What we are reading

Can the Taliban Avoid Fracturing Over the Qatar Peace Talks?

Sami Yousafzai , Ron Moreau  / The Daily Beast

EXCLUSIVE: Afghan insurgent leaders struggle to keep their men aboard for negotiations with the U.S. Sami Yousafzai and Ron Moreau on unrest in the ranks.

Yemen’s new leader inherits shattered nation

AHMED AL-HAJ and BEN HUBBARD / Associated Press

Yemenis flocked to the polls across their battered nation Tuesday to vote in a U.S.-backed, single-candidate election meant to instate a new leader to replace the outgoing autocrat

Iran wants more U.N. nuclear talks after Tehran stalemate

Fredrik Dahl / Reuters

Iran wants more talks with the U.N. nuclear watchdog, its ambassador to the body said, despite what one Western envoy called “very long and fruitless” negotiations this week on addressing growing suspicions about Tehran’s atomic activities.

Diplomats: UN nuke agency report on Iran due

GEORGE JAHN  / Associated Press

Diplomats say the U.N. nuclear agency is to issue its latest report on Iran on Friday. The confidential report will detail agency’s latest failed attempts to persuade Iran to cooperate in U.N. attempts to probe suspicions that Tehran has worked on components of a nuclear weapons program.

LIFE Fusion on Target for Ignition This Year

Ross Pomeroy / Real Clear Science

Controlled nuclear fusion with net energy gain is on schedule to occur later this year at the National Ignition Facility (NIF) in Livermore, California.

USAF Includes Space Technology In Its Energy Policy.

Leonard David / Space

The US Air Force has laid out a new vision for its energy science and technology needs over the next 15 years – a forecast that includes plans for space-based power stations and the prospective use of small nuclear reactors for new spacecraft

UPCOMING EVENT:  Biofuels for National Security: Air Force and Navy Progress on Renewable Jet Fuels

On the ASP Flashpoint blog:

Holland: Colombia’s Climate Security Risk

Colombia is a particularly worrisome area for climate impacts because we simply do not know how warming will affect the area. It is tropical, and its weather is very influenced by the el Nino/la Nina phenomenon in the Eastern Pacific. This creates a wet-season/dry-season dynamic that can lead to very heavy rains. And, Colombia’s mountainous topography creates a funnel effect down which the rains can quickly become dangerous flash floods.

Wallin: Why the State Department’s Twitter Diplomacy isn’t that Impressive

The important factor about U.S. engagement via web 2.0 is not that that the government is using it, but rather that it doesn’t address the core problems of engagement overseas: fortress embassies, a lack of understanding, and failures to follow through on commitments.

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

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