NAPSNet 13 October 2011

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NAPSNet 13 October 2011

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.”

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.

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.

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.

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.         

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.

 

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