Nuclear Weapons

FISA Court Appointments, Potential Reforms, and More from CRS

02.07.14 | 1 min read | Text by Steven Aftergood

It was announced today that Chief Justice Roberts has appointed Judge James E. Boasberg of the DC District Court to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court for a seven year term beginning in May 2014. He will replace the outgoing Presiding Judge Reggie Walton, whose term expires in May. The Chief Justice also appointed Judge Richard C. Tallman of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review.

The current membership of the FISA Courts can be found here.

Background information on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court and potential changes to its operations were discussed in a new report from the Congressional Research Service. See Reform of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Courts: Procedural and Operational Changes, January 16, 2014.

Relatedly from CRS, see Introducing a Public Advocate into the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act’s Courts: Select Legal Issues, October 25, 2013

Other new and updated CRS reports that Congress has withheld from online public distribution include the following.

The 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics: Security and Human Rights Issues, January 26, 2014

The National Defense Authorization Act for FY2012 and Beyond: Detainee Matters, January 27, 2014

Cuba: U.S. Policy and Issues for the 113th Congress, January 29, 2014

Cuba: U.S. Restrictions on Travel and Remittances, February 4, 2014

Mexico: Background and U.S. Relations, January 30, 2014

Status of Mexican Trucks in the United States: Frequently Asked Questions, January 3, 2014

The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA): Background, Legislation, and Policy Issues, January 23, 2014

publications
See all publications
Nuclear Weapons
Report
Nuclear Notebook: Russian Nuclear Weapons, 2023

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 […]

05.08.23 | 1 min read
read more
Nuclear Weapons
Blog
Video Indicates that Lida Air Base Might Get Russian “Nuclear Sharing” Mission in Belarus

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 […]

04.19.23 | 7 min read
read more
Nuclear Weapons
Blog
Was There a U.S. Nuclear Weapons Accident At a Dutch Air Base? [no, it was training, see update below]

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.

04.03.23 | 7 min read
read more
Nuclear Weapons
Blog
STRATCOM Says China Has More ICBM Launchers Than The United States – We Have Questions

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 […]

02.10.23 | 6 min read
read more