Center for Strategic Communication

Eyeing Afghan Exit, U.S. Intensifies Campaign against Haqqani Militants

Missy Ryan and Phil Stewart / Reuters

The United States has intensified its drive against the Taliban-linked Haqqani network in an attempt to deal a lasting blow to the militants in Afghanistan before foreign combat forces depart this year, according to multiple U.S. officials.

John Kerry Warns of Ocean ‘Dead Zones’ from Pollution and Acidification

Ed King / RTCC

In his second major environmental speech this month, he said pollution, over-fishing and acidification linked to greenhouse gas emissions were stripping the high seas of life.

Egypt’s Sisi to stay on as Defense Minister: Source

Asma Alsharif and Yasmine Saleh / Reuters

Egyptian army chief Field Marshal Abdel Fattah al-Sisi will keep his post as defense minister in the new government, an official source said on Wednesday, quashing speculation he was about to announce a widely expected bid for the presidency.

Rival Groups Clash in Ukraine’s Crimea

Yuras Karamanau / Associated Press

Fistfights broke out between pro- and anti-Russian demonstrators in Ukraine’s strategic Crimea region on Wednesday as Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered massive military exercises just across the border.

World Begins 2014 with Unusual Number of Extreme Weather Events

John Vidal / The Guardian

UN’s World Meteorological Organization says recent extremes of heat, cold and rain are almost certainly interlinked.

NATO Countries’ 2013 Defense Spending Estimates are Likely to Upset US Officials

David Kashi / International Business Times

Officials from the U.S. expressed concern that Europe is not doing enough to share the costs of NATO operations at a time when new regional threats harm the stability of the alliance.

Why the US Army is Spending Billions on Clean Energy

John Daly / The Christian Science Monitor

The US Army has made some impressive commitments to renewable energy in an effort to procure reliable and locally generated energy sources.

Senate Offshore Tax Cheating Report Skewers Credit Suisse and U.S. Justice Department

Janet Novack / Forbes

A new report from the Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations estimates that Credit Suisse Group AG helped as many as 20,000 U.S. taxpayers evade billions of U.S. tax, but says that so far the U.S. Department of Justice has gotten the identities of only 238 of those account holders.

Hezbollah Vows Retaliation against Israel for Airstrike against Site in Lebanon

Liz Sly and Suzan Haidamous / The Washington Post

Lebanon’s Shiite Hezbollah movement threatened Wednesday to retaliate against Israel for carrying out an airstrike against one of its positions in Lebanon for the first time in eight years, raising the stakes in Syria’s steadily expanding war.

ASP Recent Publications

Mapping the Conflict in Aleppo, Syria

David Kilcullen and Nathaniel Rosenblatt

Over the course of four months American Security Project supported Caerus Associates and First Mile Geo in what may be the highest fidelity, time series analysis of the ongoing human tragedy unfolding inside of Aleppo, Syria.

Fact Sheet — Executive Authority in US Trade Policy

Brendan Connell

There has been an increasing discussion regarding the possibility of Congress granting the US presidency “fast track” authority in free trade agreements. This report gives the facts.

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: Politics and Rights

Paul Hamill

There is a new commercial making news in Egypt – in it, the former Grand Mufti of Egypt pleads for contributions to a common account to rehabilitate and preserve mosques and churches.

Cybersecurity: A Balanced Approach

Nathan Alvarado-Castle

Cybersecurity has become a growing field for industries and governments alike. But what exactly are we talking about when we speak of security in the cyber realm?

A Dispatch From Our Man in Kiev

American Security Project

A detailed view of the political changes that have happened in Ukraine this weekend, including analysis of Yanukovych, Tymoshenko, Turchynov, Putin and others.

ASP in Pittsburgh: Climate Change Threatens Security of US and Pennsylvania

Andrew Holland

On Monday and Tuesday February 10 and 11, representatives of the American Security Project visited Pittsburgh and Southwestern Pennsylvania for a series of meetings, public events, and briefings on how climate change is affecting national security, and the security of people living in Pennsylvania.

Hart and Augustine: Why 9/11 can happen again

Paul Hamill

In the LA Times this morning, ASP Board Members Sen. Gary Hart and Norman R. Augustine wrote an oped on the Congressional oversight over homeland security issues.

California, Drought, and Climate Change

William Fassuliotis

California and much of the rest of the West Coast have been gripped by drought for the past two years. What role has climate change had to play and how will it impact the future?

Inside Aleppo: New Tools for Understanding the Syrian Conflict—Event Summary

Nathan Alvarado-Castle

What may be the most detailed, publically available assessment of the ongoing conflict in Syria to date.

Untangling Trade: How TPP Can Help American Businesses

Brendan Connell

As is the case among negotiating TPP members, the existence of overlapping FTAs can be vastly complex and confusing. So just how “tangled” is Pacific trade and why should this matter to American businesses?

ASP in the News

Hart and Augustine: Why 9/11 can happen again

Paul Hamill

In the LA Times this morning, ASP Board Members Sen. Gary Hart and Norman R. Augustine wrote an oped on the Congressional oversight over homeland security issues.

ASP’s Pittsburgh Event on Weather.com

A recent Weather.com article quoted American Security Project’s Brig. General Stephen Cheney, CEO, Andrew Holland, Senior Fellow for Energy and Climate, and Rear Admiral Dr. David Titley.

ASP’s Andrew Holland on America’s Fusion Race in Defense One

American Security Project’s Andrew Holland, Senior Fellow for Energy and Climate, was quoted in a recent article by Defense One’s Patrick Tucker.

Upcoming Events

Save the Date: Defense Budget 2014 Discussion

March 26 @ 12:30 pm – 1:30 pm

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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