ASP: In case you missed it ….
16 July 2015
Key Reads
Abe pushes security bills through Japan’s lower house
Yuka Hayashi / WSJ
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe made a significant stride toward his goal of expanding the role of Japan’s military Thursday, as the main chamber of parliament passed a package of national security bills despite scant public support and doubts about its constitutionality.
Noose tightens around thousands caught in Iraq’s Anbar offensive
Dominic Evans and Isabel Coles / Reuters
As Iraqi forces prepare to try to recapture the city of Falluja, tens of thousands of civilians find themselves trapped between Islamic State militants ready to use them as human shields and a government suspicious of their loyalties.
American Competitiveness
Jobless claims in US decrease for first time in four weeks
Michelle Jamrisko / Bloomberg Business
Filings for U.S. unemployment benefits declined last week for the first time in a month, heading back toward the lowest levels in more than a decade and signaling firings remain muted.
Greek crisis: MPs approve bailout measures, after clashes in Athens
Graeme Wearden and Nick Fletcher / The Guardian
Greek parliament has agreed to the measures demanded by its creditors, but 38 government MPs failed to back Alexis Tsipras
E.C.B. increases emergency loans for Greek banks
Jack Ewing and Andrew Higgins / NYT
The European Central Bank on Thursday gave a vote of confidence to Greece on Thursday by expanded an emergency line of credit for the country’s banks.
National Security & Strategy
Five civilians killed along disputed India-Pakistan border
Katherine Houreld / Reuters
India and Pakistan exchanged gunfire and mortar bombs along their disputed frontier on Thursday, killing five civilians and injuring more than a dozen, Pakistan said, days after the leaders of the nuclear-armed rivals agreed to high-level talks.
Russia plans fuel shipments to Syria from Crimea
Gleb Gorodyankin and Vladimir Soldatkin / Reuters
Russia plans to supply Syria with 200,000 tonnes of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) per year via the Crimean port of Kerch, two trading sources told Reuters.
Asymmetric Operations
Exiled Yemeni ministers arrive in recaptured Aden
Al Jazeera
Several ministers and top intelligence officials of the exiled Yemeni government have arrived in Aden for the first time since the Houthi rebels captured the southern port city.
Kurdish fighters besiege IS gunman in Syria’s Hassakeh city
AP
Kurdish fighters besieged members of the Islamic State group Thursday in the northeastern city of Hassakeh as they pushed forward under the cover of airstrikes by the U.S.-led coalition, an activist group and the main Kurdish militia in Syria said.
Militants clash with Egyptian coastguard, setting boat on fire
Stephen Kalin / Reuters
Militants exchanged shots with an Egyptian coastguard vessel in the Mediterranean Sea on Thursday, causing it to catch fire, the military said in a statement.
At least 30 dead in triple Islamist attack in NE Nigeria
AFP
At least 30 people were killed in three attacks by Islamists in northeastern Nigeria, local officials and inhabitants said Wednesday, days ahead of a meeting between President Muhammadu Buhari and Barack Obama.
Qaeda, allies attack Shiite villages in northwest Syria
AFP
Al-Qaeda’s Syrian affiliate and its Islamist allies launched an attack Wednesday on the last two Shiite Muslim villages under regime control in northwest Idlib province, militants and a monitor said.
Climate Security
New poll: Americans worried about ISIS, developing countries worried about climate change
Ari Phillips / ThinkProgress
A major new Pew Research Center study this week found that Americans and Europeans are only moderately worried about climate change while those in more vulnerable regions — Latin America, Africa, and Asia — expressed much higher levels of concern.
Energy Security
US making major gains in energy efficiency
Bruce Kennedy / CBS news
A U.S. group that was born out of necessity, following the Arab oil embargo of the 1970s, says that while America’s energy consumption has increased dramatically over the past four decades, the nation’s energy efficiency has also radically improved.
UK running out of money to pay for clean energy
Rajeev Syal
The government is struggling to pay for new clean energy supplies which could result in a rise in household bills or a major cut in investment in renewable technologies.
Nuclear Security
Clearing hurdles to Iran nuclear deal with standoffs, shouts, and compromise
David Sanger and Michael R. Gordon / NYT
One by one, the roadblocks to a nuclear accord between Iran and the United States had been painstakingly cleared.
John Bradshaw and J. Dana Stuster / Defense One
It’s become a truism in American politics: Iran is “on the march.” Members of Congress can’t make it five minutes into hearings without reminding people.
On Our Flashpoint Blog
US shifts away from coal and toward natural gas
William George / ASP
Natural gas overtook coal as the top source of US electric power generation for the first time ever this spring.
Climate change and national security: Chicago
Porter Brockway / ASP
On Thursday, July 9th, American Security Project sent representatives to Chicago to discuss the impacts of climate change on U.S. national security in a series of public events, and interviews.
A resolution to the crisis in Greece
Clark Derrington / ASP
A temporary resolution brought some relief to Greece Monday morning, as the leaders of the eurozone countries agreed to an outline of a Greek bailout deal.
The Iran deal: Good for U.S. national security
ASP
This morning, the P5+1, the EU, and Iran announced the successful conclusion of the negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program. The American Security Project supports this agreement.
ASP Recently Published
Perspective- Energy and geopolitics in the Eastern Mediterranean
ASP
Since 2009, there has been a succession of substantial natural gas finds in the Levantine Basin, under the Mediterranean Sea between Israel and Cyprus.
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.
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