After an appearance at Providence College, American Security Project Executive Director Jim Ludes gave an interview on WSAR-AM on the show titled “Underreported” with Ric Oliveira.  In the interview, Dr. Ludes discusses the President’s budget, defense spending, and political challenges facing the U.S. in regards to Iran and Pakistan.
To listen to the interview, click here and [...]

A Pentagon report of the conditions at Guantanamo Bay, commissioned by President Obama, found that the treatment the detainees received at the dentention center was in compliance with the Geneva Convention, according to the Washington Post.  However, the report stated that many prisoners in the higher security levels should be allowed more time for “religious and [...]

Many of you have probably been following the story of Abdallah Saleh al-Ajmi (A ‘Ticking Time Bomb’ Goes Off) — a released Guantanamo detainee who recently launched a suicide bomber attack in Iraq. The responses have been largely predictable, and unfortunately lacking in perspective. Most discussion of this issue has fallen [...]

Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and ASP Board Member Senator John Kerry visited Gaza to view the destruction caused by the fighting and view the needs of the area.  According to the New York Times, “Mr. Kerry, who is on a tour of the region, entered Gaza after seeing the remains of Palestinian [...]

The Politico’s discussion forum – “The Arena” – asked the question “What’s the most critical question the President–and the public–should be asking as Obama reviews strategy for Afghanistan?”  Participants in the discussion came from all areas of the spectrum and highlighted different issues that face the Obama Administration in Afghanistan.
Sample responses include:
Gary Clyde Hufbauer of [...]

From Tom Ricks (Sharia law in Swat):
I know it looks like a setback but I suspect this might be a smart move. Give the people of Swat sharia law, and see how they like it. Meanwhile, bolster your security forces in the area so they can pick up the ball when the Taliban has sufficiently [...]

On Tuesday, President Obama ordered 17,000 more troops to deploy to Afghanistan to “battle the resurgent Taliban, secure Afghanistan’s border with Pakistan, increase security for summer elections and stem the decline in a war that the United States now risks losing,” according to USA Today.  The number of forces in the region may double if [...]

For the first time in six years, terrorism was not presented as the primary danger to the country’s national security, according to Director of National Intelligence Dennis C. Blair.  Instead, the global economic crisis is the top “near-term security concern” facing the U.S. 
Before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, Mr. Blair stated that “roughly a [...]

According to an article in Aviation Week, FY2010 budget request could be issued by the White House Office of Management and Budget as soon as next week.  Aviation Week states that U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates “has been conducting a review of major Pentagon programs to determine possible cuts or terminations to better align the [...]

Check out this posting in the Foreign Policy Association’s “Climate Change” blog.  As we have said before (here and here), climate change policy is intertwined with many aspects of America’s foreign policy and our relationship with China is no exception.  The State Department’s newly appointed envoy on climate change, Todd Stern, will join Secretary of [...]