We Don’t Really Know What the North Koreans are Thinking
Matthew Wallin/The Hill
The issue with regards to understanding the North Korean thought process is that we have almost no human intelligence (HUMINT) in the country. Though satellites can tell you what the North Koreans are doing (where their equipment is, where their prison camps are, and how much material they possess), it cannot tell us why they are doing it.
Shultz Urges U.S. Ratification of Test Ban Treaty
Chris Schneidmiller/ NTI
Former U.S. Secretary of State George Shultz on Friday called for U.S. senators to support an international treaty to permanently ban nuclear testing.
Cutting Off the Kim Family Cash
Wall Street Journal
The United Nations Security Council passed its eighth resolution on North Korea’s nuclear program last week, and nobody expects this one to have much more impact than its predecessors. However, the Obama Administration could wield one part of the sanctions to great effect, if it wants to. Banks in U.N. countries are required to stop handling funds that could be used in the North’s nuclear or missile programs. Interpreted broadly, that could be used to cut off all banks doing business with the North from U.S. clearing systems.
Japan extracts gas from methane hydrate in world first
BBC News
Japan says it has successfully extracted natural gas from frozen methane hydrate off its central coast, in a world first.
Coal Power Plants Are Killing Thousands in Europe: Report
John Metcalfe / The Atlantic
Lots of the world’s attention has been focused recently on the startlingly high levels of smog in China. But things aren’t too great in Europe, either, where the popularity of coal-fired power plants is endangering the lives of entire generations of people.
Leslie H. Gelb/the Daily Beast
Hamid Karzai is beating up on the United States to score domestic political points once again, this time on the occasion of Chuck Hagel’s maiden visit as Defense secretary to that sad country.
Justin Gilles/ NY Times
At a legendary but secretive laboratory in California, Lockheed Martin is working on a plan that some employees hope might transform the world’s energy system: a practicable type of nuclear fusion.
ASP Recently Published Reports
PERSPECTIVE: The Geopolitical Implications of U.S. Natural Gas Exports
Nick Cunningham
Low prices for natural gas in the U.S., and high prices in Asia, have sparked calls to allow American drillers to export LNG. Thus far, the debate surrounding LNG exports has focused on the economic impacts. This paper examines the geopolitical benefits of removing restrictions on LNG exports to two key regions – Europe and Asia.
On Our Flashpoint Blog
Fusion Needed For Long Term Energy Security
Nick Cunningham
Meeting the global energy problem is “the challenge of the 21st century.” Investing in fusion power critical to long-term energy security and solving climate change
Event Review: Confronting the Bomb: Pakistani and Indian Scientist Speak Out
Magnus Newth
In an event hosted by the Carnegie Endowment on Tuesday March 5, Pakistani nuclear physicists Zia Mian and Pervez Hoodhboy discussed the subjects of a newly released essay collection, Confronting the Bomb: Pakistani and Indian Scientists Speak Out.
American Competiveness- Interview with Former Gov. Christine Todd Whitman
August Cole
With so much effort focused on fighting partisan battles, lawmakers in Washington are shortchanging important debates necessary to shore up American competitiveness.
