Center for Strategic Communication

In The News

Syria Peace Talks Not Making Much Progress, Says Envoy

Oliver Holmes and Khaled Yacoub Oweis / Reuters

Peace talks between the Syrian government and opposition are not making much progress, international mediator Lakhdar Brahimi said on Tuesday after a face-to-face meeting of the warring parties in Geneva.

Obama and Hollande Call for ‘Ambitious’ 2015 Climate Agreement

Responding to Climate Change

US President Barack Obama and France President Francois Hollande have issued a joint declaration committing to an ambitious global agreement on climate change.

Yellen, Pledging Continuity at Fed, Sees Economy Strengthening

Binyamin Appelbaum / New York Times

Janet L. Yellen, the new chairwoman of the Federal Reserve, plans to tell Congress Tuesday that the central bank maintains its optimistic view of the economy and its determination to retreat slowly from its stimulus campaign.

India’s Indigenous Nuclear Submarine, Agni-V ICBM Set To Launch In 2015

Ankit Panda/ The Diplomat

Last Friday, India’s Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) said that that India’s first indigenously developed nuclear submarine, theINS Arihant, and the 5,000 km-range Agni-5 ballistic missile will be operational and ready for use in the armed forces in 2015.

Map: GDP of US States Compared to Other Countries

Adam Bel / StarTribune

Thanks to a tweet by Marc Andreessen, I saw a couple of maps like the one above drifting around on the Internet yesterday, in which states are compared to countries with equal or nearly-equal gross domestic product.

DARPA Wants to Help You Search the Web Better

Bob Brewin / Defense One

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has kicked off a project to fine tune Web searches by topical domain rather than general subjects, allowing it to “maintain technological superiority in the area of content indexing and Web search on the Internet.”

Iran ‘Forever’ Comments on Nuclear Programme Seen as Sop to Hardliners

Mherdad Balali and William Maclean / Reuters

President Hassan Rouhani dismissed on Tuesday a Western assertion that military force could yet solve a decade-old nuclear dispute if negotiations proved fruitless, pledging that Iran would pursue peaceful atomic research “forever”.

Iran says it Has Successfully Test-Fired 2 Missiles

Aljazeera America

Iran has successfully test-fired two missiles, including a long-range ballistic weapon, the country’s official state news agency, IRNA, reported Monday.

5 Things to Know About the Sochi Olympics

Associated Press

Fast five, Tuesday edition: Things you’ll want to know about the 2014 Winter Olympics.

Incoming Winter Storm Could Mimic 1987 Heavy Snow Event

Rick Grow/ The Washington Post

Twenty seven years ago, in the middle of a snowy D.C. winter, a large and disruptive winter storm barreled up the Eastern Seaboard.

ASP Recent Publications

Fact Sheet – Executive Authority in US Trade Policy
Brendan Connell / American Security Project

There has been an increasing discussion regarding the possibility of Congress granting the US presidency “fast track” authority in free trade agreements.  But the shifting of trade authority to the executive has been a heated debate starting from the days of the Great Depression.

America’s Energy Choices – 2014
American Security Project

Three years after ASP first released “America’s Energy Choices” in 2011, the U.S. remains stuck in a political stalemate over energy. Even so, the energy choices made years or even decades ago by politicians, businesses, and consumers have led to a revolution in how the U.S. produces energy. The reality of change in America’s energy system is far different from the stagnation of the political debate.

On Our Flashpoint Blog

Egypt and the Brotherhood Question
Paul Hamill

In an Op-Ed over the weekend for Forbes, Dina Khayat, a leading Egyptian business women, set out some of the realities Egyptians face with the Muslim Brotherhood.

Threats to Pennsylvania from Climate Change
Adin Dobkin

On Monday and Tuesday, members of the Consensus for American Security will be in Pittsburgh, PA as part of a nationwide tour with the goal of education the American public on the risks of climate change in light of national security.

Update: Negotiations on Iran’s Nuclear Program
Nathan Daniels

Yesterday, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee held a hearing providing an update on the P5+1’s negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, Wendy Sherman, contributed the progress made to a combination of “tough diplomacy” and the most comprehensive targeted sanctions regime ever imposed on a country.

Upcoming Events

PENNSYLVANIA EVENT: VFW Dinner on Climate Change and Energy in Regards to National Security

American Security Project

Join us February 11, 2014 at 6pm for a dinner at West View VFW Post 2754. In 2014-2015, the American Security Project (ASP) is undertaking a grassroots effort to build a consensus among Americans around the country from left to right, and especially among the non-political, that climate change is not simply a low-priority ‘green’ issue: but instead it is a pressing national security threat.

Inside Aleppo: New Tools for Understanding the Syrian Conflict

American Security Project

The American Security Project will host Dr. David Kilcullen and Mr. Nate Rosenblatt of Caerus Associates who will provide a briefing on findings from what may be the most detailed, publicly available assessment of the ongoing conflict in Syria to date.

Egypt – Its Political and Economic Future

American Security Project

The American Security Project will be hosting members from the American Chamber of Commerce in Egypt (AMCHAM) and the US-Business Council, who will discuss many of the salient issues budding from Egypt’s current political and economic issues.

Defense Budget Issues for FY15: A Conversation with Dr. Lawrence J. Korb

American Security Project

Since sequestration and passage of the new budget the Defense Department has been adjusting to a reduced funding environment. The speaker will discuss the outlook for Pentagon spending for FY15 from personnel costs to right sizing the nuclear arsenal.

TTIP – Trade and Investment: A U.S. and European Perspective

American Security Project

Paul Adamson, editor of the European magazine E!Sharp and Senior European Policy Advisor, and Peter Rashish, a Senior Advisor for Europe and Transatlantic Trade at Transnational Strategy Group LL, will discuss the key elements of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) negotiations, key aspects for the U.S. and the E.U., the 2014 trade-political climate, and key issues both parties will face going forward.

Save the Date: Defense Budget 2014 Discussion

American Security Project

Since sequestration and passage of the new budget the Defense Department has been adjusting to a reduced funding environment – and 2014 won’t be much different. The speaker will discuss the outlook for Pentagon spending in 2014.

 

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