New guidance on declassification marking (pdf) of documents and materials originating in Department of Defense special access programs was issued by the new Under Secretary of Defense (Intelligence) James R. Clapper, Jr. on April 26.
A Joint Chiefs of Staff publication presents doctrine on “barrier, obstacle, and mine warfare.” The document, newly updated, “greatly expands coverage of improvised explosive devices, mines, and other unexploded explosive ordnance.” See “Barriers, Obstacles, and Mine Warfare for Joint Operations” (pdf), Joint Publication 3-15, 26 April 2007.
A U.S. Army “smart card” (pdf) provides soldiers a summary overview of the threat from Improvised Explosive Devices. The unclassified smart card on “The IED and VBIED [vehicle borne IED] Threat” dated January 2004 — not the latest edition — is available here.
January saw us watching whether the government would fund science. February has been about how that funding will be distributed, regulated, and contested.
This rule gives agencies significantly more authority over certain career policy roles. Whether that authority improves accountability or creates new risks depends almost entirely on how agencies interrupt and apply it.
Our environmental system was built for 1970s-era pollution control, but today it needs stable, integrated, multi-level governance that can make tradeoffs, share and use evidence, and deliver infrastructure while demonstrating that improved trust and participation are essential to future progress.
Durable and legitimate climate action requires a government capable of clearly weighting, explaining, and managing cost tradeoffs to the widest away of audiences, which in turn requires strong technocratic competency.