Counting Casualties in Syria & Iraq, and More from CRS
The number of people killed in Syria since March 2011 is variously estimated to be between 250,000 and 470,000. The number of estimated casualties in Iraq ranges from 19,000 to 41,650 deaths since January 2014.
A new report from the Congressional Research Service somewhat clinically discusses “the difficulties of collecting war-related casualty data in both countries and provides an overview of some of the current estimated figures available through selected organizations.”
“CRS is unable to independently track casualties in Syria and Iraq, and cannot verify the data presented.” Nor does CRS suggest that U.S. policy would be affected in one direction or another by casualty data that were verified to be accurate. See Counting Casualties in Syria and Iraq: Process and Challenges, CRS Insight, April 12, 2016.
Other noteworthy reports from the Congressional Research Service that have been withheld by Congress from online public distribution include the following.
Coalition Contributions to Countering the Islamic State, updated April 13, 2016
The Islamic State Woos Jihadists in Africa but Faces Competition, CRS Insight, April 14, 2016
Defense: FY2017 Budget Request, Authorization, and Appropriations, April 12, 2016
Arms Control and Nonproliferation: A Catalog of Treaties and Agreements, updated April 13, 2016
Russian Compliance with the Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty: Background and Issues for Congress, updated April 13, 2016
The New START Treaty: Central Limits and Key Provisions, updated April 13, 2016
Air Force B-21 Long Range Strike Bomber, April 14, 2016
Mens Rea Reform: A Brief Overview, April 14, 2016
Zika Response Funding: In Brief, April 14, 2016
Zika Virus: Global Health Considerations, CRS Insight, updated April 14, 2016
U.S. Postal Service Rolls Back Its Prices, CRS Insight, April 13, 2016
Highway Bridge Conditions: Issues for Congress, April 13, 2016
The Electoral College: How It Works in Contemporary Presidential Elections, updated April 13, 2016
Senate Judiciary Committee Hearings for Supreme Court Nominations: Historical Overview and Data, CRS Insight, April 13, 2016
Surveillance of Foreigners Outside the United States Under Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), April 13, 2016
The Federation of American Scientists supports H.R. 4420, the Cool Corridors Act of 2025, which would reauthorize the Healthy Streets program through 2030 and seeks to increase green and other shade infrastructure in high-heat areas.
The current lack of public trust in AI risks inhibiting innovation and adoption of AI systems, meaning new methods will not be discovered and new benefits won’t be felt. A failure to uphold high standards in the technology we deploy will also place our nation at a strategic disadvantage compared to our competitors.
Using the NIST as an example, the Radiation Physics Building (still without the funding to complete its renovation) is crucial to national security and the medical community. If it were to go down (or away), every medical device in the United States that uses radiation would be decertified within 6 months, creating a significant single point of failure that cannot be quickly mitigated.
The federal government can support more proactive, efficient, and cost-effective resiliency planning by certifying predictive models to validate and publicly indicate their quality.