23 Dec 2011
Nick Lockwood / American Security Project / The Atlantic
In the 1960s and 70s, the Soviet Union sponsored waves of political violence against the West. The Red Brigades in Italy and the German Red Army Faction both terrorized Europe through bank robberies, kidnapping, and acts of sabotage. The Soviets wanted to use these left-wing terror groups to destabilize Italy and Germany to break up NATO. State-sponsored terrorism was a deeply Soviet phenomenon, but its practice did not stop when the Soviet Union ended. While state sponsorship continues, terrorism has mutated into something even harder for us to understand and respond to. But some of the roots of today’s terrorism go back to the Soviet Union.
By CHRISTINE TODD WHITMAN . The BellingHam Harold
As state leaders struggle to meet rising energy demand in a sluggish economy, some are embracing nuclear energy as a solution that provides jobs as well as affordable electricity. As the former governor of a state that relies on nuclear energy for nearly half of its electricity, I can attest to these benefits. Nuclear energy is both a reliable, carbon-free source of electricity as well as a job-creating industry with the potential to reinvigorate local economies. With growing populations and unemployment rates that teeter at double digits, states should include nuclear energy in their electricity mix.
Jeanne Sahadi @CNNMoney
What didn’t make the cut: Not every expiring tax provision was accounted for in the bill. Left out was any action on a host of other “temporary” tax breaks that expire this year. These include the research and development credit for businesses and a state and local sales tax deduction for individuals.
ALBERT AJI and ZEINA KARAM / Associated Press
Twin suicide car bombs blasted outside two buildings of Syria’s powerful intelligence agencies Friday, killing at least 40 people and wounding more than 100, authorities said, in the first such attacks since the country was thrown into turmoil by the 9-month-old uprising against the rule of President Bashar Assad.
http://www.tue.nl/
Fusion is the energy source of the sun and the stars. Under high enough temperatures, light atomic nuclei will fuse together and produce energy in the form of heat. On earth, the reaction occurs in a plasma and is performed in a magnetic cage. A magnetic confinement reactor or tokamak is regarded as the most likely path to fusion energy. It fuses together hydrogen isotopes into helium at temperatures of 150 million degrees. The energy released is then carried away by cooling systems and converted into electricity via turbines.
Japan Times
A government panel investigating the Fukushima nuclear crisis is expected to state in an upcoming report that the evacuation order issued shortly after the accident began was irrational, sources said.
REBECCA SANTANA / Associated Press
The Sunni vice president wanted for allegedly running a hit squad in Iraq has accused Shiite Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki of waging a campaign against Sunnis and pushing the country toward sectarian war.
REBECCA SMITH/ WSJ.com
After burning coal to light up Cincinnati for six decades, the Walter C. Beckjord Generating Station will go dark soon—a fate that will be shared by dozens of aging coal-fired power plants across the U.S. in coming years….But energy experts say there is an even bigger reason coal plants are losing out: cheap and abundant natural gas, which is booming thanks to a surge in production from shale-rock
http://penelopemc.wordpress.com/
…That could be the title of a new 3-part BBC podcast, “The Truth About NGOs“. This documentary explores whether and how should NGOs be politically involved, as well as the consequences of having a large international NGO sector in a developing country. The first episode begins with a focus on Malawi, and how the LGBT rights movement has been buoyed by NGOs and their foreign donors. It’s an interesting piece, though this is not about “NGOs”, per se – it is also about the powerful influence of donors on their grantees, and even in this podcast, the politics of state-level aid are discussed. NGOs, the actors on the ground, are only one part of the puzzle.
And, as a round up for the year:
On the ASP Flashpoint blog:
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| The fusion projects we often hear about fall into one of two camps: Magnetic Confinement Fusion (MCF) or Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF). Of course, each project has its own spin on fusion. For example, MIT’s Levitated Dipole Experiment (LDX) follows the tokamak model commonly used in MCF, but instead of generating the magnetic field through coils wrapped around the reactor, LDX brings the magnetic field inside the chamber, allowing for different interactions with the plasma. On the ICF side of things, the Naval Research Lab is taking a direct drive target approach, while scientists at Lawrence Livermore’s NIF have opted to go the indirect drive route. Despite their differences, all of these projects rely on the two fusion concepts that dominate the fusion discourse. |
| On Budgets and National Security |
| Just what exactly is the cost of national security? After spending the better portion of a week researching this very question, I’m hard-pressed to give an answer. Looking through countless tables of budgets, estimates, inflation calculations, congressional testimonies, fact sheets, and think tank assessments, I’m ready to declare anyone who claims to have an accurate… |
| Hearts and Minds: Al Qaida’s Visit to Somalia |
| Al-Qaeda’s recent appearance at the Ala-Yasir refugee camp in southern Somalia was certainly unexpected. While the camp is located in the large expanse of territory controlled by al-Shabaab, a militant group associated with al-Qaeda, this was not only the first time the organization had spoken publicly in Somalia, but that it had distributed aid in… |
About the American Security Project: The American Security Project is a non-profit, non-partisan public policy and research organization dedicated to fostering knowledge and understanding of a range of national security issues, promoting debate about the appropriate use of American power, and cultivating strategic responses to 21st century challenges.
