Obama, Barack.
Remarks by the President at Nomination of Senator John Kerry as Secretary of State.  
The White House, December 21, 2012, 3 pages.
"Today, though, I’m looking ahead to my second term, and I am very proud to announce my choice for America’s next Secretary of State -- John Kerry." (From the White House)

Clinton, Hillary Rodham.
Statement on the President's Nomination of Senator John F. Kerry to Succeed Her as Secretary of State of the United States.
U.S. Department of State, December 21, 2012, 2 pages.
"I have been privileged to know John for many years and to call him a friend, colleague, and partner. He will bring decades of service to our country and deep experience in international affairs." (From U.S. Department of State)

Cronin, Patrick M.
Contested Waters: Managing Disputes in the East and South China Seas.
Center for a New American Security, December 14, 2012, 10 pages.
"CNAS Senior Director of the Asia-Pacific Security Program Dr. Patrick Cronin argues that despite rising tensions in the East and South China Seas, conflict between the United States and China can and should be averted. He contends that the United States needs to adopt a more detailed and tailored strategy toward the East and South China Seas and increase its engagement throughout the Asia-Pacific region through a wide range of military, diplomatic and economic tools." (From the Center for a New American Security)

Ford, Christopher.
What Taiwan Can Teach China's New Leaders.
Hudson Institute, November 24, 2012, 2 pages.
"In a season when so much attention has been focused upon the U.S. presidential elections, Chinese actually need look no further than across the Taiwan Straits to see a rebuttal of the orchestrated apologetics for CCP 'meritocracy.'" (From Hudson Institute)

Hof, Frederic C.
Syria: Seven Key Points.
Atlantic Council, December 13, 2012, 3 pages.
"The situation in Syria has reached a critical stage. While a diplomatic, managed transition from the Assad regime to an opposition-led consensus national unity government would be ideal, the likelihood of it happening is very low. The situation is enormously complicated and fraught with peril. But seven points must be kept in mind." (From the Atlantic Council)

Holmes, James R.
A Competitive Turn: How Increased Chinese Maritime Actions Complicate U.S. Partnerships.
Center for a New American Security, December 14, 2012,  6 pages.
"James R. Holmes, professor of strategy at the Naval War College, argues that China’s increasingly competitive actions in the East and South China Seas are further complicating U.S. efforts to forge maritime security coalitions and partnerships in the Asia-Pacific region. Holmes outlines how the Obama administration can promote U.S. interests in the East and South China Seas and recommends that the United States continue to cooperate with Asian governments, maintain preponderant forces in the region and remain on cordial terms with Beijing." (From the Center for a New American Security)

Klingner, Bruce.
North Korean Missile Launch Challenges U.S. Foreign Policy.
The Heritage Foundation, December 6, 2012, 3 pages.
"The U.S. should respond firmly to yet another North Korean defiance of United Nations resolutions. Washington should lead the charge for more comprehensive international sanctions against Pyongyang as well as the banks, businesses, and countries that facilitate North Korean nuclear and missile proliferation." (From the Heritage Foundation)

Homeland Security of the United States: Current Situation and Future Developments.
OT-1212, December 5, 2012, 6 pages.
"Accordingly, I want to share with you today the key themes that guide my Department's international engagements, which emphasize the value we place on building collaboration and relationships with our international partners." (From AIT)

Supply Chain Security.
OT-1213, December 5, 2012, 7 pages.
"Over the next few minutes, I will be providing you with an overview of the U.S. national strategy for supply chain security, focusing on our efforts to identify and characterize risks to the supply chain." (From AIT)

Jewell, Craig K.
Economic Recovery: Sustaining U.S. Economic Growth in a Post-Crisis Economy. 
(CRS Report for Congress)
Washington, D.C.: Congressional Research Service, November 29, 2012,
24 pages.
"Congress was an active participant in the policy responses to this crisis and has an ongoing interest in macroeconomic conditions. Current macroeconomic concerns include whether the economy is in a sustained recovery, rapidly reducing unemployment, speeding a return to normal output and employment growth, and addressing government’s long-term debt problem." (From CRS Report)

