CSP Daily Brief: April 18, 2013

The Latest From the Center…

• Press Release: Reject Perez: Experts Demonstrate Why Senate Should Repudiate Labor Nominee
• The Americas Report: Challenges Continue After Maduro’s Election in Venezuela
• Ben Lerner at Free Fire Blog: UAVs and the Boston Marathon
• Frank Gaffney’s Weekly Article: Obama’s ‘China Syndrome’

…and From our Colleagues

• Gatestone Institute: Muslim Persecution of Christians: February, 2013

Secure Freedom Radio

• Nuclear Defense Cannot Just Be “Pulled Out” When a Crisis Strikes: with Congressman Michael Turner, Hans von Spakovsky, Daniel Pipes, Diana West
• Secure Freedom Minute: No To Perez

Stand with Israel in 2013: Join Frank Gaffney for a Fact-Finding Tour This Fall. Click here for prices and dates.

News

• Day Three: Investigation into Boston bombing accelerates as authorities seek man on department store video
• FBI: Miss. man arrested, accused in ricin letters
• Terrorism Expert: Saudi National Questioned over Boston Bombs to Be Deported
• Fertilizer-Plant Blast Kills Five to 15 in Texas
• Assad hold on power tenuous, US intelligence official says
• U.S. takes step toward possible military intervention in Syria
• Top Obama Officials Differ on Syrian Rebels in Testimony to Congress
• UN: Syria bars entry of chemical weapons team
• House GOP, father of Tyrone Woods, call for select committee to investigate Benghazi attacks
• Frustrated by Benghazi Questions, Kerry Urges Broader Foreign Policy of ‘Strategic Impatience’
• Resetting the Bar: Special Operations Forces reexamining standards as women ready to join ranks
• Congress more willing to cut military pay raises, benefits
• Taliban in Qatar see no early peace talks with U.S.: sources
• Seven alleged al Qaeda-linked plotters arrested in United Arab Emirates
• U.S. to Open First Customs Post in Middle East
• PM: Israel ready to defend against Syrian WMDs
• Pentagon to Boost Presence in Jordan
• Ahmadinejad slams ‘foreign presence’ in Persian Gulf as Iran marks Army Day
• Facing Arrest, Musharraf Flees Courtroom in Pakistan
• Inside the Ring: North Korea war strategy
• North Korea Sets Conditions for Return to Talks
• China calls on Japan to reduce jet scrambles
• Venezuelans are polarized in post-election crisis
• U.S. House Panel Chair Looks To A ‘Seapower’ Decade

Commentary

• BRATTON: A Cop’s-Eye View of Terrorism
• KAYE: What I Know About Boston That the Terrorists Never Will
• KECK: Iran’s Nuclear Submarine Gambit
• LIEBERMAN: Palestinians Cheer While America Mourns
• MURTAGH: Tale of two terrorists
• SCHANZER: Mostly Quiet on the Western Front
• SPYER: A Major Syrian Rebel Group Is Now Officially Part of al-Qaeda

