Center for Strategic Communication

Hagel, in Israel, Presses U.S. Agenda on Deterring Iran

Thom Shanker and Isabel Kershner/The New York Times

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel opened a weeklong visit to the Middle East on Sunday by pressing an American agenda focused on deterring Iran — including a significant new weapons deal for Israel — coupled with a strong caution that it would be premature for Israel to opt for unilateral strikes on Tehran’s nuclear program.

Pakistan’s Musharraf avoids treason charge by caretaker government

BBC

The caretaker government in Pakistan has said it will not put former military ruler Pervez Musharraf on trial for high treason. The government said such a move exceeded its mandate and a decision should be taken by the winner of next month’s polls. The former president, who led Pakistan for nine years, is currently under house arrest in Islamabad.

Syria rebels name George Sabra interim chief

Al Jazeera

Syrian National Coalition names veteran dissident as caretaker leader, following Ahmed Moaz al-Khatib’s resignation.

Syrian rebels accuse government of massacre in Damascus suburb

Abigail Hauslohner and Ahmed Ramadan/The Washington Post

Syrian activists and rebel fighters said Monday that at least 100 people, many of them civilians, have been killed in a five-day Syrian government offensive on a predominantly Sunni area of the Damascus countryside. The death toll could be the largest from a single military campaign in nearly a year.

Al Qaeda will take your questions now

David Kenner/Foreign Policy – Passport

It’s not every day that al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), the terror group’s North Africa affiliate, explains itself to the press. But that’s just what happened last week, when media spokesman Ahmed Abu Abdulelah answered questions posed to the organization’s Twitter account.

In China, U.S. top military officer defends U.S. pivot to Asia

Terril Yue Jones/Reuters

The United States’ top military officer on Monday defended the re-orientation of U.S. foreign policy towards Asia in front of his Chinese counterpart, a week after Beijing criticized Washington for ramping up its military presence in the region.

North Korea moves two more missile launchers: report

Jane Chung/Reuters

North Korea has moved two short-range missile launchers to its east coast, apparently indicating it is pushing ahead with preparations for a test launch, a South Korean news agency reported on Sunday.

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev charged with using ‘weapon of mass destruction’

Sari Horwitz, Jenna Johnson and Kathy Lally/The Washington Post

Federal authorities on Monday charged the surviving suspect in the Boston Marathon bombings with using a “weapon of mass destruction” against people and property, and the White House rejected demands by some congressional Republicans that he be tried before a military tribunal as an “enemy combatant.”

Canada to announce arrests in major terrorism plot – U.S. source

Reuters

Canadian authorities are to announce arrests on Monday related to a “major terrorist” plot, a U.S. law enforcement source said.

Halliburton in Gulf spill settlement talks, takes charge

Braden Reddall/Reuters

Halliburton Co is in talks to settle private claims against it in a trial to determine how blame should be shared for the 2010 Gulf of Mexico spill, the company said on Monday, and it took a $1 billion pretax charge for a possible deal.

Energy Department Announces New Innovative Projects to Develop Advanced Drop-in Biofuels for Military Jets and Ships

Energy Department/energy.gov

As part of the Obama Administration’s all-of-the-above energy strategy, the Energy Department today announced nearly $18 million in four innovative pilot-scale biorefineries in California, Iowa and Washington that will test renewable biofuels as a domestic alternative to power our cars, trucks, and planes that meet military specifications for jet fuel and shipboard diesel.

Let’s Not Talk About Climate Change

Coral Davenport/The National Journal

Climate change presents Louisiana with an existential crisis—and its lawmakers with a wrenching political problem. The Pelican State is at the nexus of two profoundly conflicting forces: fossil fuels and global warming.

 

ASP Recently Published

Perspective – The Defense Industrial Base

August Cole

The Defense industrial base is tied to American competiveness in the 21st Century. For that reason, leaders in the private and public sector must take steps to thrive during a drawn out period of changing expectations while also remaining committed to keeping the country strong through innovation, long-term investment and disciplined management.

American Security Quarterly

Read our latest collection of our writings in this edition of American Security Quarterly – with a special lead of American Competitiveness.

 

Flashpoint Blog

Why I’m Done Talking About Energy Security

Andrew Holland

Our rhetoric and vocabulary about energy security has not changed since the 1970s. Our energy debates are stuck in the shortages of the 1970s and the optimistic growth and low prices of 1980s. But – the problems of 2013 are not the problems of 30 or 40 years ago!

 

Wind Turbines Installed in Record Numbers During 2012

Theodore MacDonald

The most recent report published by the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) shows that wind power grew 28% in the United Sates since 2011.

Lockheed Martin Announces Plans to Build Ocean Thermal Pilot Plant

Nicholas Cunningham

Lockheed Martin recently made headlines with its interest in ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC), a little known energy technology that could provide clean base load power.