Incoming members of Congress face a steep learning curve in trying to understand, let alone master, many diverse areas of public policy such as national defense.
To help facilitate that learning process, the Congressional Research Service has issued a series of “defense primers” that provide a brief introduction to a variety of defense policy topics. Several of them have recently been updated, including these:
Defense Primer: Geography, Strategy, and U.S. Force Design, CRS In Focus, updated November 8, 2018
Defense Primer: Department of the Navy, CRS In Focus, updated November 8, 2018
Defense Primer: Naval Forces, CRS In Focus, updated November 8, 2018
Defense Primer: United States Airpower, CRS In Focus, updated November 7, 2018:
Defense Primer: The United States Air Force, CRS In Focus, updated November 7, 2018
Other new and updated reports from the Congressional Research Service include the following.
Energy and Water Development Appropriations: Nuclear Weapons Activities, updated November 9, 2018
The Posse Comitatus Act and Related Matters: The Use of the Military to Execute Civilian Law, updated November 6, 2018
The DOD’s JEDI Cloud Program, CRS Insight, updated November 5, 2018
Iran: Efforts to Preserve Economic Benefits of the Nuclear Deal, CRS In Focus, updated November 8, 2018
Iran Sanctions, updated November 6, 2018
Global Trends in HIV/AIDS, CRS In Focus, November 6, 2018
21st Century U.S. Energy Sources: A Primer, updated November 5, 2018
The FAS Nuclear Notebook is one of the most widely sourced reference materials worldwide for reliable information about the status of nuclear weapons, and has been published in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists since 1987.. The Nuclear Notebook is researched and written by the staff of the Federation of American Scientists’ Nuclear Information Project: Director Hans […]
On 14 April 2023, the Belarusian Ministry of Defence released a short video of a Su-25 pilot explaining his new role in delivering “special [nuclear] munitions” following his training in Russia. The features seen in the video, as well as several other open-source clues, suggest that Lida Air Base––located only 40 kilometers from the Lithuanian border and the […]
A photo in a Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) student briefing from 2022 shows four people inspecting what appears to be a damaged B61 nuclear bomb.
In early-February 2023, the Wall Street Journal reported that U.S. Strategic Command (STRATCOM) had informed Congress that China now has more launchers for Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs) than the United States. The report is the latest in a serious of revelations over the past four years about China’s growing nuclear weapons arsenal and the deepening […]