Hormats, Robert D.
The Future of U.S.-China Economic Relations. 
U.S. Department of State, December 6, 2012, 6 pages.
"Today I would like to focus on five specific areas where the United States and China will need to address differences in the future. These points reflect an American perspective on the difficulties China faces as it emerges as an economic power and seeks to become more integrated into the global economy." (From U.S. Department of State)

McCarthy, Deborah A.
Economic Statecraft: Developing Partnerships with the Private Sector.
U.S. Department of State, December 10, 2012, 4 pages.
"At the Department of State, our actions are focused on four key areas: first, updating our foreign policy priorities to take economic issues more into account; second, turning to economic solutions for strategic challenges; third, stepping up commercial diplomacy; and fourth, building the diplomatic capacity to execute this ambitious agenda." (From U.S. Department of State)

Morrison, Wayne M. and Marc Labonte.
China's Holdings of U.S. Securities: Implications for the U.S. Economy.
(CRS Report for Congress)
Washington, D.C.: Congressional Research Service, December 6, 2012, 19 pages.
"Given its relatively low savings rate, the U.S. economy depends heavily on foreign capital inflows from countries with high savings rates (such as China) to meet its domestic investment needs and to fund the federal budget deficit. The willingness of foreigners to invest in the U.S. economy and purchase U.S. public debt has helped keep U.S. real interest rates low. However, many economists contend that U.S. dependency on foreign savings exposes the U.S. economy to certain risks, and some argue that such dependency was a contributing factor to the U.S. housing bubble and subsequent global financial crisis that began in 2008." (From CRS Report)

Scissors, Derek.
Chinese Economic Espionage Is Hurting the Case for Free Trade.
The Heritage Foundation, November 19, 2012, 2 pages.
"Trade and investment with China benefits the U.S. This is evident in choices made by individuals and companies every day to buy Chinese goods and work with Chinese partners. Indeed, American business has been the chief proponent of a sound U.S.–China economic relationship." (From the Heritage Foundation)

Biggs, Andrew G. and Abigail Haddad.
High-Profile Studies Overrate Going to College and Picking the Right Major.
American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, December 17, 2012,
3 pages.
"There are obvious advantages to going to college. And yes, science majors have much higher lifetime earnings than art majors. But the reasons why aren't as simple as some studies would have you believe." (From AEI)

Fernandes-Alcantara, Adrienne L.
Vulnerable Youth: Employment and Job Training Programs.
(CRS Report for Congress)
Washington, D.C.: Congressional Research Service, November 26, 2012, 42 pages.
"Since the 1930s, federal job training and employment programs and policies have sought to connect vulnerable youth to work and school. Generally, these young people have been defined as being at-risk because they are economically disadvantaged and have a barrier to employment." (From CRS Report)

National Intelligence Council.
Executive Summary from Global Trends 2030: Alternative Worlds. 
National Intelligence Council, December 2012, 13 pages.
"This report is intended to stimulate thinking about the rapid and vast geopolitical changes characterizing the world today and possible global trajectories during the next 15-20 years. As with the NIC's previous Global Trends reports, we do not seek to predict the future—which would be an impossible feat—but instead provide a framework for thinking about possible futures and their implications." (From the National Intelligence Council)

Heinrichs, Rebeccah and Baker Spring.
Deterrence and Nuclear Targeting in the 21st Century.
The Heritage Foundation, November 30, 2012, 12 pages.
"The Obama Administration is apparently considering further reductions of U.S. nuclear forces based on the misguided notion that the world is safer when America adopts a nuclear deterrence posture based on a minimal level of effectiveness." (From the Heritage Foundation)

Rotberg, Robert I. and Jenny C. Aker.
TWQ: Mobile Phones: Uplifting Weak and Failed States.
Center for Strategic and International Studies, December 18, 2012, 15 pages.
"Mobile telephone technology is poised to dramatically improve millions of lives across the globe's weak and failed states. No other recently-introduced technology has so much potential to improve rural and urban outcomes in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and elsewhere." (From the Center for Strategic and International Studies)