NAPSNet 13 October 2011
- DETERRENCE: Top general: U.S. needs fresh look at deterrence, nuclear triad
- DPRK: U.S. worried by North Korea food crisis, but no aid yet
- AUSTRAL SECURITY: ‘Persistent’ fascists a threat to national security: ASIO
- GOVERNANCE AND CIVIL SOCIETY: Track 1.5 options open in Korean relations amid lack of progress in six party talks
- ENERGY SECURITY: From barracks to the battlefield: Clean energy innovation and America’s armed forces
- CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION: Sustainable adaptation and human security
DETERRENCE: Top general: U.S. needs fresh look at deterrence, nuclear triad, Global Security Newswire (14 July 2011)
Gen. James Cartwright says planning to update US ICBMs are behind those to modernize nuclear-capable bombers and submarines. “The land-based deterrent [is] the last one to be recapitalized,” he said. “The challenge here is that we have to recapitalize all three [triad] legs and we don’t have the money to do it.”
- Nuclear modernization, the Obama administration’s fading commitment, Weekly Standard, (10 October 2011)
- World spending on nuclear weapons surpasses $1 trillion per decade, Global Zero (June 2011) [PDF, 0.8MB]
- Spending on US strategic nuclear forces: Plans & options for the 21st century, Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments (2006) [PDF, 1.6MB]
DPRK: U.S. worried by North Korea food crisis, but no aid yet, Reuters (7 October, 2011)
The US expressed concern about food shortages in North Korea but is worried about the monitoring of food shipments and the possible diversion of food aid. The US government is evaluating food aid to North Korea based on “legitimate humanitarian needs, competing needs elsewhere, and our ability to ensure that aid is reliably reaching the people in need.” High food prices and summer floods have created what some call a “food crisis” in North Korea.
- Forget the politics, it’s wrong to ignore the human suffering, Nautilus Institute (11 October 2011)
- Humanitarian assistance, development assistance and exchange programs with the democratic people’s republic, Nautilus Institute (October 2009)
- Food roundup, Witness to Transformation (4 October 2011)
AUSTRAL SECURITY: ‘Persistent’ fascists a threat to national security: ASIO, Age (12 October 2011)
In its annual report tabled in parliament ASIO warned that foreign powers may be recruiting sleeper agents in Australia to carry out sabotage in future conflicts. It also warned that despite the rise of espionage through cyber means, it had not seen any reduction in the intensity of more traditional forms of espionage.
- ASIO Report to Parliament 2010-11, Australian Government, Australian Security Intelligence Organization (11 October 2011)
- ASIO develops an anti-terrorism analytical tool to fight violent extremism, Australian (12 October 2011)
GOVERNANCE AND CIVIL SOCIETY: Track 1.5 options open in Korean relations amid lack of progress in six party talks, Asia Today (3 October 2011) [Korean]
In the absence of Six Party Talks, US-based groups are pursuing track 1.5 options to resolve Korean Peninsula issues. PRC, ROK and US participants met at an IFANS forum in Seoul, and ROK, DPRK and US political representatives and academics will meet at the University of Georgia. Representatives from all Six Party participants, including DPRK Foreign Minister Ri Geun, will attend the NEACD meeting in Honolulu at the end of October.
- Despite potential conflicts, US and China must work together on Korean issues, Joongang Daily (8 October 2011) [Korean]
- Academics, experts from the two Koreas and US to meet next week, Arirang News (11 October 2011)
ENERGY SECURITY: From barracks to the battlefield: Clean energy innovation and America’s armed forces, The Pew Project on National Security, Energy and Climate (21 September 2011) [PDF, 3.56MB]
The US military uses more than 300,000 barrels of oil daily, and is one of the largest institutional consumers of energy globally. The Department of Defence (DoD) increased its clean energy investments 200% from 2006-2009, headed for $10B by 2030, with a target of obtaining 25% of its energy from renewable sources by 2025. The DoD’s resources and focus on long-term planning allow it to be a key player in clean energy development and deployment.
- Beyond Solyndra: Five reasons solar is still a good bet, Forbes (20 September 2011)
- Chinese solar boom a boon for American polysilicon producers, InsideClimate News (8 September 2011)
- US military spending on clean energy explodes, MSNBC.com (7 October 2011)
CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION: Sustainable adaptation and human security: Interactions between pastoral and agropastoral groups in dryland Kenya, Climate and Development (June 2011) [PDF, 725KB]
The official policy and state practice in terms of actual decision making appear to undermine human security (political and social rights), as well as sustainable adaptation (social equity and environmental integrity). Sustainable adaptation for the case of Endau would imply a fundamental change in governance regime from one of imposing punitive measures to stop dynamic interactions to one through which, instead, interactions between the various groups are strengthened.
- When not every response to climate change is a good one: Identifying principles for sustainable adaptation, Climate and Development (2011)
- Adaptation as a political process: Adjusting to drought and conflict in Kenya’s drylands, Environmental Management (2009)
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Editors
Contributors
- Deterrence: Peter Hayes
- Governance and Civil Society: Yi Kiho
- Climate Change Adaptation: Saleem Janjua
- DPRK: Scott Bruce
- Energy Security: David von Hippel
- Austral Security: Arabella Imhoff, Mihiri Weerasinghe