American Security Project

American Security Project

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American Security Project episodes

  • ASP Podcast: Afghanistan and the US Response
    Matthew Zeller joined ASP to discuss his book: Watches Without Time: An American Soldier in Afghanistan, and also Joshua Foust’s latest report: Five Lessons We Should Have Learned From Afghanistan
    The discussion was very lively and touched on such issues as – military training, politics in Afghanistan, counter narcotics, the Taliban, the CIA, and also reforming U.S. national security structures.
    CLICK HERE TO LISTEN
    Featuring:
    Joshua Foust, ASP Fellow specializing in Asymmetric Operations
    and Special Guest:
    Matthew Zeller, author of Watches Without Time: An American Soldier in Afghanistan
    Moderated by:
    Paul Hamill, ASP Director of External Relations
     
    CLICK BELOW TO LISTEN
    PODCAST

     
    Listen to other podcasts :
    The changing climate and its implications for our nation security
    America and Central Asia
    Afghanistan
    One Year On
    Humanitarian Intervention, Energy and Gas Prices, plus the latest on Iran
    The Growing Research and Development Gap
    2012: Look Ahead
    The Future of Afghanistan
    Central Asia: What’s Happening and How It Impacts US Foreign Policy
    Energy and Nuclear Power
    Afghanistan: Are We Winning
    Covering Conflict as a Journalist, Libya and Afghanistan
    Afghanistan, Central & South Asia – energy, mining and private sector development
    Energy Choices, Climate Change and CAFE Fuel Standards
    51 min
  • ASP Board Member LtGen Castellaw Joins Other National Security Leaders In Support for DoD Alternative Energy Programs
    On Tuesday, July 24, 2012, the Pew Project on National Security, Energy and Climate hosted three national security leaders to highlight the release of a letter calling for support for the Department of Defense’s investments in alternative fuels. Briefing the media were former Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee John Warner, ASP Board Member LtGen John Castellaw USMC (Ret.), and Maj. Gen. Anthony Jackson USMC (Ret.).
    Calling for support of what they believe are critical investments in finding alternatives to fossil fuels, Gen. Jackson stressed the potential to save countless lives by developing new energy technologies for the U.S. military. “If we don’t want to spend the lives of the next generation defending the pipelines and oil tankers coming out of the Middle East, we need to continue on the research and development to the point” where alternative fuels become cost-competitive, he said.
    Dismissing critics of DoD’s investments, Gen. Castellaw said, “If you look at the reasons we’re doing it, we’re not doing it to be faddish, we’re not doing it to be green, we’re not doing it for any other reason except it takes care of a military vulnerability that we have,” he said.
    Sen. Warner added, “The department of defense should be looking at the widest possible diversity of fuel sources. We should continue to allow the department to move ahead with its innovation.”
    LISTEN TO THE FULL BRIEFING
    HERE
    Check out press coverage of the event:
    Pew Project on National Security, Energy and Climate: Press Release
    Climate Wire: Military Leaders Say Climate Change, Not Just Security, is Behind Renewables Agenda
    The Guardian: U.S. Navy Veterans Urge Congress to Fund ‘Critical’ Green Fleet Programme
    Dayton Business Journal: Group Pushes for Clean Energy for U.S. Military
    EcoWatch: Veterans Tell Department of Defense to Reduce Fossil Fuel Dependence and Develop Renewables
     
     
    Read below for the letter signed by Sen. Warner, LtGen Castellaw, Maj.Gen. Jackson, and other military leaders and veterans
    The DOD must reduce its dependence on fossil fuels and deploy clean energy technology
    0 min
  • National Security Leaders Call for Support for DoD Energy Security Efforts

    The Pew Project on National Security, Energy, and Climate hosted a media briefing to mark the release of a letter signed by retired military and civilian national security leaders that called for support of energy innovation at the Department of Defense.

    The post National Security Leaders Call for Support for DoD Energy Security Efforts appeared first on  American Security Project.

    1 hr 16 min
  • Critical Seabed Minerals and the Law of the Sea Treaty: Implications for National Security and Economic Growth

