Key Reads
IMF Halts Bailout Talks With Greece Amid Lack of Progress
Ian Talley / The Wall Street Journal
The International Monetary Fund said it was halting bailout talks with Greece in a stark signal of its exasperation about a lack of progress toward a deal needed to avert a Greek default, as European leaders suggested the negotiations were nearing their endgame without an agreement in sight.
In Shift. U.S. Will Send 450 Advisers to Help Iraq Fight ISIS
Michael R. Gordon, Julia Hirschfeld Davis / The New York Times
President Obama has authorized the deployment of up to 450 more American troops to Iraq to train and assist the Iraqi forces battling the Islamic State, the White House announced on Wednesday, signaling a major shift of focus in the fight against the Sunni militant group.
American Competitiveness
Proposed Chinese Security Laws Rattle U.S. and European Businesses
Simon Denyer / Washington Post
China’s growing emphasis on national security has rattled U.S. and European companies that fear their ability to do business here could be significantly compromised.
U.S. Stocks Move Higher, Building on Gains From the Day Before
Bernard Condon / Associated Press
U.S. stocks are moving higher in midday trading, building on a big gain from the day before.
World Bank Sees Slower Global Growth, Urges Fed to Wait on Rates
Anna Yukhananov / Reuters
The World Bank on Wednesday cut its global growth outlook for this year and urged countries to “fasten their seat belts” as they adjust to lower commodity prices and a looming rise in U.S. interest rates.
National Security & Strategy
China Urges End to ‘Microphone Diplomacy’ Over U.S. Differences
David Brunnstrom / Reuters
Differences between the United States and China over the South China Sea and cyber security should not be addressed by “microphone diplomacy” but in “a proper way” to allow for a successful U.S. visit by President Xi Jinping this year, a senior Chinese diplomat said on Wednesday.
Ilan Berman / CNN
Over the weekend, Turkey experienced something resembling an electoral earthquake, with Sunday’s general election yielding an array of unexpected outcomes that suggest a major political reconfiguration lies ahead for the Republic.
Asymmetric Operations
U.S., Allies Target Islamic State with 29 Air Strikes: Statement
Will Dunham / Reuters
The U.S.-led coalition targeting Islamic State forces have launched 29 air strikes against the group since early on Wednesday, the Combined Joint Task Force leading the operations said in a statement on Thursday.
U.S. Weighing More Military Bases in Iraq to Fight ISIS, Top General Says
Helene Cooper / The New York Times
The United States is considering establishing additional military bases in Iraq to combat the Islamic State, the top American general said on Thursday, a move that would require at least hundreds more American military advisers to help Iraqi forces retake cities lost to the militant Sunni extremist group.
Killings of Soldiers and Civilians Fray Ukraine’s Ceasefire
Richard Balmforth / Reuters
Three civilians and two Ukrainian soldiers were killed in eastern Ukraine within 24 hours up to midday on Thursday, Kiev’s military said, further eroding a four-month-old ceasefire in the separatist conflict.
Climate Security
Global Warming to Stunt Plant Growth by 11% by 2100 with ‘Dire Consequences’
Hannah Osborne / IB Times
Global warming will stunt plant growth by an average of 11% by the end of the century, scientists have said. Researchers from the University of Hawaii at Mānoa’s College of Social Sciences have found climate change will lead to huge declines in plant growing days by 2100 in the poorest countries on the planet.
UN Welcomes Oil Groups’ Help to Fight Global Warming
Pilita Clark / Financial Times
The UN will take up an offer from six of Europe’s largest oil and gas groups to help it fight global warming as countries work on sealing a new international climate change agreement.
Energy Security
Californian Oil Spill Clean-Up Costs Exceed $60 Million: Newspaper
Curtis Skinner / Reuters
Clean-up costs associated with a Californian oil pipeline rupture that dumped as much as 2,400 barrels of crude onto a pristine stretch of coastline and into the Pacific Ocean have exceeded $60 million, the Los Angeles Times reported on Wednesday.
Norwegian Government Forced to Reassess Arctic Oil Drilling Boundaries
Stine Jacobsen / Reuters
Norway’s government will have to reassess oil drilling boundaries in the Arctic after failing to get parliamentary backing for its original proposal to move them further north.
Saudi Arabia, Iraq Push OPEC Over Its Ceiling
Summer Said, Benoit Faucon / The Wall Street Journal
OPEC is producing nearly a million more barrels of oil each day than the target the cartel set last week, and the bulk of the excess is coming from two countries: Saudi Arabia and Iraq.
U.S. Ousts Russia As Top World Oil, Gas Producer in BP Data
Rakteem Katakey / Bloomberg Business
The U.S. has taken Russia’s crown as the biggest oil and natural-gas producer in a demonstration of the seismic shifts in the world energy landscape emanating from America’s shale fields.
Nuclear Security
Iran Envoy Declines to Commit to Nuclear Transparency Measures
Mark Heinrich / Reuters
Iran’s envoy to the U.N. nuclear agency declined on Thursday to commit to nuclear transparency measures that were part of a preliminary deal Tehran and world powers reached in April, deflecting U.S. demands to implement such provisions.
On Our Flashpoint Blog
The Incomplete Strategy Against ISIS
Mahmood Abu-Rubieh
Yesterday, the Obama administration authorized the deployment of an additional 450 advising and training personnel to Iraq as well as establishing a new military base in Anbar Province; signaling a renewed effort by the White House to solidify a strategy in Iraq against Daesh.
Near Shore Wind Power: Potential Boon for Southeast Coast
Steven Eisen
FTI Consulting, a global energy consulting company recently released a white paper concerning potential near shore wind power in the South Eastern United States from Virginia to Georgia. The paper focused on the role that coastal wind power can fill in the EPA’s proposed Clean Power Plan; which sets state carbon-emission rate targets from 2020 to 2030. Currently the SE states currently produce little to no wind power.
National Security Leaders Back TPP
Clark Derrington
Secretary of State John Kerry and Secretary of Defense Ash Carter wrote in USA Today in support of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, and urged the House of Representatives to join the Senate in authorizing President Obama to continue negotiations on this important trade agreement.
Upcoming Events
New York City Event – The American Fusion Project: Scientific Breakthroughs
June 16 @ 12:30pm
As a part of New York’s annual “Energy Week,” the American Security Project, in conjunction with FTI Strategic Communications, is proud to sponsor a lunch on new developments in fusion energy research. It will take place at FTI’s Wall Street Plaza office, 88 Pine Street, 32nd Floor, New York City, NY.
ASP Recently Published
Critical Issues Facing Russia and the Former Soveit Union: Governance and Corruption
John Bugnacki / American Security Project
When it comes to Russia and the other post-Soviet states, corruption is the subject of constant academic, policy, and popular debate. According to many, persistent corruption is the major factor undermining post-Soviet states from achieving broad-based political, economic, and social development along liberal-democratic lines. However, most analyses of corruption in Russia and the other post-Soviet states do not actually detail what their corruption is, the way that it endangers their development, or how they can fix it.
The post What We Are Reading appeared first on American Security Project.
