“A nuclear weapon is more likely to arrive in a shipping container than on a missile” Graham Allison. Costs and international disputes make it difficult to achieve 100 percent nuclear and radiological scanning of inbound U.S. cargo containers. This fact sheet describes the challenges we face and some key ways we can mitigate the risk.

This American Security Project report, the second in our series on drone strikes and targeted killing, examines the known data to generate a series of ten metrics to gauge the effects of the program. This paper presents a factual, apolitical discussion of the many aspects of the lethal drones program, and suggests how policymakers and the public can make it more effective.

Threat finance is an enabling factor of crime and terrorism, and therefore, a challenge to both national and international security. The integration of global financial systems, as well as technological innovation and proliferation, has reduced barriers to threat finance and money laundering while making it difficult for authorities to detect or disrupt these illicit operations. The American Security Project has compiled this fact sheet to provide an overview of threat finance and the methods used to launder money, as well as measures aimed at countering these activities.

Mali’s North is now under the control of Islamist extremists, generating concerns for further instability and violence. This instability carries serious security implications on the regional and global scales, from the probability of a new ground war in Africa, to the potential for increased terrorist activity. The American Security Project has compiled this factsheet to trace the development of the crisis in Mali and understand the implications of the potential military intervention.

With the election behind us, it’s time to look toward the future. The American Security Project is dedicated to fostering fact-driven, non-partisan debate about critical national security issues. To that end, we asked our friends and colleagues both within ASP and associated with the Consensus for American Security to answer the question: what is the biggest issue facing us in the next four years that isn’t on anyone’s radar?

Climate change is inextricably linked to national security. The effects of climate change – drought, severe storms, flooding, reduced agricultural activity – will present serious problems to countries around the world. In particular, climate change will undermine stability in certain “hot spots,” exacerbating underlying tensions that already exist. ASP’s Policy Brief, “The Arab Spring and World Food Prices,” details this link.