Center for Strategic Communication

No Hijacking by Somali Pirates in Nearly a Year

Edith M. Lederer/Stars and Stripes

The fight against Somali pirates has been so effective that they haven’t been able to mount a successful hijacking in nearly a year, the chair of the global group trying to combat the pirates said Thursday.

Nuclear Fusion- Possible at Last?

John Daly/ Oilprice                                                                            

On 26 April, the world largely yawned as a nuclear anniversary came and went. Twenty-seven years ago, the Ukrainian SSR nuclear power plant at Chernobyl exploded, providing a severe test of the USSR’s General Secretary of the Communist Party Mihail Gorbachev’s policy of “glasnost” (“openness,”), which the sclerotic Soviet leadership signally failed, providing a less than candid drip feed of news about the magnitude of the disaster.

New Study on Syrian Military and its Role in the Civil War

Matthew Aid

This open-source intelligence report published by the Institute for the Study of War provides an incredibly detailed and fascinating account of the Assad regime’s recent movements and strategy in the Syrian Civil War.

Fusion Scientists See Progress as Obama Shows no Ardor

John Lippert/ Bloomberg

45 miles east of San Francisco, 1,200 scientists and staff are on a quest to create fusion energy, Bloomberg Markets magazine will report in its June issue.

Slightly Lower Gas Prices, But For How Long?

Gal Sitty/Fuel Freedom

By now, who hasn’t heard about the oil boom in the United States? Higher oil prices and new extraction techniques are largely credited for creating a rash of new oil fields, resulting in domestic production soaring to levels that haven’t been seen in decades. In fact, many are attributing the slight dip in oil and gasoline prices in recent weeks to this production boom.

Can Disaster Risk Reduction Lessons Be Learned From China?

IRIN

China, which annually faces almost every disaster possible – including earthquakes, floods, cyclones and landslides – is doing something right in the field of disaster risk reduction (DRR), experts say.

White House Warned on Imminent Arctic Ice Death Spiral

Nafeez Ahmed/ The Guardian

Senior US government officials are to be briefed at the White House this week on the danger of an ice-free Arctic in the summer within two years. The meeting is bringing together Nasa’s acting chief scientist, Gale Allen, the director of the US National Science Foundation, Cora Marett, as well as representatives from the US Department of Homeland Security and the Pentagon.

EU’s Ashton to Meet Iran’s Nuclear Negotiator on May 15

Justyna Pawlak

Negotiators from the European Union and Iran will meet in Istanbul this month to discuss future diplomatic efforts to resolve a decade-old dispute over Tehran’s nuclear program.

Military and Security Developments Involving the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea

Office of the Secretary of Defense

The United States remains vigilant in the face of North Korea’s continued provocations and steadfast in commitments to Allies in the region, including the security provided by extended deterrence commitments through both the nuclear umbrella and conventional forces.

China Rejects North Korea as Nuke Nation

NTI

China assured South Korea on Thursday that it would never acknowledge North Korea as a “nuclear-armed” nation, a senior South Korean government source told the Yonhap News Agency.

ASP Recently Published Reports

 

International Progress on Fusion Energy – How American Leadership is Slipping
Theodore J. MacDonald
ASP’s fact sheet, “International Progress on Fusion Energy” outlines the steps other countries are taking in developing fusion energy. Meanwhile, the U.S. is considering budget cuts to its fusion program, which will cause irreparable harm to the development of fusion power.

Perspective: The Defense Industrial Base
August Cole
The defense industrial base is tied to American competitiveness 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.

On Our Flashpoint Blog

 

Sequestration’s Shadow Looms Large Over Latest Economic Data

August Cole

U.S. stock markets cheered Friday’s employment report, which offered a meaningful sign that the country’s employment situation is improving at a time of great political and economic uncertainty.

ASP Statement – Foreign Affairs Day

In honor of Foreign Service Day, the American Security Project, in keeping with our dictum of always keeping our country’s national security foremost in mind, wishes to express our admiration and gratitude to the many Foreign Service members, past and present, who have given so much for our

Bringing Russia in from the Cold
Robert Fojtik
Russia’s legal development, economic health, and ability to contribute as a global partner are all intricately linked. Too much of the United States’ policy towards Russia has been aimed at punishing the country for not being Western enough, when the goal should be making Russia a team player in the international order.

Why Oil Prices Will Remain High Despite the U.S. Oil Boom
Andrew Holland
The truth appears to be that demand for oil in the developing world – particularly (but not exclusively) in Asia – is effectively insatiable (at least over the medium term). These are fast growing economies with rising middle classes. For every new barrel or oil produced by the United States, there are refiners in China willing to buy it to satiate their country’s ever-growing demand.

This week in Public Diplomacy

Livia Falho Pontes
This week in Public Diplomacy, read about #SoftPower, #China, #Russia, #Google and more!

The Governator – The immigration solution the nation needs
BGen Stephen A. Cheney USMC (Ret.)
Immigration reform is an economic and national security issue. The United States is in desperate need to improve its competitiveness – and that includes ringing the brightest and best to our country to work, live, start business and become American.

Syria Update: President Obama’s Tuesday Press Conference
Eric Harris Bernstein
At Tuesday morning’s press conference, President Obama confirmed the use of chemical weapons in Syria but did not yet commit to an action plan.

Upcoming Events

U.S. National Security and the New Somalia: Reflections from the Former Prime Minister
Join us for a conversation with Abdiweli Mohamed Ali, the former Premier of Somalia.
The last two years in Somalia has seen militant Islamists in retreat and a country rise from the ashes of chronic conflict and chaos. At the helm during this transformative period the former Prime Minister, argues that security and political progress in Somalia has boosted US national security interests.
If you would like to attend this event please RSVP by clicking here.