What did Hu Jintao and Wen Jiabao do for China?
Kerry Brown / BBC
A decade ago, immediately after Hu Jintao had been appointed Communist Party leader, he went down to a village in Hebei.
U.S. General Puts Troops on Security Alert After Karzai Remarks
Alissa Rubin and Rod Nordland / The New York Times
The American commander in Afghanistan quietly told his forces to intensify security measures on Wednesday, issuing a strongly worded warning that a string of anti-American statements by President Hamid Karzai had put Western troops at greater risk of attack both from rogue Afghan security forces and from militants.
Domestic Politics, Pyongyang-Style
Sheila Miyoshi Jager / The New York Times
On Monday, North Korea declared that it had nullified the 1953 armistice that ended the Korean War, a new level of bellicosity that raised, at least on paper, the potential for the resumption of armed conflict on the peninsula.
China’s New Leader Takes Full Power in Delicate Balancing Act
Chris Buckley / The New York Times
China’s new Communist Party leader, Xi Jinping, completed his formal transition to power on Thursday, assuming the presidency during a parliamentary meeting which has sent signals that his government will try to be more responsive to an impatient public while defending the party’s top-down control.
Material in North Korea’s nuclear test unclear, worrying for U.S.
Jill Dougherty and Pam Benson
More than a month after North Korea tested a nuclear device, the United States is unable to pinpoint whether the regime was able to use uranium to fuel the explosion, a capability that would represent a significantly enhanced nuclear program.
North Korea and the price of patience
David Ignatius / The Washington Post
The Obama administration’s approach toward North Korea has been described as “strategic patience.” A more accurate evaluation of U.S. policy would be “failure.” The administration has alternately wooed and threatened North Korea for four years, with no discernible effect.
Global Poll finds views of U.S. leadership declining
Anne Gearan / The Washignton Post
American leadership received poorer marks around the world last year than at any time since President Obama was elected, according to a survey released Wednesday.
Tara Sonenshine on China’s Public Diplomacy
Voice of America Video
Host Carol Castiel and VOA State Department Correspondent Scott Stearns interview Tara Sonenshine, the Undersecretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs. In a wide-ranging interview, Sonenshine speaks about the role of public diplomacy and what the U.S. is doing to compete with China’s growing soft power, particularly in Africa.
Alec Ross on Internet Freedom, Innovation and Digital Diplomacy
Alexander Howard / The Huffington Post
Given the increasing penetration of technology into the lives of billions of people around the world, context for how we think about intersection of diplomacy and civil society is shifting. No one has been more central to that discussion than Alec J. Ross, the senior advisor for innovation to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who in many ways defined the practice of “digital diplomacy” in the 21st century.
Solar Trade Group Reports Surge in U.S. Installations
Diane Cardwell / The New York Times
Partly driven by an oversupply of cheaper panels from China, the domestic solar market had its best year in 2012, with the growth in installations outpacing that of the global market, according to an annual report to be released Thursday.
Japan faces higher fuel bill as nuclear shutdown enters 3rd year
Aaron Sheldrick and Osamu Tsukimori / Reuters
The restart of Japan’s nuclear power industry is proving pivotal to the economic vision of the country’s prime minister as soaring fuel bills after the Fukushima disaster threaten to keep the country’s trade in a deeper deficit for longer.
ASP Recently Published Reports
White Paper: Fusion Power – A 10 Year Plan to Energy Security
Andrew Holland and Nick Cunningham
ASP’s new White Paper report, “Fusion Power – A 10 Year Plan to Energy Security” provides a detailed plan on how to accelerate the development of fusion power.
On Our Flashpoint Blog
Event Review: Fusion Power – A 10 Year Plan to Energy Security
Theodore MacDonald
On Wednesday, March 13 the American Security Project hosted an event entitled “Fusion Power: A 10-Year Plan to Energy Security.” The event coincided with the release of ASP’s newest White Paper on fusion power.
Moment near for a ‘grand bargain’ on the debt?
August Cole
With the $85 billion from the sequester’s sweeping budget cuts taking effect and public concern mounting about how austerity measures will impact daily life, some in Washington see the right conditions for Republicans and Democrats putting down their gloves in order to tackle, together, the U.S. debt.
New Intelligence Community Report – Climate Change is Threat to National Security
Andrew Holland
On March 12 2013, the Director of National Intelligence, James Clapper presented the Intelligence Community’s “Worldwide Threat Assessment” to Congress. This report focuses on the many threats to the United States’ national security. The report presents the assessment of the full intelligence community.
Are small modular reactors about to have their breakthrough?
Kaitlyn Huppmann
The Tennessee Valley Authority is commissioning Babcock & Wilcox, a nuclear equipment company, to design and apply for permission to build what would be the nation’s first small modular nuclear reactor in Oak Ridge, TN.
