The Obama Administration is preparing to give increased military and economic aid to Pakistan, the Washington Post reported last weekend. (“U.S. to Offer More Support to Pakistan” by Karen DeYoung, January 8.)
Nearly $20 billion in civilian and military support has been provided to Pakistan between Fiscal Years 2002 and 2010, according to a newly updated tabulation from the Congressional Research Service. This sum does not include covert aid. Some $3.2 billion in aid has been requested for FY 2011. See “Direct Overt U.S. Aid and Military Reimbursements to Pakistan, FY2002-FY2011” (pdf), January 4, 2011.
Since June 2010, 17 new F-16 combat aircraft have been delivered by the U.S. to Pakistan (at Pakistani expense) along with numerous older armored personnel carriers, according to another Congressional Research Service fact sheet. See “Major U.S. Arms Sales and Grants to Pakistan Since 2001” (pdf), updated January 4, 2011.
To increase the real and perceived benefit of research funding, funding agencies should develop challenge goals for their extramural research programs focused on the impact portion of their mission.
Without trusted mechanisms to ensure privacy while enabling secure data access, essential R&D stalls, educational innovation stalls, and U.S. global competitiveness suffers.
Satellite imagery has long served as a tool for observing on-the-ground activity worldwide, and offers especially valuable insights into the operation, development, and physical features related to nuclear technology.
This year’s Red Sky Summit was an opportunity to further consider what the role of fire tech can and should be – and how public policy can support its development, scaling, and application.