Stephen Daggett, Defense Spending, and More from CRS
We note with sadness the death last week of Congressional Research Service analyst Stephen Daggett, who tutored generations of Members and congressional staff in the intricacies of U.S. military spending. Although I did not know him personally, I read his work and learned from him for many years. Our condolences to his family and his CRS colleagues.
A new report co-authored by Mr. Daggett, presumably his final contribution, is FY2013 Defense Budget Request: Overview and Context, April 20, 2012
Other new and updated CRS reports that Congress has not made available to the public include the following.
Army Drawdown and Restructuring: Background and Issues for Congress, April 20, 2012
Reexamination of Agency Reporting Requirements: Annual Process Under the GPRA Modernization Act of 2010 (GPRAMA), April 18, 2012
Iraq: Politics, Governance, and Human Rights, April 19, 2012
Economic Growth and the Unemployment Rate, April 18, 2012
Multilateral Development Banks: Overview and Issues for Congress, April 18, 2012
Satellite imagery of RAF Lakenheath reveals new construction of a security perimeter around ten protective aircraft shelters in the designated nuclear area, the latest measure in a series of upgrades as the base prepares for the ability to store U.S. nuclear weapons.
It will take consistent leadership and action to navigate the complex dangers in the region and to avoid what many analysts considered to be an increasingly possible outcome, a nuclear conflict in East Asia.
Getting into a shutdown is the easy part, getting out is much harder. Both sides will be looking to pin responsibility on each other, and the court of public opinion will have a major role to play as to who has the most leverage for getting us out.
How the United States responds to China’s nuclear buildup will shape the global nuclear balance for the rest of the century.