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	<title>The Flash Point Blog</title>
	<link>http://www.americansecurityproject.org/theflashpointblog</link>
	<description>Sparking Debate on Important National Security Issues</description>
	<lastBuildDate>Thu, 02 Jul 2009 14:55:19 +0000</lastBuildDate>
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		<title>A Clear and Present Danger: Climate Change</title>
		<description><![CDATA[In case you missed it, Paul Krugman had a brilliant column in the New York Times earlier this week about the reality of climate change and what the science is telling us.
A couple of paragraphs are especially worthy of attention:
The fact is that the planet is changing faster than even pessimists expected: ice caps are [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.americansecurityproject.org/theflashpointblog/jim-ludes/2009/07/02/a-clear-and-present-danger-climate-change/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Column in Post Puts Spotlight on Cybersecurity</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Former Representative Heather Wilson (R-NM) penned a column today for the Washington Post on cybersecurity and the rising need for investment in technologies and initiatives to combat new national security threats in cyberspace. She writes:
“Our cyber-defense capabilities must be inherently dynamic, with a close connection between system operators, intelligence analysts, and the researchers who can [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.americansecurityproject.org/theflashpointblog/matt-hager/2009/06/23/column-in-post-puts-spotlight-on-cybersecurity/</link>
			</item>
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		<title>Increasing Instability in Somalia</title>
		<description><![CDATA[The Wall Street Journal ran a short but thorough summary today on the ongoing situation in Somalia, with foreign insurgents apparently threatening to topple the remnants of the country’s already feeble government. The Journal’s Sarah Childress writes, from Nairobi:
“Somalia&#8217;s government requested immediate military assistance from regional powers over the weekend to help combat foreign fighters [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.americansecurityproject.org/theflashpointblog/matt-hager/2009/06/22/increasing-instability-in-somalia/</link>
			</item>
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		<title>Sen. Kerry Urges Caution on Iran</title>
		<description><![CDATA[ASP Board member Senator John Kerry penned an op-ed in today’s New York Times about the Obama administration’s response to the Iranian elections, in which he urges caution on stronger rhetoric against the Iranian regime at the present time.
Here is an excerpt from the piece:
“Words are important. President Obama has made that clear in devising [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.americansecurityproject.org/theflashpointblog/matt-hager/2009/06/18/sen-kerry-urges-caution-on-iran/</link>
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		<title>Assessing the Implications of the Iranian Elections</title>
		<description><![CDATA[The Administration of George W. Bush was close to an unmitigated disaster for the image of the United States abroad. His ill-informed, often offensive, and counter-productive public statements and policy preferences set back American national security dramatically. Trying to undo some of the damage of the Bush years is the reason that President Obama has [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.americansecurityproject.org/theflashpointblog/bernard-finel/2009/06/10/assessing-the-implications-of-the-iranian-elections/</link>
			</item>
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		<title>ASP Board Chairman, Former Senator Gary Hart Appointed Vice Chair of HSAC</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Janet Napolitano, Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, announced Friday that ASP Board Chairman and former Senator Gary Hart would serve as the Vice Chair of the Homeland Security Advisory Council (HSAC), a group appointed by the secretary and charged with advising her directly on the incredibly wide range of issues overseen by the [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.americansecurityproject.org/theflashpointblog/matt-hager/2009/06/09/asp-board-chairman-former-senator-gary-hart-appointed-vice-chair-of-hsac/</link>
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		<title>Strength on Display: The President in Cairo</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Last week in Cairo, the President of the United States gave one of the single-most important foreign policy speeches since President Eisenhower&#8217;s &#8220;Chance for Peace&#8221; speech in 1953.
In remarks lasting nearly one hour, Obama framed the foreign policy of his administration in terms of mutual respect and understanding while never ceding any ground on vital U.S. [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.americansecurityproject.org/theflashpointblog/jim-ludes/2009/06/09/strength-on-display-the-president-in-cairo/</link>
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		<title>The &#8220;Obama Effect&#8221; and Lebanon</title>
		<description><![CDATA[On March 20, 2003, the United States invaded Iraq. On April 9, Baghdad fell, ending Saddam Hussein’s tyrannical rule.
The effect of this victory seemed to transform the globe. In August 2003, Libya accepted responsibility for past terrorism and offered restitution as well as agreeing to conform with non-proliferation commitments. In 2003, the Iranians also suspended [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.americansecurityproject.org/theflashpointblog/bernard-finel/2009/06/08/the-obama-effect-and-lebanon/</link>
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		<title>Dr. Bernard Finel Featured in Today’s Baltimore Sun</title>
		<description><![CDATA[In light of President Barack Obama’s speech at the University of Cairo aimed at healing relations between America and the Muslim world, ASP Senior Fellow Dr. Bernard I. Finel has penned an op-ed for the Baltimore Sun presenting a frank and thorough analysis of the speech’s probable effects. He writes in today’s edition:
“On Thursday, President [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.americansecurityproject.org/theflashpointblog/matt-hager/2009/06/04/dr-bernard-finel-featured-in-today%e2%80%99s-baltimore-sun/</link>
			</item>
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		<title>Kidnappings and Violence in Pakistan</title>
		<description><![CDATA[CNN and others are reporting that militants in a Taliban-controlled area of Pakistan have captured over 400 students, coming on the heels of a violent attack in the Pakistani city of Lahore and continuing violence in Swat.
From the New York Times’ story on the event:

The convoy, of about 30 minivans, was ferrying students and teachers [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.americansecurityproject.org/theflashpointblog/matt-hager/2009/06/02/kidnappings-and-violence-in-pakistan/</link>
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