National Security Law Brief

In an effort to gain wide-spread support for upcoming sanctions against Iran, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has appealed directly to the Chinese government.  The proposed sanctions are intended to deter Iran from pursuing nuclear weapons technology.  Secretary Clinton’s recent statements were the most direct public appeal by the United States to China for support on the matter so far.

China has so far resisted support for the sanctions, largely because of the country’s increasing dependence on oil imports from Iran.  In her statements, Secretary Clinton recognized China’s need for oil to support its growing economy, but urged China to consider the long term threats posed by a nuclear Iran.  Without sanctions, Clinton argued, a nuclear-armed Iran would spark a new arms race in the region, with Israel in particular feeling the threat from a destabilized region.  The Chinese government has so far not reacted to the new appeal by the United States.

Read more at the Washington Post

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China now leads the world in scientific research growth, adding to the nation’s ever-expanding list of superlatives.  Surpassing other countries like Russia, Brazil, and India, China demonstrated a 64-fold increase in peer-reviewed scientific papers in the past 30 years.

The country’s fast growth in scientific research is particularly strong in chemistry and materials science, and stands out from other countries in its higher degree of collaboration.  Their rapid growth is attributed to three factors, including massive government investment in science, ease of knowledge flow between scientific and commercial bodies, and efficient use of a well-educated Chinese diaspora in North America.  Scientists recognize that China has far to go in developing the quality of its scientific research overall, but note that country’s strong support for scientific development and its incentives to continue support strongly indicate that China’s growth in the field can be expected for years to come.

Read more at the Financial Times

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White House spokesman, Robert Gibbs, has stated that alleged September 11th conspirator, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, will likely face the death penalty. Interviewed on CNN’s “State of the Union,” show, Gibbs said: “Khalid Sheikh Mohammed is going to meet justice and he’s going to meet his maker. He will be brought to justice and he’s likely to be executed for the heinous crimes he committed.” Gibbs did not confirm if New York City is out as the location of Mohammed’s trial.

Support has recently waned for the trial to be held in New York due in part to the attempted Christmas Day Bombing. New York City Mayor, Michael Bloomberg, at one time supported the decision to have the trials near Ground Zero but stated this week security and financial costs would be too burdensome. Another critic of holding the trials in New York City, Senator Diane Feinstein (chairman of the Senate Intelligence committee), wrote a letter to President stating her concern over an attack. “Without getting into classified details, I believe we should view the attempted Christmas Day plot as a continuation, not an end, of plots to strike the United States by al-Qaeda and its affiliates,” Feinstein said. “Moreover, New York City has been a high-priority target since at least the first World Trade Center bombing in 1993. The trial of the most significant terrorist in custody would add to the threat.”

The White House is considering holding the trials in the Eastern District of Virginia or bringing a federal court onto a military base.

Read more at Reuters or the Washington Post.

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China has announced its retaliatory measures following the United States’ recent arms deal with Taiwan. On Saturday, China announced that it would suspend military exchanges with the United States and halt all planned US-China military visits. China also plans to impose sanctions on all American companies that would be involved in supplying Taiwan with the promised weapons. He Yafei, a vice foreign minister, reiterated that the Chinese feel the arms deal “constitutes a gross intervention into China’s internal affairs, endangers national security and harms peaceful reunification efforts.” Nevertheless, American officials remain hopeful that both countries will be able to see past the recent decision and move forward to build stronger relations.

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The Obama administration announced that it plans to accelerate the deployment of weapons systems in the Persian Gulf to defend against possible Iranian missile attacks. Antimissile systems will be placed in various Arab countries (Qatar, the UAE, Bahrain and Kuwait have all agreed to host the systems). The names of selected countries have not been released for fears of public opinion and because many gulf countries are hesitant to be seen as accepting American military aid and troops. Additionally, the US will deploy ships just off the Iranian coast. The decision is aimed to send a strong message to Iran that diplomatic measures will now be coupled with strong action, and that any Iranian hostility will be met with consequences.

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Authorities are moving towards a plea deal with Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the alleged Christmas Day Bomber. The deal would involve turning over intelligence information in exchange for a guilty plea and a lesser sentence. Although, it is unclear what the plea deal would involve because the White House has stated its desire for a life sentence.

Critics of the White House’s decision to have Abdulmutallab be held and tried in the federal system rather than by the military have stated that valuable intelligence information has already been lost. The main critic is that the federal justice system gives an accused criminal Miranda Rights, also known as the “the right to remain silent.” Senator Jeff Sessions, ranking Republican on the Judiciary Committee stated, “I hope in the coming days President Obama will finally explain to the American people why . . . he continues to believe that foreign terrorists should be treated not as the war criminals they are, but as the very civilians they are determined to attack.”

In response to the criticisms the White House has released a partial transcript of the incident after the plane landed in Detroit. The report shows that FBI official were able to conduct a 50-minute interrogation and gain information about how the attempted bombing could occur. Miranda Rights were not administered until after Abdulmutallab was wheeled into the emergency room for treatment. However, the report shows Abdulmutallab was refusing to talk before being informed he had “the right to remain silent.”

The next scheduled court date, and artificial deadline for a plea deal, is April.

Read more at the Washington Post.

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Russia signed a $1.8 billion arms deal with Libya. Although exact specifications as to the types of arms or military equipment to be provided were not released, Prime Minister Putin announced that it “does not only involve firearms.” A Russian diplomatic source did say that Libya asked for “20 fighter planes, at least two S-300 air defense systems, several dozen T-90C tanks and various other arms.”

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North Korea has detained a second American in the past month for illegally crossing into the country from China.  A South Korean newspaper stated that an “unidentified source in North Korea told the newspaper the 28-year-old man said he came to the country because he did not ‘want to become a cannon fodder in the capitalist military,’ and ‘wants to serve in the North Korean military’ instead.”  These reports, however, have not been confirmed by South Korea’s spy agency or the U.S. Embassy.

Although the United States has no diplomatic relations with North Korea, this could further complicate tensions between them.

Read more at Fox News Channel.

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The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (“Mend”) has called an end to their 3-month ceasefire.  The Nigeria fighters have continually threatened Africa’s  biggest oil and gas industry.  Mend claims that the Nigerian government has not met their demands for greater control of these resources.

These attacks have resulted in lost revenues for the country and  ”at times [has] helped increase world oil prices.” Violence had decreased after the president offered amnesty, education and job opportunities to the rebels but has gotten worse in his absence.

Read more at Al Jazeera.

Read more about Mend.

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There was a new twist in the ongoing Venezuela-Colombia border dispute this week.  During a visit to the United States, Colombian Vice President Francisco Santos accused Venezuela of violating his country’s airspace, offering evidence to both the Organization of American states and the U.S. State Department.  In spite of the formal protest, Santos was careful to point out that his government considers this to be the result of an operator error on the part of the Venezuelan pilot.  The Colombian government does not seem to want this event to escalate tensions; Colombian Defense Minister Gabriel Silva even commended his soldiers for their restraint during the 20-minute incursion.

The border tensions have worsened since Venezuela broke off diplomatic relations with Bogotá in response to a deal to build U.S. military bases in Colombia.

Read more at:

El Universal

BBC

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