For more information, visit www.americansecurityproject.org. info@americansecurityproject.org
FACT SHEET: Afghanistan to 2014
AMERICAN SECURITY QUARTERLY
[REPORT] US Measure of Success in Afghanistan Is Still Unclear 10 Years Later
[REPORT] Six Decades of Civilian Fusion Research Has Produced Major Technological Advances in the U.S.
[REPORT SERIES] Pay Now, Pay Later: A State-by-State Assessment of the Costs of Climate Change
ASP – What we are reading…
posted by Paul Hamill on December 23, 2011 at 3:46 pm
23 Dec 2011
How the Soviet Union Transformed Terrorism
Nick Lockwood / American Security Project / The Atlantic
In the 1960s and 70s, the Soviet Union sponsored waves of political violence against the West. The Red Brigades in Italy and the German Red Army Faction both terrorized Europe through bank robberies, kidnapping, and acts of sabotage. The Soviets wanted to use these left-wing terror groups to destabilize Italy and Germany to break up NATO. State-sponsored terrorism was a deeply Soviet phenomenon, but its practice did not stop when the Soviet Union ended. While state sponsorship continues, terrorism has mutated into something even harder for us to understand and respond to. But some of the roots of today’s terrorism go back to the Soviet Union.
Generating electricity and jobs
By CHRISTINE TODD WHITMAN . The BellingHam Harold
As state leaders struggle to meet rising energy demand in a sluggish economy, some are embracing nuclear energy as a solution that provides jobs as well as affordable electricity. As the former governor of a state that relies on nuclear energy for nearly half of its electricity, I can attest to these benefits. Nuclear energy is both a reliable, carbon-free source of electricity as well as a job-creating industry with the potential to reinvigorate local economies. With growing populations and unemployment rates that teeter at double digits, states should include nuclear energy in their electricity mix.
What the payroll tax deal will do
Jeanne Sahadi @CNNMoney
What didn’t make the cut: Not every expiring tax provision was accounted for in the bill. Left out was any action on a host of other “temporary” tax breaks that expire this year. These include the research and development credit for businesses and a state and local sales tax deduction for individuals.
Syria: Twin suicide bombs shake capital, kill 40
ALBERT AJI and ZEINA KARAM / Associated Press
Twin suicide car bombs blasted outside two buildings of Syria’s powerful intelligence agencies Friday, killing at least 40 people and wounding more than 100, authorities said, in the first such attacks since the country was thrown into turmoil by the 9-month-old uprising against the rule of President Bashar Assad.
Microwaves calm fusion plasma hiccups
http://www.tue.nl/
Fusion is the energy source of the sun and the stars. Under high enough temperatures, light atomic nuclei will fuse together and produce energy in the form of heat. On earth, the reaction occurs in a plasma and is performed in a magnetic cage. A magnetic confinement reactor or tokamak is regarded as the most likely path to fusion energy. It fuses together hydrogen isotopes into helium at temperatures of 150 million degrees. The energy released is then carried away by cooling systems and converted into electricity via turbines.
Evacuation order to face criticism
Japan Times
A government panel investigating the Fukushima nuclear crisis is expected to state in an upcoming report that the evacuation order issued shortly after the accident began was irrational, sources said.
AP Interview: Iraq VP warns of sectarian conflict
REBECCA SANTANA / Associated Press
The Sunni vice president wanted for allegedly running a hit squad in Iraq has accused Shiite Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki of waging a campaign against Sunnis and pushing the country toward sectarian war.
The Coal Age Nears Its End
REBECCA SMITH/ WSJ.com
After burning coal to light up Cincinnati for six decades, the Walter C. Beckjord Generating Station will go dark soon—a fate that will be shared by dozens of aging coal-fired power plants across the U.S. in coming years….But energy experts say there is an even bigger reason coal plants are losing out: cheap and abundant natural gas, which is booming thanks to a surge in production from shale-rock
The Truth About Foreign Aid
http://penelopemc.wordpress.com/
…That could be the title of a new 3-part BBC podcast, “The Truth About NGOs“. This documentary explores whether and how should NGOs be politically involved, as well as the consequences of having a large international NGO sector in a developing country. The first episode begins with a focus on Malawi, and how the LGBT rights movement has been buoyed by NGOs and their foreign donors. It’s an interesting piece, though this is not about “NGOs”, per se – it is also about the powerful influence of donors on their grantees, and even in this podcast, the politics of state-level aid are discussed. NGOs, the actors on the ground, are only one part of the puzzle.
And, as a round up for the year:
AP’s – Major news events of 2011
Final goodbye: Roll call of some who died in 2011
On the ASP Flashpoint blog:
Fusing Fusion Concepts: Plasma-Jet driven Magneto-Inertial Fusion (PJMIF)
About the American Security Project: The American Security Project is a non-profit, non-partisan public policy and research organization dedicated to fostering knowledge and understanding of a range of national security issues, promoting debate about the appropriate use of American power, and cultivating strategic responses to 21st century challenges.
For more information, visit www.americansecurityproject.org. info@americansecurityproject.org