** The new Journal of National Security Law & Policy has recently published its second issue featuring several meaty articles on interrogation, torture and the rule of law. The full contents of the issue, along with subscription information, are available online here.
** “Regulatory transparency–mandatory disclosure of information by private or public institutions with a regulatory intent– has become an important frontier of government innovation.” A new journal article assesses when and how such transparency works. See “The Effectiveness of Regulatory Disclosure Policies” by David Weil, et al, Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, Vol. 25, No. 1 (abstract only).
** The case of Sam Adams, the intelligence analyst who challenged official assessments of the size of Viet Cong forces during the Vietnam War, is revisited in a new book. “It’s the first complete narrative of the intelligence war at the heart of what went wrong in Vietnam, and it also happens to be highly relevant to what’s happening today in Iraq,” suggests the publisher. See “Who the Hell Are We Fighting? The Story of Sam Adams and the Vietnam Intelligence Wars,” by C. Michael Hiam, Steerforth Press, published April 25, 2006.
Yesterday, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency proposed revoking its 2009 “endangerment finding” that greenhouse gases pose a substantial threat to the public. The Federation of American Scientists stands in strong opposition.
Modernizing ClinicalTrials.gov will empower patients, oncologists, and others to better understand what trials are available, where they are available, and their up-to-date eligibility criteria, using standardized search categories to make them more easily discoverable.
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.