ASP: In Case You Missed It…
25 June 2015
Key Reads
Serbia denounces Hungary’s “new Berlin wall”
Dusan Stojanovic / AP
Serbia has denounced Hungary’s insistence on building a border fence to stop the flow of illegal migrants and urged the European Union to say whether it will tolerate new man-made divisions on its territory.
American Competitiveness
The latest on Greece: France says time running out for deal
AP / Yahoo
The latest developments involving Greece and its bailout negotiations.
Jobless claims in U.S. hold below 300,000 for 16th week
Michelle Jamrisko / Bloomberg News
Filings for U.S. unemployment benefits held below 300,000 for the 16th straight week, signaling a tighter labor market that will help propel growth in the second half of 2015.
US stocks open higher following surge in consumer spending
AP / Yahoo
Stocks are moving higher in early trading as investors were encouraged by a big jump in U.S. consumer spending last month.
National Security & Strategy
Putin vows to further strengthen Russian Military
Vladimir Isachenkov / AP
Russia needs a mighty military to fend off threats near its borders, President Vladimir Putin said Thursday, a stance that reflects soaring tensions with the West over the crisis in Ukraine.
NATO warns of risk of return to heavy fighting
Adrian Croft / Reuters
NATO’s head warned on Thursday of a risk of a return to heavy fighting in Ukraine but said it would be unwise to declare a ceasefire agreement dead, despite repeated violations, because it remained the best hope for peace.
Asymmetric Operations
Tanzanian court orders extradition of Islamist rebel leader to Uganda
Reuters
A Tanzanian court ordered an Islamist rebel leader on Thursday to be extradited to Uganda to face murder charges, though he said he would appeal against the decision.
Islamic State launches 2 major attacks in Northern Syria
AP / NYT
Islamic State militants launched major attacks in northern Syria on Thursday in a swift counter-offensive after recent battlefield setbacks, storming government-held areas in one mostly Kurdish city and setting off deadly car bombs as they pushed back into a border town they were expelled from earlier this year.
Islamic State militants kill 14 Iraqi soldiers
Reuters / Yahoo
Islamic State militants detonated a car bomb and then opened fire on Iraqi troops in the western province of Anbar on Thursday, killing 14 soldiers, security sources said.
The Kurds are building a country with every victory over ISIS
Karl Vick / Time
Syrian Kurds take a town 30 miles from the ISIS capital, but their goal of their own nation complicate the fight.
Shelling by Yemeni group kills four soldiers on Saudi border
Angus McDowall / Reuters
Shelling by Yemen’s Houthi militia killed four soldiers from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates stationed on Yemen’s border with the kingdom, Saudi state media reported on Thursday.
Burundi’s second Vice President flees amid political tensions
AP / Wall Street Journal
Burundi’s second vice president says he has fled the country, fearing for his life after opposing the president’s controversial bid for a third term that has sparked off violent protests in the capital in recent weeks.
Unforgiving heat claims more lives
Saima Mohsin / CNN
By Thursday, the death toll from the oppressive heat wave in Sindh province topped 1,000, officials told CNN
Netherlands ordered to lower carbon emissions
Arthur Neslen / The Guardian
A court in The Hague has ordered the Dutch government to cut its emissions by at least 25% within five years, in a landmark ruling expected to cause ripples around the world.
Energy Security
The world will invest $3.7 trillion in solar by 2040
Chris Mooney / Washington Post
The world’s energy portfolio will get vastly cleaner by the year 2040, says a new long-term energy outlook from Bloomberg New Energy Finance — but not clean enough
Nuclear Security
Kerry tells Iran foreign minister “the past does matter”
Reuters
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry telephoned Iran’s foreign minister in recent days to tell him that Tehran must answer questions about whether its past atomic research was arms-related if it wants a nuclear deal, officials said.
How Iranian Oil Tankers Keep Syria’s War Machine Alive
Matthew Philips / Bloomberg
It’s no secret that Iran provides critical support to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The trouble comes in trying to figure out how much Iran spends and what that support actually looks like.
On Our Flashpoint Blog
Andrew Holland on Cuban Energy
Clark Derrington / ASP
ASP’s own Andrew Holland spoke to Environment & Energy Publishing about the significant challenges facing American businesses wishing to supply clean energy in the Cuban market.
Julia Maloof / ASP
Since 2000, when Bashar Assad entered into office as the president of Syria, Syria’s national GDP steadily climbed upwards. How is it then that as a country’s wealth exploded due to this very regime, so many people took to the streets against it in the 2011 protests?
Julia Maloof / ASP
Since 2011 Libya has become a hotbed for terrorist organizations and non-state actors to thrive, with little governance, high poverty and high unemployment levels.
Clark Derrington / ASP
The Senate voted today to end debate on TPA, which would authorize fast-track authority for the negotiation of the Trans-Pacific Partnership and other free trade agreements.
Julia Maloof / ASP
Two years after imposing a weapons ban on Egypt, the US lifted the sanctions in March. Reinstating the $1.3 billion in annual military aid to Egypt, the new policy intends to shift away from “cash-flow financing” (buying on credit) by 2018. This flow of aid has been widely debated.
ASP Recently Published
Perspective: Potential areas of cooperation between the U.S. and Cuba
ASP
Latin America and the Caribbean are critical regions for U.S. security, but the lack of open communication between the U.S. and Cuba weakens America’s ability to operate in these areas. Open dialogue with Cuba will help the U.S. maintain security, and could also bring potential economic opportunities.
White Paper: Economic Diplomacy
ASP
Economic diplomacy is the utilization of all national economic instruments in furtherance of the national interest when engaging with other nations. It is the new frontier of foreign policy in an interconnected world. Principles in Action: Economic Diplomacy as the New Face of American Global Leadership, explains and analyses a variety of U.S. economic diplomacy efforts, and provides key recommendations for improvement.
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