    Yesterday, ASP CEO Steve Cheney moderated an event at The Stimson Center called “Critical Minerals from the Sea: U.S. Interests in Deep Seabed Minerals.” The panel of experts included Dr. James Hein, esteemed marine geologist with the US Geological Survey and Adjunct Professor at the University of California; Dr. Miles Libbey, founder of the seabed broker Seaminr and recently retired executive from Lockheed Martin; and Caitlyn Antrim, Executive Director of the Rule of Law Committee for the Oceans. (Please see their biographies listed below.)
    All three panelists have had extensive involvement with deep seabed mining from scientific, business, and policy perspectives, and managed, today, to shed some crucial light on why ratifying the Law of the Sea would enable the US to reduce its dependence on foreign supplies of critical minerals.
    As each of their presentations showed, exclusive American access to rare earth minerals, essential to technology as diverse as cell phones and hybrid cars, is necessary to the current and future health of both the defense and technology industries.
    All three panelists furthered conferred that deep seabed mining is smarter, scientifically and economically, than standard land mining efforts which require huge start-up capital and traditionally yield disappointing results.
    By ratifying the Law of the Sea Treaty there are significant and undeniable economic benefits to be had, not only in terms of job creation, but also in terms of enhancing American competitiveness and expanding U.S. commerce.
    There were a number of people in the audience who have also been working very intimately with the Law of the Sea Treaty over the years.
    Most notable of these was Senator John W. Warner, long-time advocate of the Law of the Sea Treaty, who spiritedly emphasized the “enormous potential jobs, commerce and so forth connected with this” effort to harvest the resources from our continental shelves.
    Click here to listen to the event
     
    Want to learn more about the Law of the Sea Treaty? Check out our “Separating Fact from Fiction” pamphlet and our discussion on rare earth minerals.
    You can read Caitlyn Antrim’s presentation below, and find a fact sheet from Dr. James Hein
    //

    //
     
    Panelist Biographies
    Dr. James Hein is a marine geologist and received a Ph.D. from the University of California at Santa Cruz in 1973.  He has studied deep-ocean mineral deposits for the past 37 years and is currently a senior scientist with the U.S. Geological Survey and an Adjunct Professor at the University of California.  He is President of the International Marine Minerals Society and has participated in activities of the International Seabed Authority since 2000.  His areas of research include all types of deep-ocean mineral deposits, comparisons of land-based and marine mineral deposits, and the importance of rare metals and rare-earth element in marine deposits to emerging- green-, and high-technology applications.
    Dr. Miles A. Libbey, III, is the founder of the seabed broker Seaminr, developing best practices to help international clients rapidly reach the commercial harvesting phase of seabed metals and minerals. As a recently retired executive from Lockheed Martin he led an Advanced Solutions team that focused on bringing disruptive unmanned technologies to the security and undersea sectors. As a serial entrepreneur he has founded three companies. As a Naval Officer,
    2 hr
  • ASP CEO BGen Stephen Cheney, USMC (Ret.), Discusses Alternative Fuels for U.S. Military
    Washington DC – on July 12, the American Security Project’s CEO, BGen Stephen Cheney, USMC (Ret.) spoke on a panel of four retired military officers representing each of the four branches spoke at the Senate Hart Office Building at a public event hosted by the Truman National Security Project. Also featuring LtGen Norm Seip, U.S. Air Force (Ret.); Rear Admiral Larry Baucom, U.S. Navy (Ret.); and Colonel Dan Nolan, U.S. Army (Ret.); the panel touted the benefits of alternative fuels to U.S. national security.
    The U.S. military is making significant investments in alternative fuels, particularly in a variety of biofuels, to test the viability of drop-in replacements for oil. The military believes that the total dependence of military operations on oil for fuel presents a national security risk, prompting a coordinated effort to seek alternatives. The Navy’s “Green Strike Group” is scheduled to sail off the coast of Hawaii in next week’s RIMPAC exercise using a 50-50 mix of biofuels and petroleum-based fuel.
    LtGen. Norm Seip reiterated that “flexibility is the key to national security,” and flexibility in this sense means options. The more fueling options that the military has in its toolkit, the less vulnerable the military is to supply disruptions and oil price volatility. As it stands, the military only has one option – oil – and “one option equals no option,” according to Colonel Nolan.
    For example, for every $10 increase in the price of a barrel of oil, the U.S. military suffers a $1.3 billion increase in unbudgeted costs, which is equal to the entire procurement budget of the U.S. Marine Corps. This forces entire squadrons to be idled due to lack of funds. As a result, training operations are cut short, damaging military readiness.
    But, biofuels can provide the military with options. While the cost per barrel right now is high relative to oil, the costs will come down as companies scale-up and the technology improves. As Gen. Cheney noted, “You’ve got to pay up-front to get the benefit down range. It’s going to be amortized over the life of the program.”
    Admiral Baucom emphasized this point, “as prices go up, we must reduce our readiness. But, an alternative that is better, smarter, and cheaper is the goal of all of this R&D.” Colonel Nolan noted that the U.S. can be a leader in developing alternative fuels, “in the first half of the last century we electrified the world, in the second half we computerized it. Why shouldn’t we lead the world into a new energy era and be the ones who reap the benefits from that?”

    Listen to audio of the event here.
     
