What we are reading

Italy signs deal for long-term aid to Afghanistan

AP

Italy signed a pact Thursday aimed at supporting Afghanistan after foreign forces withdraw from the country in 2014, while Germany extended its military mission there for another year, developments that came as Afghan President Hamid Karzai began a tour of Europe with a stop in Rome.

 Car bomb targeting NATO aid team kills 4 Afghans

AMIR SHAH  /Associated Press

A suicide attacker detonated a car laden with powerful explosives Thursday in southern Afghanistan, killing four Afghan civilians and wounding 31 other people, including three British aid workers, officials said.

Why the U.S. should ignore Iran for now

Joshua Foust / PBS

By stepping back and asking friendly countries like China to step in, the U.S. can de-escalate tensions in the Gulf while pressing emerging powers to shoulder the responsibility of maintaining access. It cuts against the American desire to take the lead, I know. But it’s also the best way to  ensure the free flow of goods through this vital area. 

EPA: Palm oil flunks the climate test

Ben Geman / The Hill

The Environmental Protection Agency will publish data Friday showing that biofuels made from palm oil won’t count towards the nation’s renewable fuels mandate because they’re not climate-friendly.

India stands firm on Iranian oil imports

UPI

India will continue to explore payment options for oil imports from Tehran and will only abide by U.N. sanctions and not those imposed by any bloc of countries, a government official said.

U.S. to Iraq: don’t “blow this opportunity”

Reuters

The United States has warned Iraq not to “blow this opportunity” to become a prosperous, unified nation, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Thursday, saying it must start to act like a democracy and embrace compromise.

Pakistan accuses Iran of killing 6 on border

ABDUL SATTAR  / Associated Press

Iranian security forces on Thursday killed six Pakistani traders taking goats into Iran, a Pakistani official said.

Ahmadinejad says Iran ready for nuclear talks

ALI AKBAR DAREINI / Associated Press

Iran is ready to revive talks with the world powers, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Thursday, as toughening sanctions aim at forcing Tehran to sharply scale back its nuclear program.

On the ASP Flashpoint blog:

Dorsk: Obama highlights energy policy shift in State of the Union

Energy played a big role in last night’s State of the Union address. The word alone appeared a whopping 23 times throughout the speech, compared to 9 mentions the year before. Energy policy was central to the speech, and it will be central to the Administration’s platform this year.

Holland: American Competitiveness in the State of the Union

There was some good proposals for America’s Economic Competitiveness in the State of the Union, but we must guard against the temptation of a short-term fix that can harm us in the long term.

Foust: National Security in The State of the Union

While we applaud a reaffirmation of American values and the primary place they should have in our role in the world, the reality of American foreign policy is, sadly, not in step with such aspirations. A values-based foreign policy would be an interesting goal to work toward, but it would require threatening too many of American interests, including the fight against al Qaeda, that such talk only serves to set up disappointment, rather than optimism.

Wallin: Why the 1950s Represented the Pinnacle of Military Technology

It would certainly seem that the value of American engineering peaked between the 1950s and early 1960s. The Lockheed U-2 spy plane, which first flew in 1955, is now approaching 57 years old. Originally due to be retired in 2015 and replaced by the unmanned Global Hawk system, it’s now expected that the dragonfly-like aircraft will remain in service until 2023, at the grand old age of 68 years. Though this sound incredible, and it is, it’s also not unprecedented, and represents the efficiency of investment that the U.S. military can and should make.

Lum: ASP Fellow Joshua Foust speaks at Center for National Policy Event

Mr. Foust said that: “Politics is the U.S.’s Achilles heel in Afghanistan. We, as a country, never put in the hard work to understand them at a local, regional, national, and international level”.

ASP Event with Norm Augustine: “Science is the Ultimate Revolution”

Norm Augustine, a member of ASP’s board and one of the country’s leading businessmen, joined us at ASP this morning to talk about how America’s future is tied to Research and Development (R&D) and our expertise in science and technology. This event market the launch of a letter to Congressional leadership on the importance of funding for basic R&D as well as a fact-sheet “Research and Development as a National Priority.” I had the opportunity to speak for a bit, but Norm Augustine was the clear star of the show – so I will devote this post to some of what he said.

Science and engineering are changing the world. This is exemplified by the advancement in telecommunications technology seen over the last century which has allowed for the free and rapid exchange of information from any origin to any destination.

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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