Oak Ridge Today

Former ambassador to discuss Syria at Roane State on Wednesday

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Margaret Scobey

Margaret Scobey

Former Ambassador Margaret Scobey will discuss Syria at Roane State Community College in Oak Ridge on Wednesday. Her talk is titled “Syria: Challenges to U.S. and Regional Interests.”

The community lecture is sponsored jointly by ORICL (Oak Ridge Institute of Continued Learning) and Roane State. It is free and open to the public.

Scobey’s appearance will begin with a reception at 2:15 p.m. Wednesday in the Visitor’s Lobby of the Coffey/McNally Building, a press release said. Following the reception, Scobey will speak in the City Room, A-111, of the same building. After her presentation, Ambassador Scobey will respond to questions from the audience.

Scobey retired as career minister from the U.S. Foreign Service following a 32-year career, the press release said. She served as U.S. ambassador to the Arab Republic of Egypt from 2008 until July of 2011. Prior to that, she served as the U.S. ambassador to Syria from late 2003 until early 2005, when she was recalled in protest to the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri. Her last assignment in the Foreign Service was as deputy commandant of the Industrial College of the Armed Forces at the National Defense University in Washington, D.C. [Read more…]

Roane State lectures to address differences between Islam, Islamic State (ISIS)

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Rihab Sawah

Rihab Sawah

Scholar Rihab Sawah from St. Louis Community College will discuss differences between Islam and the Islamic State, also known as ISIS, on Thursday, March 31, at Roane State Community College’s Roane and Oak Ridge campuses.

The Roane County lecture will be held at 11:30 a.m. in room 101 in the O’Brien Humanities Building on the main campus in Harriman, 276 Patton Lane. The Oak Ridge lecture will be held at 3 p.m. in the City Room at the Oak Ridge campus, 701 Briarcliff Ave.

The lectures, presented by Roane State’s International Education Department and the Oak Ridge Institute for Continued Learning, or ORICL, are free and open to the public.

The presentations will define Islam and the Islamic State and will contrast 12 main points that highlight the diverging point of view of ISIS in relation to Islam. Sawah will also present the historical roots of a movement such as ISIS and explain why the movement misuses Islamic ideology and how it serves ISIS leaders’ aim to establish their influence in the region. [Read more…]

Opinion: Fleischmann comments on passage of government funding bill

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U.S. Representative Chuck Fleischmann

Chuck Fleischmann

By U.S. Representative Chuck Fleischmann

WASHINGTON, D.C.—On Wednesday, the House of Representatives passed a critical continuing resolution which will keep the government open until the end of the fiscal year and maintain funding for significant government operations.

“Today, I am happy to announce that the House of Representatives has passed a responsible and fiscally sound funding measure, which will prevent a government shutdown,” U.S. Representative Chuck Fleischmann said directly after passage. “By crafting a clean continuing resolution that maintains current funding levels, we have provided the American people and crucial parts of our government, such as the armed forces, with needed certainty. However, I am disappointed that the Democrat-controlled Senate could not manage to undertake its constitutional responsibility and pass a single appropriations bill. It is imperative that Congress returns to regular order and eliminates the need for these constant stopgap measures.”

In addition to keeping the government open, the bill also included the McKeon Amendment. This provides authorization for the president’s request to arm and train carefully vetted factions within the Syrian opposition in order to combat ISIS while providing for congressional oversight.

Chuck Fleischmann represents Tennessee’s District 3, which includes Oak Ridge, in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Corker dampens presidential speculation, calls ISIS ‘demonic’

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Senator Bob Corker at ETEC

U.S. Senator Bob Corker, right, downplayed speculation of a possible presidential run during a visit to Oak Ridge on Friday, but he also didn’t rule out a campaign. At center is Jim Haynes, president and chief executive officer of Consolidated Nuclear Security, the new managing and operating contractor at the Y-12 National Security Complex.

 

He’s been asked the question before, and on Friday, U.S. Senator Bob Corker answered it again: Are you considering running for president in 2016?

Corker didn’t say “no,” but he did dampen the discussion. The Tennessee Republican pointed out that if he were a candidate, he would likely be making trips to Iowa and New Hampshire, key early stops in presidential campaigns, rather than visiting Oak Ridge and East Tennessee.

Still, after a short speech to the East Tennessee Economic Council on Friday, Corker, a Tennessee Republican, said every senator involved in policy decisions and helping to solve the nation’s problems probably thinks about a presidential run “from time to time.”

Corker was the guest speaker at ETEC’s weekly Friday morning meeting. During his talk, he bemoaned the nation’s lack of vision, saying the chief executive needs to have one but President Obama doesn’t lead toward one.

“Without vision, people bicker,” Corker said. The question is: Who is going to create the national vision? the senator said. The nation may need three priorities, he said. [Read more…]

President Obama nominates defense aide for DOE deputy secretary

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Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall

Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall (Photo courtesy Stanford University)

President Barack Obama on Tuesday nominated Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall, a presidential aide and national security official, to become deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy. If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, she would replace Daniel Poneman, who is stepping down from the No. 2 job this fall after five years.

