A recent DNI Open Source Center publication presents a guide to the Iraqi provincial elections that took place on January 31. The report was prepared prior to the elections and does not reflect their important results, but it does provide an informative overview of the electoral process, the Iraqi provincial council structure, and the thirty-six contending coalitions, with valuable individual profiles of the numerous coalition members.
Like most OSC analyses, it has not been approved for public release, but a copy was obtained by Secrecy News. See “Iraq: Provincial Elections Guide 2009” (pdf), Open Source Center Report, January 21, 2009. (For an initial assessment of the Iraqi election results by Philip Zelikow, see here.)
In a recent meeting with the Director of CIA Information Management Services, we reiterated our view that all unclassified, non-copyrighted publications of the Open Source Center (which is managed by CIA) should be made freely available to the public.
“I will convey the message,” the Director told us.
The Center for Democracy and Technology and Openthegovernment.org are inviting members of the public to suggest categories of government documents that they believe should be easily available online, but are not.
As Congress considers broader packages to advance critical minerals production and supply chain resilience, science diplomacy vehicles must be part of that conversation, not as an afterthought, but as an intentional and foundational pillar of any strategy.
“Structured partnerships with our allies on critical minerals innovation can ensure that the best science and the best talent are working together towards shared security and economic prosperity.”
This is a bipartisan, commonsense measure to reauthorize the Technology Modernization Fund (TMF) before it expires in September 2026.
Many states are introducing AI policies and task forces, but lack the “AI-native” personnel to build and maintain initiatives. To address this in the short term, states should establish AI Resilience Cohorts to embed early-career technologists in key offices to support state AI initiatives. Right now, Virginia and New Jersey have the opportunity to take […]