International News Coverage

 

Middle East, Terrorism and Counterterrorism

 

Yemen’s leader suggests Riyadh for dialogue with rebels

Associated Press

Yemen’s president on Tuesday offered the Saudi capital Riyadh as a possible venue for the resumption of U.N.-sponsored talks with Shiite rebels who have seized Yemen’s own capital Sanaa.

 

Researchers Link Syrian Conflict to a Drought Made Worse by Climate Change

Henry Fountain / The New York Times

Drawing one of the strongest links yet between global warming and human conflict, researchers said Monday that an extreme drought in Syria between 2006 and 2009 was most likely due to climate change, and that the drought was a factor in the violent uprising that began there in 2011.

 

Turkey delivers military aid to Iraq

Associated Press

Turkey’s state-run news agency says Turkey has delivered two plane-loads of military aid to Iraq. The Anadolu Agency says two C-130 military cargo planes carrying the equipment landed at an air base near Baghdad on Tuesday. It did not give any detail on the supplies.

 

Fierce clashes rage around Iraqi city of Tikrit

BBC News

Fierce clashes are taking place around the Iraqi city of Tikrit, as soldiers and militiamen attack Islamic State positions in the centre, officials say.

 

Europe

 

Grexit risk rising despite cash lifeline: investor survey

John Geddie / Reuters

Chances of Greece leaving the euro zone in the next 12 months are the highest since late 2012 even though Athens’s financial lifeline has been extended, a survey of investors based mainly in Germany showed on Tuesday.

 

Reform Party Wins Estonia Elections

Liis Kangsepp / Wall Street Journal

Estonia’s ruling center-right Reform Party won the most votes in general elections Sunday, beating a pro-Russian party in a close fight that centered on taxes and national security amid Kremlin’s moves in Ukraine.

 

British refusal to cooperate with spy inquiry causes row in Germany

Ian Traynor / The Guardian

Downing Street and the German chancellery are embroiled in a worsening dispute over intelligence-sharing and the covert counter-terrorism campaign because of conflicts arising from the surveillance scandals surrounding the US National Security Agency and Britain’s GCHQ.

 

The Americas

 

Environmental groups sue Port of Seattle over Shell oil fleet

Anthony Bolante / Reuters

A coalition of environmental groups sued the Port of Seattle on Monday to stop the lease of a terminal to Royal Dutch Shell Plc’s Arctic oil drilling fleet, arguing a proper environmental review was never conducted, court records showed.

 

Argentine President Denies Cover-Up in Bombing Inquiry

Jonathan Gilbert / The New York Times

President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner of Argentina made an impassioned defense on Sunday of her role in the investigation into the fatal bombing of a Jewish community center here in 1994, days after a judge dismissed criminal allegations against her.

 

Venezuela gives US two weeks to cut 80 diplomats

BBC News

The Venezuelan government says the United States has two weeks to dramatically reduce the number of diplomats it has in the country.

 

Africa

 

Nigeria stalls Chad, aims to beat Boko Haram before election

Daniel Flynn and Bate Felix / Reuters

When battle-hardened Chadian troops overran a Boko Haram camp in northern Nigeria last week, they wanted to press deep into territory controlled by the Islamist group but Nigeria refused to let them.

 

Anti-Islamist general named Libya army chief

Agence France-Presse / The Guardian

A once-retired general leading a sweeping offensive against Islamists has been named Libyan army chief, an official said Monday, in a move expected to deepen divisions in the conflict-riven country.

 

Asia

 

China investigates second top soldier in corruption probe into armed forces

Reuters

China is investigating a second former top military officer on suspicion of corruption, two independent sources told Reuters, as President Xi Jinping widens his campaign against deep-rooted graft in the country.

 

Taiwan Says Agreement Reached in China Flight Path Dispute

Aries Poon / Wall Street Journal

Taiwan and China have reached an agreement over disputed new commercial flight paths following months of negotiations, according to Taiwanese officials.

 

Tensions set to rise on Korean peninsula as annual war games near

Jethro Mullen and Madison Park / CNN

Joint military exercises conducted by South Korea and the United States each spring start this week. The drills, involving thousands of troops and state of the art military hardware, don’t go down well with North Korea.

