American Security Council Foundation (ASCF)

FEATURED NEWS POST

Burning for freedom

By American Security Council Foundation ASCF January 27, 2012 @ 12:06pm

On Saturday near the Kirti Buddhist monastery in Sichuan province in the People's Republic of China (PRC), a Tibetan monk sat on the ground, drank and doused himself with kerosene, and set himself ablaze. He was immediately engulfed in flame and soon burned to death. A crowd of shocked but sympathetic onlookers tried to retrieve the smoldering body but police swarmed on the scene and violence ensued. The crowd was beaten back and police spirited the body away.

On Tuesday, a large group gathered in Luhuo county reportedly to witness the self-immolation of three more monks. Police dispersed the crowd with gunshots, killing two and wounding perhaps dozens more. On Wednesday, in the county seat of Seda, Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, police also opened lethal fire on protesters.

Geithner: I likely won't be back in 2nd Obama term

By American Security Council Foundation ASCF January 26, 2012 @ 8:00am

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner says he doesn't expect to be retained should President Obama win a second term in November.

"He's not going to ask me to stay on, I'm pretty confident," Geithner told Bloomberg Television in an interview today. "I'm confident he'll be president. But I'm also confident he's going to have the privilege of having another secretary of the Treasury."

IED attacks in Afghanistan set record

By American Security Council Foundation ASCF January 26, 2012 @ 7:31am

Attacks with makeshift bombs hit a record high of more than 16,000 in Afghanistan in the past year, and the increasing harm they cause to Afghan civilians indicates insurgents may lack strong leadership, military officials say.

The number of improvised explosive devices that were cleared or detonated rose to 16,554 from 15,225, an increase of 9%, according to data obtained by USA TODAY. In 2009, total IED "events," as they are known, came to 9,304.

Obama Takes New Economic Plan on Tour

By American Security Council Foundation ASCF January 26, 2012 @ 7:27am

U.S. President Barack Obama is on the road pushing his new economic agenda, saying the key to change is Congress passing a reformed tax code.

President Obama promoted the economic plan he unveiled during the State of the Union during a speech Wednesday at a conveyor belt factory in Iowa. He says his blueprint will work for everyone, not just the wealthy.

US Forces Rescue Kidnapped Westerners in Somalia

By American Security Council Foundation ASCF January 26, 2012 @ 7:22am

U.S. defense officials say an American woman and a Danish man who were kidnapped last October in Somalia are safe, after being rescued by U.S. commandos in a daring operation northwest of the Somali capital, Mogadishu.

Pentagon officials say American forces swept into an encampment in the vicinity of the town of Cadaado, northwest of Mogadishu, and pulled American Jessica Buchanan and Poul Thisted, a Danish national, to safety.