Center for Strategic Communication

International News Coverage

Middle East, ISIS, Al-Qaeda, Terrorism, and Counterterrorism

As U.S. takes on the Islamic State, al-Qaeda remains degraded but not defeated
Greg Miller and Kevin Sieff / The Washington Post

Zawahiri was silent on a far more sensitive project — the creation of a cell in Syria dedicated to plots against the United States — that once again made predictions of the demise of al-Qaeda’s core seem premature.

Islamic State crisis: ‘3,000 European jihadists join fight’
BBC

The number of Europeans joining Islamist fighters in Syria and Iraq has risen to more than 3,000, the EU’s anti-terrorism chief has told the BBC.

Taliban Militants Storm Province Near Kabul
VOA News

Afghan officials say Taliban insurgents have stormed a province near the capital, killing dozens of people over the past week.

Islamic State tightens grip on Syrian border town, shells hit Turkey
Jonny Hogg / Reuters

Islamic State fighters tightened their siege of the strategic town of Kobani on Syria’s border with Turkey on Friday, pushing back Kurdish forces and sending at least two shells into Turkish territory, witnesses said.

Refugees flee Islamic State bid to claim strategic town as airstrikes expand
Rebecca Collard and Brian Murphy/ The Washington Post

Hundreds more refugees in Syria’s Kurdish region streamed toward the Turkish border on Friday as Islamic State fighters seeking to claim a strategic town attempted to break through defensive lines and resist U.S.-led airstrikes, activists and witnesses said.

U.S.-led strikes pressure al Qaeda’s Syria group to join with Islamic State
Mariam Karouny / Reuters

Al Qaeda’s affiliate in Syria, the Nusra Front, is facing mounting pressure from its own members to reconcile with its rival Islamic State and confront a common enemy after U.S.-led air strikes hit both groups this week.

Islamic State ‘brand’ gains ground among Asian militants
Rosemarie Francisco & Stuart Grudgings / Reuters

A threat by Philippine militants to kill a German hostage in a show of solidarity with Islamic State is the latest sign that the Middle East group’s brand of radicalism is winning recruits in Asia and posing a growing security risk in the region.

France Conducts Fresh Airstrikes Against Islamic State in Iraq
Inti Landauro / The Wall Street Journal

France carried out a fresh round of airstrikes on Islamic State positions in Iraq on Thursday, after U.S.-led airstrikes overnight against oil installations and compounds belonging to the extremist group in Syria.

WH: Turkey to join coalition against ISIS
Jesse Byrnes / The Hill

Turkey is expected to join a handful of Muslim nations supporting the U.S. fight against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), the White House said Wednesday.

US Ready To Soften Stance On Iran Nuclear Deal: Report
Avaneesh Pandey / International Business Times

With barely a month left until a self-imposed deadline to hammer out a nuclear agreement with Iran, the United States is now considering an alternative proposal that significantly softens its previous position on the number of active centrifuges Tehran should be allowed to operate, the Associated Press, or AP, reported, citing unnamed U.S. officials.

Russia, Ukraine, and NATO

Russian parliament ratifies agreement on Eurasian Economic Union
ITAR-TASS

The lower house of Russia’s parliament, the State Duma, on Friday ratified the agreement on the Eurasian Economic Union. Most deputies voted for the treaty. The union plans free movement of goods, services, capital and labour as an extension of the Customs Union of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan.

Hungary suspends gas supplies to Ukraine
BBC

Hungary’s gas pipeline operator, FGSZ, says it has suspended delivery of gas to neighbouring Ukraine “indefinitely”.

EU Official Raises Prospect of Reworking Ukraine Trade Pact
Laurence Norman & Gregory White / The Wall Street Journal

A top European Union official backed away from a pledge not to allow changes to the bloc’s newly ratified trade pact with Ukraine, a move likely to intensify Russian pressure on the country even as its president insisted Thursday that the doors to Europe remained open.