 

Energy Security, Science and Technology, Climate Change

 

Mutual Suspicion Mars Tech Trade With China

Jane Perlez and Paul Mozurf / The New York Times

At an elegant guesthouse here recently, China’s top Internet regulator entertained ambassadors and diplomats with platters of tempura and roast on a spit, unusual lavishness in an era of official austerity in China, to celebrate the Chinese New Year.

 

EU’s 2050 green goals will need radical policy shifts: report

Alister Doyle / Reuters

The European Union will need radical new policies to reach goals for safeguarding the environment by 2050 after limited progress in curbing pollution and climate change, the European Environment Agency (EEA) said on Tuesday.

 

Obama Says Tech Companies Won’t Be Willing to Comply With Chinese Measures

Carlos Tejada / Wall Street Journal

U.S. officials have already said they are worried about proposed Chinese measures that they say will hurt U.S. companies. Now President Barack Obama has made clear that those worries go straight to the top.

 

On Our Flashpoint Blog

 

House Bill Focuses on Reorganization of National Labs

Philip Rossetti

On February 27th, Representative Hultgren introduced H.R. 1158, the Department of Energy Laboratory Modernization and Technology Transfer Act of 2015 intended “to improve management of the National Laboratories, enhance technology commercialization, facilitate public-private partnerships, and for other purposes.”

 

ASP in: “Investing in America’s Next Energy Boom”

William George

Last week, ASP Board Member Norman Augustine co-authored an article with Chad Holliday in The Hill calling for more investment in energy research and development (R&D) to improve US energy security and the quality of life within the country.

 

ASP Senior Fellow Seyom Brown Discusses Obama’s National Security Policy

William George

On Wednesday, February 25, 2015, the American Security Project hosted Dr. Seyom Brown in a discussion of President Obama’s national security policy. Dr. Brown sat down with ASP CEO BGen Stephen Cheney, USMC (Ret) and examined key questions regarding the current Administration’s national security policy choices.

 

Concerns Over the Daesh and Libya

Luke Lorenz

The recent beheadings of 21 Egyptian workers by a Libya based ISIS affiliate has revealed that extremist ideology is bourgeoning in this environment of destabilization.

 

The Long Final Leap Against Polio in Pakistan

Kennington Cung

On February 23, 2015, in Quetta, Pakistan over 400 teams of healthcare workers began an eight day campaign to inoculate of 478,000 children against polio. The men and women bring with them paperwork, information handouts, coolers containing the vaccines, and an extensive military security detail. With another four workers found murdered just ten day prior, bringing the death toll to eighty six, the heightened security is not only important for the safety of health workers but also crucial to keep the momentum to eradicate polio.

 
Upcoming Events
Congressional Breakfast Conversation on National Security Strategy

March 11 @ 9:30am – 10:00am

Well-informed congressional leaders are key to ensuring the national security of our nation. For that reason, American Security Project (ASP), is hosting a breakfast roundtable discussion on strategic approaches to national security issues from a nonpartisan perspective.

 

Discussion with Gov. Christine Todd Whitman: Climate Change Calls for Clean and Safe Energy

April 10 @ 10:00am – 11:00am

Join Governor Whitman at the World Affairs Council of Hilton Head Island as she discusses the important issue of climate change and its impact on clean, safe energy. She will recount her experience as governor as well as the Administrator of the EPA. Come join this exciting event.

 

ASP Recently Published

Global Natural Gas Pivot to Asia

American Security Project

Asia currently has two of the world’s three largest economies, and its energy needs to fuel these economies are continuing to grow. Energy suppliers are increasingly looking to exploit this market demand, trying to secure their market share in an economy with a long term demand. To this effect, energy suppliers are looking to how they can best fulfill the needs of the Asian energy markets.

 

Effective Measures for Tackling Climate Change — Divestment

American Security Project

This report focuses on how effective fossil fuel divestment campaigns in the United States would be in combating the effects of global climate change, as well as explore various solutions that aim to mitigate and eventually reverse the effects of our current accelerating climate change.

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