Center for Strategic Communication

International News Coverage

Climate Security and Energy Security

Philippines Pushes Developing Countries to Cut Their Emissions

Coral Davenport | The New York Times

As the torrential rains of Typhoon Hagupit flood the Philippines, driving millions of people from their homes, the Philippine government arrived at a United Nations climate change summit meeting on Monday to push hard for a new international deal requiring all nations, including developing countries, to cut their use of fossil fuels.

 

Kerry Plans to Attend Climate Talks

Coral Davenport | The New York Times

In a sign of the importance that the Obama administration has placed on the outcome of United Nations climate change negotiations taking place here this week, Secretary of State John Kerry will arrive on Thursday to strongly urge negotiators to reach a deal, according to sources familiar with Mr. Kerry’s plans but unauthorized to speak to the media. Typically, the secretary of state would not join diplomatic negotiations at this level, but Mr. Kerry has made climate change a priority of his tenure.

 

Philippines starts clean-up after Hagupit

Al Jazeera

Typhoon Hagupit has been downgraded to a tropical storm as it swept out of the Philippines where it killed at least 42 people and wreaked havoc in several parts of the archipelago.

 

Science and Education

NASA Photos Show New Signs Of A Lake On Mars

Bill Chappell | NPR

Signs of water currents and sediments are seen in the latest photos NASA’s Curiosity rover sent home from Mars, the space agency said Monday. The images suggest “ancient Mars maintained a climate that could have produced long-lasting lakes,” NASA says.

 

Nobel Peace Winners Stress Education For All

Associated Press

Nobel Peace Prize winners Malala Yousafzai from Pakistan and Kailash Satyarthi of India have stressed the importance of uniting people across borders and religions by educating children and freeing them from poverty.

 

Why Math Might Be The Secret To School Success

Anya Kamenetz | NPR

Little children are big news this week, as the White House holds a summit on early childhood education on Wednesday. The president wants every 4-year-old to go to preschool, but the new Congress is unlikely to foot that bill.

 

Middle East, ISIS, Terrorism

US official claims gains in curtailing IS oil smuggling

Barbara Slavin | Al Monitor

Amos Hochstein, the State Department’s special envoy and coordinator for International Energy Affairs, said Dec. 8 that the US-led effort to reduce Islamic State (IS) oil revenues has been “remarkably successful in a relatively short period of time,” but independent experts questioned whether the gains extend to local markets and long-standing smuggling corridors.

 

WFP restarts food aid for Syrian refugees after campaign

Reuters

The U.N. World Food Program is restarting food aid for 1.7 million Syrian refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, Iraq and Egypt after it received enough donations to fund the halted program.

 

Turkey rebuffs EU criticism on waning foreign policy alignment

Tulay Karadeniz | Reuters

Turkey hit back on Tuesday at European Union accusations that it has drifted apart from the bloc on foreign policy, saying Ankara had been kept out of decision-making despite making major contributions to EU defense.

 

Last French hostage freed by Al Qaeda’s north African arm: Hollande

Alexandria Sage and Abdoulaye Massalaki | Reuters

President Francois Hollande said on Tuesday that the last French citizen held hostage, a 50-year-old man seized in 2011 by Al Qaeda’s north African arm, had now been freed.

 

Iraqi leader asks US for more air power, weaponry

Robert Burns | Associated Press

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi told U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel on Tuesday that his army is taking the offensive against the Islamic State group but needs more air power and heavy weaponry to prevail.

 

Facing Threats From ISIS And Iran, Gulf States Set To Join Forces

Deborah Amos | NPR

Alarmed over rising threats in the Middle East and North Africa, the Gulf Cooperation Council is set to launch an unprecedented joint military command, according to regional officials and military analysts.

 

Senate Report: Harsh CIA Tactics Didn’t Work

Bradley Klapper and Ken Dilanian | Associated Press

Senate investigators delivered a damning indictment of CIA practices Tuesday, accusing the spy agency of inflicting pain and suffering on prisoners beyond legal limits and deceiving the nation with narratives of life-saving interrogations unsubstantiated by its own records.

 

Misgivings by U.S. General as Afghan Mission Ends

Azam Ahmed | The New York Times

Shortly after the speeches concluded, the flags were folded and the band silenced, the last American general to lead combat operations in Afghanistan offered his candid assessment of the war.

 

Ukraine

Ukraine crisis: Shaky ceasefire holds as talks expected

BBC

Ukrainian government forces and pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine are observing a ceasefire after weeks of bitter fighting, officials say.

 

Asia

Hong Kong Police: Protest Camp Shutdown Thursday

Kelvin Chan | Associated Press

Police warned Hong Kong pro-democracy activists that they have until Thursday to leave a sprawling protest camp which has blocked traffic in the Chinese financial hub for more than two months.

 

On Our Flashpoint Blog

Hochstein: “Energy plays a critical role in national security”

Caroline Julia von Wurden

Special Envoy Amos Hochstein spoke about energy policy and the critical role it plays in global and national security.

 

Electricity Supply: What it Means for Security, Development, and Geopolitics

American Security Project

Energy, development, and security are inextricably linked to one another- especially in rural and other communities without access to a traditional power grid system.

 

Basil El-Baz: Defeating ISIL through Job Creation

Giancarlo Lima

In order to truly defeat ISIL and its ilk, economies of the region needs to undergo a fundamental transformation.

 

Upcoming Events

NYC Event: Pakistan – Aid, Trade, and Security

December 9, 12:00 pm – 2:00 pm

Location: NY, New York

The event will be a discussion of the current conditions of economic aid, trade and security in Pakistan, and will feature ASP Board Member Admiral William Fallon USN (Ret.), former Commander of CENTCOM and PACOM; and USAID Assistant to the Administrator for Pakistan in the Office of Afghanistan and Pakistan Affairs Mr. Daniel Grant.

 

4th Annual Defense, National Security & Climate Change Symposium

January 7, 8:00 am – 5:00 pm

Location: 2660 Woodley Rd NW, Washington DC

Join us for the 4th Annual Defense, National Security & Climate Change Symposium from January 7-8, 2015. Use the code: ASP-Discount-2015 at check-out to receive a 20% discount.

 

Economic Diplomacy: How Economic Ties Can Strengthen National Security with Amb. Rivkin

January 15, 12:30 pm – 1:30 pm

Location: American Security Project, 1100 New York Ave, NW – 7th Floor, West Tower, Washington, DC

Join ASP on January 15, 2015 as we welcome Assistant Secretary for Economic and Business Affairs Charles H. Rivkin for Economic Diplomacy: How Economic Ties Can Strengthen National Security.

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