“The humanitarian crisis many feared would take place in March 2003 as a result of the war in Iraq appears to be unfolding,” says a new report (pdf) from the Congressional Research Service.
“It is estimated that in total (including those displaced prior to the war) there may be two million Iraqi refugees who have fled to Jordan, Syria, and other neighboring states, and approximately two million Iraqis who have been displaced within Iraq itself.” See “Iraqi Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons: A Deepening Humanitarian Crisis?,” March 23, 2007.
Another Congressional Research Service report provides a detailed examination of the pending defense supplemental appropriations bills, which include congressional direction on redeployment or withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq. See “FY2007 Supplemental Appropriations for Defense, Foreign Affairs, and Other Purposes” (pdf), updated March 28, 2007.
Other recent CRS products which have not been made readily available to the public include the following (all pdf).
“V-22 Osprey Tilt-Rotor Aircraft,” updated March 13, 2007.
“U.S. Assistance to the Former Soviet Union,” updated March 1, 2007.
“Nuclear Power: Outlook for New U.S. Reactors,” updated March 9, 2007.
“Military Medical Care: Questions and Answers,” updated March 7, 2007.
“Military Construction, Military Quality of Life and Veterans Affairs: FY2007 Appropriations,” updated March 6, 2007.
“U.S. International HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Spending: FY2004-FY2008,” updated March 6, 2007.
“One thing became increasingly clear: AI doesn’t simply introduce a new category of risk. It changes the speed, scale, complexity, and interaction of risks that already exist.”
In an ideal world, we would not have state or federal climate intervention research bans. We would have researchers and institutions that would not shy away from revealing the good, the bad, and the ugly of these technologies and doing so responsibly.
“What excites me is that it’s very tempting to be very discouraged, and say, ‘Oh, we’ve got these archaic institutions that are calcified and you could never change them.’ But I think we’re in the middle of a technological revolution that will upend lots of things, and does provide a window.”
Ask people what worries them most right now, and they’ll say the cost of living and their livelihoods, not climate change. But those concerns are not separate.