Center for Strategic Communication

West Antarctic Ice Collapse ‘Could Drown Middle East and Asia Crops’
Suzanne Goldenberg / The Guardian
The collapse underway of a large part of the Antarctica ice sheet could devastate global food supply, drowning vast areas of crop lands across the Middle East and Asia, according to new research.
 
Tweeting at Terrorists: Inside America’s Social Media Battle With Online Jihad
Raf Sanchez / The Telegraph 
The US State Department has launched an experimental unit to fight al-Qaeda ideologists on Twitter across the web. But can it actually stop terrorism?
 
Russia May Build Eight Nuclear Reactors For Iran
Reporting by Svetlana Burmistrova; Writing by Alissa de Carbonnel and Steve Gutterman / Reuters 
Russia plans to sign a contract with Iran this year to build two more nuclear reactors at its Bushehr power plant as part of a broader deal for up to eight reactors in the Islamic state, a source close to the negotiations told Reuters on Thursday.
 
Sisi’s Economic Vision for Egypt: Back to the Future
Stephen Kalin / Reuters 
Days before a presidential election he seems certain to win, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi released a detailed, colour-coded rendering of “The Map of the Future”, designed to reassure Egyptians he is serious about attracting investment in their battered economy.

Thailand Military Seizes Power in Coup
Jonah Fisher / BBC News 
Thailand’s military has announced it is taking control of the government and has suspended the constitution.
 
Korean Warships Exchange Fire in Disputed Water
Hyung-Jin Kim / Fuel Fix
North and South Korean warships exchanged artillery fire Thursday in disputed waters off the western coast, South Korean military officials said, in the latest sign of rising animosity between the bitter rivals in recent weeks.
 
On Our Flashpoint Blog 
 
Senate Hearing: DoD’s Preperation for Climate Change’s Impact on Security
Colin Taylor
The Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense met on May 21st, 2014 to receive testimony from several Department of Defense officials on the Department’s Operational Energy programs and the incorporation of climate change into strategic planning. The DoD officials spoke mostly of increasing efficiency, adaptability, and flexibility in operational energy programs.
 
Russia and China: A Gaseous Haze
Justin Tolentino
It appears that Russia and China, two longtime geopolitical rivals, have signed a deal that allows the former to provide natural gas to the latter through a planned pipeline over 30 years. The deal is between the state-run organizations OAO Gazprom and China National Petroleum Corp. The true value of the deal has not been disclosed, but has been stated to be about $400 billion by CNPC chairman Zhou Jiping.

Upcoming Event: European Union Election Results – Implications for the United States
This May, the European Union will hold parliamentary elections to determine their parliamentary representatives for the next 5 years. The outcome of these elections will have a resounding economic, social, and political impact on the international community – including the TTIP negotiations.We will be joined by Paul Adamson, Philippe Maze-Sencier, and Geoffrey Harris who will be contributing their years of experience to the discussion.

About the American Security Project: The American Security Project is a non-profit, non-partisan public policy and research organization dedicated to fostering knowledge and understanding of a range of national security issues, promoting debate about the appropriate use of American power, and cultivating strategic responses to 21st century challenges.
 
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