Ukraine Pushes for NATO Membership as Gas Talks Commence
Volodymyr Verbyany and Daryna Krasnolutska / Bloomberg

Ukraine began the process to strengthen ties with NATO and said it wanted to join the alliance in the “short term” after President Petro Poroshenko declared the worst of its separatist war was over.

Ruble Sinks to Record as Russia Prosecutors File Bashneft Suit
Vladimir Kuznetsov and Ksenia Galouchko / Bloomberg

The ruble depreciated to a new record against the dollar as Russian prosecutors filed suit to regain state ownership of OAO Bashneft, the oil producer controlled by Vladimir Evtushenkov’s AFK Sistema.

Russian Air Incursions Rattle Baltic States
Richard Miline / The Financial Times

The Baltic countries are registering a dramatic increase in Russian military provocations, rattling nerves in a region which fears it could be the next frontier after Ukraine in Moscow’s quest at asserting its regional power.

Asia Pacific

Japan PM Abe says seeks better ties with China, South Korea, Russia
Reuters

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said he wants to improve relations with China, South Korea and Russia, while acknowledging difficulties facing ties with his country’s Asia-Pacific neighbors.

India, China agree to end Himalayan border face-off
Sanjeev Miglani / Reuters

India and China have agreed to pull back troops ranged against each other on a remote Himalayan plateau, the Indian government said on Friday, ending their biggest face-off on the disputed border in a year.

NATO AND JAPAN CONDUCT FIRST EVER JOINT COUNTER-PIRACY DRILL
NATO

NATO and Japan conducted a joint counter-piracy drill in the Gulf of Aden on Thursday, 25 September 2014, to test communications and tactical skills. It was the first such joint naval exercise between the two maritime fleets.

North Korean TV acknowledges leader Kim Jong Un’s health problems
James Pearson / Reuters

Young North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is suffering from “discomfort”, state media has said in the first official acknowledgement of ill health after a prolonged period out of the public eye.

Climate Change

America’s Energy Outlook Is Fracking Great, For Now

Christopher Helman / Forbes

On Tuesday the Winston & Strawn law firm rented out the main hall of Houston’s River Oaks Country Club and brought in some smart guys to provide perspective for a cocktail-hour discussion on the topic: U.S. Energy Outlook. The panel consisted of T. Boone Pickens, former Houston Mayor Bill White and Dan Pickering of investment banking firm Tudor, Pickering & Holt.

Ebola

Ebola Spread Poses a Security Threat, Obama Tells U.N.

Lucy Westcott / NEWSWEEK

President Barack Obama urged world leaders to step up their nations’ efforts in helping to contain the Ebola virus outbreak, warning that the spread of the disease could pose a global security threat.

On Our Flashpoint Blog
Egypt President Sisi Must Confront Old Challenges To Bring Forward A New Egypt
Giancarlo Lima
In a wide ranging interview with Charlie Rose during this week’s UN General Assembly, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi discussed a variety of issues ranging from Egypt’s role in the coalition against ISIL, the Egyptian economy, Egypt’s relations with the Gulf, and whether the Muslim Brotherhood has a future in Egyptian society.

Secretary Kerry: ‘Energy economy of the future is a win-win’
Caroline Julia von Wurden
On Monday, Secretary of State John Kerry (one of ASPs founding board members) addressed the 2014 NYC Climate Week conference to discuss the future of climate change and its implications for the United States and the international community.

Nelson Cunningham Elected President of the American Security Project
American Security Project
This week, ASP congratulates Board Member Nelson Cunningham on his election as the new President of the American security Project.

Secretary Kerry’s Remarks at 2014 NYC Climate Week
Giancarlo Lima
On Monday, ASP founder and Secretary of State John Kerry addressed the 2014 NYC Climate Week conference to discuss the future of climate change and its implications for the United States and the international community.

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.

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The post What We Are Reading… September 26, 2014 appeared first on American Security Project.