     
    0 min
  • Rep. Adam Smith Comes to ASP
    CLICK HERE TO LISTEN
    Today the American Security Project hosted Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA), who spoke about US interests in Africa and AFRICOM. Rep. Smith said we need to look at Africa as an opportunity, not a crisis: it is a place where a unique government agency, AFRICOM, is trying to work holistically to build institutions and create stability.
    “AFRICOM is a model for working the whole of government,” Rep. Smith told the audience, referring to the doctrine whereby the military is not always in the lead of security and assistance programs.
    Rep. Smith focused his comments on the need for partnership across the continent. “Africa is rich not just in resources but in human resources,” he said. Because of that, the focus needs to be on developing African human capital – building their ability to secure themselves, develop themselves, and to thrive on their own.
    From a security perspective, Rep. Smith also spoke about how partnerships allow the US to engage with a country’s security challenges at low cost. In his view, partnerships work as force multipliers that enable the US to achieve security goals at a lower cost and with fewer US troops than previously thought. “We are past the point in history,” he said, “where a foreign military can impose itself on a country and succeed. It just doesn’t work.”
    Rep. Smith noted that you cannot pacify a country like Somalia with 100,000 American troops. What’s needed, instead, is partnership with local governments so they can take the lead in doing so. Looking at Somalia, where there have been substantial gains in security in the capital, Mogadishu. “The Horn of Africa,” he said, “is where we recognized the need for local allies: Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda, and Djibouti are all essential to creating that success.”
    The use of local partnerships, he continued, allows the US to build off security gains to help build other parts of civil society. However, he cautioned, security is going to remain a key: “We are concerned with al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb,” he said, referring to the Islamist insurgency trying to overthrow the government of Algeria. Mali and Nigeria also pose serious security challenges that have to be dealt with as well, he said, before the other projects like building an economy can really succeed.
    The audience asked several critical questions. More than one focused on how the US can balance its security concerns with its desire to support good governance. One audience member specifically mentioned Uganda and Ethiopia as US partners that have serious challenges to democratic governance. Rep. Smith acknowledged that those are challenging situations, and that several competing needs must be balanced. Sometimes, he admitted, the US doesn’t get the balance quite right. But, he emphasized, security cannot come at the expense of legitimacy, so it’s a constant process.
    One of the most challenging threats is what to do about the various al Qaeda franchises on the continent. “Most of these insurgencies have local concerns,” he said. “However, they’re only local until they’re not – and knowing when they stop being local problems is really hard.”
    Lastly some audience members asked Rep. Smith about how the US handles assistance to African countries. Rep. Smith was adamant that the US system for handling development and aid is broken. He appealed to the model of DfID,
    0 min
  • ASP Podcast: Rep. Adam Smith on Africa and AFRICOM

    Congressman Adam Smith (D-WA), ranking member of the House Armed Service Committee, spoke on the Increasing Importance of Africa: Sub-Saharan Africa and AFRICOM’s Role

    The post ASP Podcast: Rep. Adam Smith on Africa and AFRICOM appeared first on  American Security Project.

    1 hr 4 min
  • ASP Speaker at Event – “Clean Energy & the Nation’s Security: A Military Call for Action” with Operation Free

    Join the American Security Project’s CEO, BGen Stephen Cheney, USMC (Ret) for an energy security panel discussion featuring retired military officers from four branches of the Armed Services -

    “Clean Energy & the Nation’s Security: A Military Call for Action”

    The post ASP Speaker at Event – “Clean Energy & the Nation’s Security: A Military Call for Action” with Operation Free appeared first on  American Security Project.

    45 min
  • LtGen Norman Seip Interviewed on WXBR Radio
    LtGen Norman Seip, an ASP Consensus Member, was interviewed on WXBR Massachusetts Radio, talking about how biofuels can help mitigate national security risks to our nation’s military.
    The U.S. military is experimenting with a variety of biofuels to reduce its reliance on oil for military operations. The U.S. military plays a critical role in scaling-up next generation biofuels as the nation’s largest consumer of energy.
    To listen to the full interview, click here.
     
    Check out ASP’s work on defense energy here
    15 min
  • LtGen John Castellaw Interviewed on WCAP Boston Radio
    LtGen John Castellaw USMC (Ret.), an ASP Board Member,  was interviewed on MA WCAP-AM News with Jack Baldwin, discussing the critical role that biofuels can play in our nation’s energy security.
    The U.S. military is experimenting with a variety of biofuels to reduce its reliance on oil for military operations. LtGen Castellaw believes that the military’s investments will payoff over the long-term as prices drop.
    To listen to the full interview, click here.
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Check out ASP’s work on defense energy here
     
     
     
     
     
     
    0 min

About American Security Project

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The American Security Project (ASP) is a nonpartisan organization created to educate the American public and the world about the changing nature of national security in the 21st Century.