Ground Troops Vs. the Islamic State, and More from CRS
In response to calls for increased deployment of ground forces against the Islamic State, the Congressional Research Service stated this week that “There are no clear-cut answers to determining the suitability, size, and mission profile of the ground elements of any military campaign; determining the disposition of military forces is in many ways as much an art as it is a science.”
“As it evaluates proposals to introduce more ground forces [to combat the Islamic State], Congress may therefore ponder five questions.” See Additional U.S. Ground Troops to Counter the Islamic State? Five Questions, CRS Insight, February 17, 2016.
Other new and updated reports from the Congressional Research Service issued this week include the following.
IAEA Budget and U.S. Contributions: In Brief, February 17, 2016
U.S. Family-Based Immigration Policy, updated February 17, 2016
Border Security Metrics Between Ports of Entry, February 16, 2016
Deficits and Debt: Economic Effects and Other Issues, February 17, 2016
Domestic Food Assistance: Summary of Programs, updated February 17, 2016
U.S. Farm Income Outlook for 2016, February 16, 2016
The Federal Networking and Information Technology Research and Development Program: Background, Funding, and Activities, February 16, 2016
Afghanistan: Post-Taliban Governance, Security, and U.S. Policy, updated February 17, 2016
“One thing became increasingly clear: AI doesn’t simply introduce a new category of risk. It changes the speed, scale, complexity, and interaction of risks that already exist.”
In an ideal world, we would not have state or federal climate intervention research bans. We would have researchers and institutions that would not shy away from revealing the good, the bad, and the ugly of these technologies and doing so responsibly.
“What excites me is that it’s very tempting to be very discouraged, and say, ‘Oh, we’ve got these archaic institutions that are calcified and you could never change them.’ But I think we’re in the middle of a technological revolution that will upend lots of things, and does provide a window.”
Ask people what worries them most right now, and they’ll say the cost of living and their livelihoods, not climate change. But those concerns are not separate.