International News Coverage

 

Middle East, Terrorism and Counterterrorism

 

U.S. Syria strategy falters with collapse of rebel group

Dasha Afanasieva and Sylvia Westall / Reuters

The Hazzm movement was once central to a covert CIA operation to arm Syrian rebels, but the group’s collapse last week underlines the failure of efforts to unify Arab and Western support for mainstream insurgents fighting the Syrian military.

 

Iranian ‘operation’ in Yemen frees kidnapped diplomat

BBC News

An Iranian diplomat held hostage in Yemen for more than 18 months has been freed following an intelligence operation, Iranian state media say.

 

Kerry Briefs wary Gulf ministers after Iran nuclear talks

Jo Biddle / Agence France Press

Riyadh (AFP) – US Secretary of State John Kerry on Thursday briefed wary Gulf ministers about his latest nuclear talks with Iran as Washington and its regional allies seek to stabilise a troubled Middle East.

 

Islamic State torches oil field near Tikrit as militia advance

Saif Hameed and Dominic Evans / Reuters
Islamic State militants have set fire to oil wells northeast of the city of Tikrit to obstruct an assault by Shi’ite militiamen and Iraqi soldiers trying to drive them from the Sunni Muslim city and surrounding towns, a witness said.

 

Europe

 

Russian soldiers ‘dying in large numbers’ in Ukraine – Nato

BBC News
Nato’s deputy chief says Russian leaders are less and less able to conceal the deaths of “large numbers” of Russian soldiers in eastern Ukraine.

 

Before Nemetsov’s assassination, a year of demonization

Michael Birnbaum / The Washington Post

MOSCOW — Days after Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov was killed at the Kremlin’s doorstep, his grieving allies say that a year of dark accusations of treason and fascism laid the groundwork for his death.

Death toll in east Ukraine mine blast reaches 32

Nataliya Vasilyeva / Associated Press

DONETSK, Ukraine (AP)—Officials in a separatist rebel-held city in east Ukraine say the death toll from an accidental explosion at a coal mine has risen to 32.

 

 

The Americas

 

North Korea: knife attack on US ambassador was ‘expression of resistance’

Justin McCurry / The Guardian

North Korea has described a knife attack that left the US ambassador in Seoul with a 11cm-long facial wound as “just punishment” for joint US-South Korea military drills.

 

Winter’s Last Hurrah? Temperatures Plummet Again; More Snow

Sean Carlin and Geoff Mulvhill / Associated Press

Winter could have at least one more blast for much of the U.S. after the late-season snow stops falling: Record low temperatures are in the forecast for dozens or cities.

 

Africa

 

‘Boko Haram’ kill dozens in raid on Nigerian village

BBC News

Suspected Boko Haram militants have killed at least 45 people in a village in Borno state, north-east Nigeria, witnesses have said.

 

U.N. urges Mali rebels to sign northern peace proposal

Reuters

The United Nations is urging Tuareg-led rebels to sign a proposal on the future of northern Mali, calling it an important step toward peace in the violent region.

 

Asia

 

India threatens BBC over rapist interview

BBC News

India’s home minister has threatened action against the BBC, after it aired a film in the UK featuring an interview with an Indian rapist on death row.

 

Canadian pastor is ‘detained in North Korea’

BBC News

A pastor from a Canadian church has been detained by North Korea, his family and church have said. Reverend Hyeon Soo Lim went missing at the end of January. The Canadian foreign ministry have informed his family about his detention.

 

China’s new terrorism law provokes anger in U.S., concern at home

Simon Denyer / Washington Post

A new draft counterterrorism law here is provoking unusually strong condemnation, from multinational companies trying to do business in China to domestic dissidents trying to stay out of jail and from global human rights groups to foreign health workers.

 

Energy Security, Science and Technology, Climate Change

 

Global flood toll to triple by 2030
Claire Marshall / BBC News
The number of people affected by river flooding worldwide could nearly triple in the next 15 years, analysis shows. Climate change and population growth are driving the increase, according to the World Resources Institute (WRI).

 

Arctic sea ice could set an ominous new record this year

Chris Mooney / The Washington Post

The National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC), in Boulder, Colo., is our top tracker of Arctic sea ice, which reaches a winter maximum each year right around now and then declines to yearly minimum in September. Usually, people focus on that September minimum extent because that’s when there’s the least sea ice at the top of the world — and the lows keep getting lower, with the current record low having come in 2012.

 

Climate change a threat to national security (op-ed)

Ken Eickmann and Neil Morisetti / Miami Herald
South Florida is used to being on the front lines of climate change. Rising sea levels and extreme weather events are facts of life.Climate change is a fact of life for the military as well. One of us commanded the U.S. Air Force’s Aeronautical Systems Center. The other served as Commander of U.K. Maritime Forces with the Royal Navy. Both of us have seen first-hand how the risks of climate change affect military operations and national security around the world.

 

On Our Flashpoint Blog

 

Defeating the Daesh in Iraq—time to face reality
Paul Hamill
Last week I spoke on a number of panels at a conference in Riga Latvia regarding the future of Iraq and how to fully defeat Daesh (also known as ISIS). The conference “TOWARD PEACE AND RECONCILIATION IN IRAQ“, heard from U.S. policy makers, European politicians, Iraqi leaders, Arab diplomats as well as a wide range of experts and journalists.

 

ASP in Florida: Climate Change Threatens Security of Florida
Andrew Holland
On Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, November 17, 18, and 19, representatives of the American Security Project visited Orlando and Tampa, Florida for a series of meetings, public events, and briefings on how climate change is affecting security, how institutions in the region are planning for it, and how that will impact the careers of military and civilians working on national security in the future.

 

Debt and Decisions: Puerto Rico

Luke Lorenz

While the small American territory of Puerto Rico struggles to overcome the most significant economic crisis that it has faced in its history, the importance of this affair is receiving little attention from the U.S. mainland. The tragedy of this apathetic attitude is that Puerto Rico’s recovery is dependent upon the actions of the U.S. Congress.

 

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.

 

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

Energy Security in the Caribbean

American Security Project

On Wednesday, February 4th 2015, the American Security Project hosted a half-day conference examining energy security in the Caribbean. Nearly 100 experts from academia, International Financial Institutions, the US government, and private corporations attended the conference.

 

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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