and other world powers about its nuclear program. At the same time, Tehran has left U.N. nuclear inspectors empty-handed when it comes to addressing Western suspicions that it’s conducting tests related to nuclear weapons.

Russia sending aircraft to evacuate its citizens from Syria

Thomas Grove and Steve Gutterman /  Washington Post

MOSCOW — Russia is sending two planes to Lebanon on Tuesday to evacuate more than 100 of its citizens from Syria, the Emergencies Ministry said, in the clearest sign yet that Moscow may be preparing for President Bashar al-Assad’s possible defeat.

Deadly car bombings strike around Iraqi capital, Baghdad

BBC News

Car bombings in and around the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, have killed at least 17 people and wounded dozens more, police say.

In Mali town, militants are gone but challenges for French remain

Sudarsan Raghavan / Washington Post

DIABALY, MALI — Soon after French forces landed in Mali, radical fighters swept into this dusty hamlet of mud houses and red dirt, and for five days last week their presence stood as a potent symbol of defiance.

As Troops Advance in Mali, U.S. Begins Airlift

Lydia Polgreen, Peter Tinti, and Alan Cowell / NY Times

SÉGOU, Mali — Malian and French forces were reported to be in control of two important central Malian towns on Tuesday after the French Defense Ministry said they recaptured them on Monday, pushing back an advance by Islamist militants who have overrun the country’s northern half.

 

ASP Upcoming Events

 

Understanding the Strategic & Legal Context of Drone Strikes

Join us for a fact-based discussion with leading experts on counterterrorism about how we can better understand the effects of America’s drone campaign. This event will launch ASP’s latest paper on drone policy and doctrine, as part of a continuing project.

The event will take place:

Thursday, January 24, 12:30 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.

1100 New York Ave, NW Washington DC
Suite 710W – Conference Room E

Please RSVP by Monday, January 21 to events@americansecurityproject.org

 

 “Fusion Energy – Implications for a Near-Term Breakthrough”

ASP to host an expert-level, invite only event on the implications if fusion energy reaches a breakthrough faster than is expected

The event will take place:

Tuesday, February 26, 2013 from 8:30am until 1:30pm.

Hotel Monaco, 700 F Street, NW, Washington, DC 20004

If you would like to attend this event please RSVP: events@americansecurityproject.org

 

On Our Flashpoint Blog

 

The Syria Chemical Weapons Crisis

Brian Kastner

The recently leaked cable regarding possible chemical weapons use by Syria last month has once again highlighted the security risk posed by Syria’s chemical arsenal.