Hearings and Events of Note

• Thursday, April 18, 9:00am Hearing: The President’s FY 2014 Budget Request for the Department of Homeland Security (House Homeland Security Committee)
• Thursday, April 18, 9:30am Sequestration Oversight: Prioritizing Security over Administrative Costs at TSA (House Committee on Oversight & Government Reform)
• Thursday, April 18, 9:30am National Security & Foreign Policy Priorities in the FY 2014 International Affairs Budget (Senate Committee on Foreign Relations)
• Thursday, April 18, 10:00am Oversight: Current and Future Worldwide Threats (Senate Armed Services Committee)
• Thursday, April 18, 1:00pm Subcommittee Hearing: Tier Rankings in the First Against Human Trafficking (House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights and International Organizations)
• Thursday, April 18, 2:30pm Oversight: Current Readiness of U.S. Forces (Senate Armed Services Committee, Subcommittee on Readiness and Management Support)
• Thursday, April 18, 2:30pm Oversight: The Role of the Department of Defense Science and Technology Enterprise for Innovation and Affordability (Senate Armed Services Committee, Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities)
• Tuesday, April 23, 9:30am Oversight: Department of the Army (Senate Armed Services Committee)
• Tuesday, April 23, 2:30pm Oversight: Proliferation Prevention Programs (Senate Armed Services committee, Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities)
• Tuesday, April 23, 3:00pm Subcommittee Hearing: Meeting the Challenge of Drug-Resistant Diseases in developing Countries (House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations)
• Wednesday, April 24, Oversight and Business Practices of Durable Medical Equipment (Senate Committee on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs, Subcommittee on Financial and Contracting Oversight)
• Wednesday, April 24, 10:00am Hearing: Export Control Reform: the Agenda Ahead (House Committee on Foreign Affairs)
• Wednesday, April 24, 10:00am Oversight of U.S. Naval and U.S. Air Force Acquisition Programs in the Fiscal Year 2014 National Defense Authorization Budget Request (House Armed Services Committee, Subcommittee on Seapower and Projection Forces)
• Wednesday, April 24, 10:00am Oversight: Active, Guard, Reserve, and Civilian Personnel Programs (Senate Armed Services Committee, Subcommittee on Personnel)
• Wednesday, April 24, 10:00am International Development Priorities in the FY 2014 Budget (Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs)
• Wednesday, April 24, 11:30am The Readiness Posture of the U.S. Air Force (House Armed Services Committee, Subcommittee on Readiness)
• Wednesday, April 24, Budget Hearing: United States Agency for International Development (House Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs)
• Wednesday, April 24, 2:00pm Status of implementation of the requirements of the VOW Act and the recommendations of the Presidential Veteran Employment Initiative Task Force for the DOD Transition Assistance Program -Goals, Plans, and Success (GPS) (House Armed Services Committee, Subcommittee on Military Personnel)
• Wednesday, April 24, 2:00pm Subcommittee Hearing: Kosovo and Serbia: A Pathway to Peace (House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Subcommittee on Europe, Eurasia, and Emerging Threats)
• Wednesday, April 24, 2:30pm Oversight: Military Space Program and Views on DOD Usage of the Electromagnetic Spectrum (Senate Armed Services Committee, Subcommittee on Strategic Forces)
• Wednesday, April 24, 2:30pm Oversight: Military Construction, Environmental, and Base Closure Programs (Senate Armed Services Committee, Subcommittee on Readiness and Management Support)
• Wednesday, April 24, 2:30pm Oversight: Tactical Aircraft Programs (Senate Armed Services Committee, Subcommittee on Airland)
• Thursday, April 25, 9:30am Oversight: Department of the Navy (Senate Armed Services Committee)
• Thursday, April 25, 10:00am The Fiscal Year 2014 National Defense Authorization Budget Request from the Department of the Army (House Armed Services Committee)
• Thursday, April 25, 2:00pm Transitioning to Afghan Security Lead: Protecting Afghan Women? (House Armed Services Committee, Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations)
• Thursday, April 25, 3:30pm Fiscal Year 2014 National Defense Authorization Budget Request for National Security Space Activities (House Armed Services Committee, Subcommittee on Strategic Forces)
• Friday, April 26, 8:00am The Readiness Posture of the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Marine Corps (House Armed Services Committee, Subcommittee on Readiness)
• Friday, April 26, 10:30am Fiscal Year 2014 Army Modernization Programs (House Armed Services Committee, Subcommittee on Tactical Air and Land Forces)
• Tuesday, May 7, 9:30am Oversight: Department of the Air Force (Senate Armed Services Committee)
• Wednesday, May 8, 9:30am Oversight: Army Modernization (Senate Armed Services Committee)
• Wednesday, May 8, 9:30am Oversight: Navy Shipbuilding Programs (Senate Armed Service Committee, Subcommittee on Seapower)
• Tuesday, June 11, 9:30am Legislative: Subcommittee Markups (Senate Armed Service Committee, Subcommittee on Airland)
• Tuesday, June 11, 11:00am Legislative: Subcommittee Markups (Senate Armed Service Committee, Subcommittee on Readiness and Management Support)
• Tuesday, June 11, 2:00pm Legislative: Subcommittee Markups (Senate Armed Service Committee, Subcommittee on Personnel)

Other Briefs

• Politico Morning Defense: 4/18/13
• Foreign Policy Initiative: Overnight Brief 4/18/13
• Foreign Policy Magazine: Morning Brief 4/18/13
• AIA Daily Lead: April 17, 2013
• The Hill: Overnight Defense 4/17/13