Sherwood-Randall currently serves as special assistant to the president and White House coordinator for defense policy, countering weapons of mass destruction, and arms control, a position she has held since 2013. She served as special assistant to the president and senior director for European affairs at the National Security Council from 2009 to 2013.

The New York Times reported that Sherwood-Randall, 54, would bring a background in nuclear weapons and nonproliferation strategy to the department, which has split responsibilities for energy strategy and the country’s weapons and counter-proliferation work. It would be her third job in the Obama administration.

Daniel B. Poneman

Daniel B. Poneman

The newspaper said Sherwood-Randall oversaw the effort to get chemical weapons out of Syria and the development of the administration’s policy for dealing with the nuclear arsenal.

Poneman has been U.S. deputy secretary of energy since May 2009, and he also served as chief operating officer under former Energy Secretary Steven Chu. Poneman has been focused on nuclear safety and proliferation, among other issues, the Times said. He briefly served as acting secretary in 2013 before the confirmation of Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz. [Read more…]

UT, ORNL scientists’ discoveries could help neutralize chemical weapons

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Enzyme Figure

Nerve agent sarin bound to bioscavenger enzyme. (Image courtesy University of Tennessee)

KNOXVILLE—Researchers at the University of Tennessee and Oak Ridge National Laboratory are a step closer to creating a prophylactic drug that would neutralize the deadly effects of the chemical weapons used in Syria and elsewhere.

Jeremy Smith, UT-ORNL Governor’s Chair and an expert in computational biology, is part of the team that is trying to engineer enzymes—called bioscavengers—so they work more efficiently against chemical weapons. The work is a joint effort between scientists at UT, ORNL, and a French national laboratory in Grenoble. Their study was published recently in the Journal of Physical Chemistry.

Nerve agents, such as sarin, are among the most highly toxic chemical weapons. The study focuses on engineering enzymes that catalyze the hydrolysis of nerve agents as a prophylactic approach to diminishing their toxic effects. [Read more…]

Alexander, Fleischmann oppose use of military force, strike in Syria

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U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander

Lamar Alexander

U.S. Senator Bob Corker

Bob Corker

U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander and Rep. Chuck Fleischmann this week said they oppose the use of military force or a limited strike in Syria in retaliation for the government’s suspected use of chemical weapons in the country’s civil war.

Meanwhile, Sen. Bob Corker said he was skeptical about an offer to have Syria turn over its chemical weapons in order to avoid an attack.

President Barack Obama has asked Congress to authorize a limited military strike. [Read more…]

Alexander concerned about consequences of striking Syria

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U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander

Lamar Alexander

U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander on Saturday said he is concerned about the possible long-term consequences of an American military attack on Syria in retaliation for the Assad’s regime suspected use of chemical weapons.

The senator, a Tennessee Republican, was responding to President Barack Obama’s announcement that he would seek congressional authorization before launching a military strike on Syria.

A press release from Alexander’s office said the senator participated in a briefing by telephone with Secretary of State John Kerry, National Security Advisor Susan Rice, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Martin Dempsey, and Director of National Intelligence James Clapper immediately after the president’s announcement. [Read more…]

Corker welcomes ‘vigorous debate’ on military action in Syria

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U.S. Senator Bob Corker

Bob Corker

U.S. Sen. Bob Corker on Saturday said he was pleased by President Barack Obama’s decision to ask Congress for approval before launching a military strike on Syria, and the senator said he looks forward to a vigorous debate.

Although he opposes sending American troops to Syria, Corker has said he would support surgical air strikes against the Assad government, given the evidence of the regime’s continued use of chemical weapons. But he has urged the Obama administration to first seek congressional authorization. [Read more…]

Corker calls for air strikes in Syria after possible chemical attacks

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U.S. Senator Bob Corker

Bob Corker

U.S. Sen. Bob Corker on Monday said he would support a decision by the president to engage in surgical strikes against the Syrian government given the evidence of the Assad regime’s continued use of chemical weapons, a press release said.

However, he cautioned against any further involvement beyond supporting “vetted, moderate members of the Syrian opposition,” the release said. The senator urged the Obama administration to eventually seek congressional authorization for any use of military force in Syria.

Corker is a Tennessee Republican and ranking member of the Foreign Relations Committee. [Read more…]

Corker returns from Middle East, visits East Tennessee on Tuesday

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Bob Corker Meets Nouri Al-Maliki

U.S. Sen. Bob Corker, left, a Tennessee Republican, meets with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki, second from right. (Submitted photos)

After a week-long trip to the Middle East that ended Saturday, U.S. Sen. Bob Corker said the recent expansion of violence there threatened the region’s security and America’s national interest.

Corker is a Tennessee Republican and ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. From Aug. 10-17, he visited with U.S. and foreign officials in Turkey, Iraq, and Jordan. The trip focused on regional political and security issues important to the United States, including the violence in Egypt, the conflict in Syria, and the threat of sectarian violence and terrorism in the region, a press release said.

Corker will be in East Tennessee on Tuesday, with stops in Knoxville and Maryville. He spent the first week of the Senate’s August recess in Middle Tennessee and will be making stops throughout Tennessee this coming week. [Read more…]