Center for Strategic Communication

EU ready to provide 11 billion euros of financial aid to Ukraine

Reuters

The European Union is ready to provide 11 billion euros ($15 billion) of financial support to Ukraine over the next couple of years via a series of loans and grants, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said on Wednesday.

Ukraine Plans to Cut Russian Gas Imports, Raise EU Supply

Eduard Gismatullin and Daryna Krasnolutska / Bloomberg News

Ukraine, the subject of a tussle for influence between Russia and the West, plans to cut natural-gas imports from its eastern neighbor and fill the gap with supplies from Europe to reduce dependence on OAO Gazprom (GAZP).

U.S. Takes Training Role in Africa as Threats Grow and Budgets Shrink

Eric Schmitt / NY Times

Across Africa, affiliates of Al Qaeda and other Islamist militants are proving resilient and in some cases expanding their influence, from Nigeria to Libya to Somalia, Western and African counterterrorism officials say.

Saudi, UAE, Bahrain withdraw envoys from Qatar

Aya Batrawy / Associated Press

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain recalled their ambassadors from Qatar on Wednesday in an unusually public dispute among the clubby Western-allied Gulf Arab states, a move analysts say centers on their neighbor’s support for the Muslim Brotherhood and its perceived aggressive meddling in regional conflicts.

Israeli forces seize Iranian rockets ‘destined for Gaza’ in Red Sea raid

The Guardian

Israeli naval forces have raided a ship in the Red Sea and seized dozens of advanced rockets from Iran that they claim were destined for Palestinian militants in Gaza.

TTIP: American business confident no issue can derail talks, says AmCham EU

EU Trade Insights

In an exclusive interview with viEUws, Susan Danger, Managing Director of AmCham EU, talks to Lénaïc Vaudin d’Imécourt, viEUws Trade Editor, about the TTIP negotiations. AmCham EU represents over 150 American companies that have invested in Europe.

China declares war on pollution with $35 billion fund

Economic Times

China today declared a war against chronic pollution choking the booming nation, allocating about $35 billion for environmental protection this year to combat toxic smog that frequently engulfs Chinese cities.

 

ASP Recent Publications

Mapping the Conflict in Aleppo, Syria

American Security Project

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

Secretary Kerry Follows the Military’s Lead on Climate Change

Consensus for American Security

Secretary of State John Kerry recently gave a speech in Jakarta, Indonesia, where he compared climate change to other transnational security threats such as “terrorism, epidemics, poverty, [and] the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.”  But the U.S. military was already there.

QDR – the national security challenge of climate change

Paul Hamill

Today, the Department of Defense released the much anticipated Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR). As the Pentagon notes, the “QDR is a legislatively-mandated review of Department of Defense strategy and priorities.

Europe Should Embargo Imports of Russian Natural Gas

Andrew Holland

The situation in the Ukraine is getting out of control. To put pressure on Russia, the Europeans should cease buying natural gas through the Nord Stream.

NERC Geomagnetic Disturbance Events (GMD) Reliability Standards: Comments Due Soon

Andrew Charles Wills

With over 200,000 miles of transmission lines spanning from coast-to-coast, purveyors of the North American power grid, from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to the North American Reliability Corporation (NERC) and all the utilities and energy entities in between, must stay abreast of potential threats to the viability and reliability of consistent energy

Are We Underestimating the Benefits of US Trade?

Brendan Connell

Paul Krugman’s recent column in the NY Times called the economic effects of TPP overstated, saying that failed TPP negotiations would be “no big deal”. But should we be restricting the utility of US trade within the bounds of just pure economics?

ASP in San Francisco: National Security Threats of Climate Change

BGen Stephen A. Cheney

On Tuesday February 25, representatives of the American Security Project visited San Francisco for a lunch discussion on how climate change is affecting national security, and the livelihood of people living in California.

British Military Bases at Risk to Extreme Climate

William Fassuliotis

In 2012, ASP noted that climate change could put American bases around the world at risk. As rainstorms inundate England, the British military has reached similar conclusions.

The Forgotten Partners of US Trade

Brendan Connell

For trade geeks like me, twitter feeds are becoming ever more crowded with colorful rhetoric and heated conversations over possible transatlantic and transpacific trade agreements.  But smothered by the TTP/TTIP talks is a US trade program many probably don’t even know exists.

 

ASP in the News

ASP’s Andrew Holland in Mother Jones

American Security Project’s Andrew Holland, Senior Fellow for Energy and Climate, was quoted in a recent article on Mother Jones.

Hart and Augustine: Why 9/11 can happen again

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.

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