ASP: In case you missed it ….22 September 2014

Top Reports

The Global Security Defense Index on Climate Change

Andrew Holland and Albert DeGarmo

Military perspectives on climate change from around the world.

Secretary’s Remarks: Remarks at NYC Climate Week Opening Event

Department of State

Transcript from Secretary Kerry’s remarks at NYC Climate Week Opening Event.

 

Climate Change

Global marches draw attention to climate change

Verena Dobnik / Associated Press
Tens of thousands of activists walked through Manhattan on Sunday, warning that climate change is destroying the Earth – in stride with demonstrators around the world who urged policymakers to take quick action.

Climate change marches: Kerry cites fight against Ebola and Isis as thousands join protests

The Guardian

On a day of 2,700 simultaneous climate events from Melbourne to Manhattan, the US secretary of state, John Kerry, reinforced the calls from the streets for action by calling on world leaders to take the threat of climate change as seriously as Isis or Ebola.

 

International News Coverage

ISIL, Terrorism and Counterterrorism

Syrian Kurdish fighters halt Islamic State advance near Kobani

The Guardian

Syrian Kurdish fighters have halted an advance by Islamic State (Isis) fighters to the east of a predominantly Kurdish town near the border with Turkey, a spokesman for the main armed Kurdish group said. “Fierce clashes are still under way but the Isis advance to the east of Kobani has been halted since last night,” Redur Xelil, spokesman for the YPG said via Skype.

130,000 Syrians flee ISIL brutality; Turkey warns of ‘man-made disaster’

Al Jazeera

At least 130,000 Syrian refugees have reached Turkey over the past four days after fleeing the advance of Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) fighters, the Turkish government said Monday, in what appears to be the largest exodus of refugees in the country’s more than three-year-long civil war.

Interview with Secretary of State John Kerry on MSNBC’s Morning Joe

Department of State

Transcript of Interview with Secretary of State, John Kerry, on his appearance on MSNBC’s Morning Joe on September 22, 2014.

 

United Nations

ISIL, Ebola and Ukraine: What’s on the agenda at the UN General Assembly

Jamie Tarabay / Al Jazeera

This week world leaders at the annual United Nations General Assembly in New York will grapple with crises unforeseen the last time the assembly met. Among them, the increasing threat of the Ebola outbreak and the rapid growth of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group in large swaths of Syria and Iraq.

Emma Watson: Gender equality is your issue too

UN Women

Speech by UN Women Goodwill Ambassador Emma Watson at a special event for the “HeForShe” campaign, United Nations Headquarters, New York, 20 September 2014.

 

U.S. News

Rockefellers, Heirs to an Oil Fortune, Will Divest Charity from Fossil Fuels

John Schwartz / the New York Times

The family whose legendary wealth flowed from Standard Oil is planning to announce on Monday that its $860 million philanthropic organization, the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, is joining the divestment movement that began a couple years ago on college campuses.

NASA’s Maven spacecraft enters Mars orbit

Marcia Dunn / Associated Press

NASA’s Maven spacecraft entered orbit around Mars for an unprecedented study of the red planet’s atmosphere following a 442 million-mile journey that began nearly a year ago.

Secret Service to beef up presence after 2 White House security incidents

Mary Grace Lucas, Holly Yan, and Ashley Fantz / CNN

The U.S. Secret Service is planning to boost its presence and its surveillance measures around the White House on Monday after an Iraq war veteran, who is apparently suffering from PTSD, jumped over a White House fence.

 

On Our Flashpoint Blog

Event Recap: Future of the Middle East and America’s Involvement

Sophia Dahodwala

Building off the current national conversation surrounding the ongoing turbulence in the Middle East, a cadre of panelists reflected on the future of the region and laid out several prescriptions for the United States’ involvement in the Middle East, with varying degrees of optimism and pessimism.

Sonenshine on Public Diplomacy and the New Space Race

Maggie Feldman-Piltch

In a recent piece for HuffPost’s The Hill, former Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs and ASP Consensus Member Tara Sonenshine discussed the public diplomacy value of NASA’s announcement of $8.6 billion in contracts to SpaceX and Boeing.

New Funding Opportunity for Fusion Experiments

Caroline Julia von Wurden

The Advanced Research Projects Agency Energy (ARPA-E) recently announced a new funding stream for intermediate density plasma experiments.

Under Secretary Stengel – Public Diplomacy is a Conversation

Matthew Wallin

Giving his first comprehensive presentation on his view of public diplomacy, Under Secretary Richard Stengel spoke to an audience of prominent practitioners and academics at ASP on Tuesday, and addressed a variety of issues the United States faces in 2014 and beyond.

Fallon: Concerns over ISIL in the Homeland

Naman Jain

On September 12, ASP Board Member Admiral William Fallon, USN (Ret.) was interviewed by Fox Business in regards to the ongoing crisis in the Middle East perpetrated by ISIS.

 

Upcoming Events
What’s Next? Fostering the Next Generation of Energy Security Conference
September 30 @ 9:00 AM – 4:30 PM
The next steps in building a cleaner, more resilient energy system and economy will not be easy. The American Security Project intends to build on its years of research into energy security and climate policy by initiating a study into the next generation of energy policy. Join ASP and our panelists as we discuss the next generation of energy technology and climate policy.
ASP Conference: Africa – Promoting Investment and Extending America’s Security
October 2 @ 12:00 PM – 4:30 PM
The half-day event will bring together expects from the public and private sector, as well as policy makers and members of the media to discuss the mutually beneficial impacts of US private investment on the African continent, opportunities for practical investment, and how to effectively manage the accompanying risk.

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