A new Air Force instruction (pdf) describes the use of unvouchered “intelligence contingency funds” which may be spent by the Secretary of the Air Force “for any purpose” in support of the Air Force intelligence mission.
Such funds may be expended, for example, to pay for “plaques, mementos, etc.” to be presented “as gifts or incentive awards to foreign officials.” Contingency funds may also be used “to fund liaison functions with persons not employed by the US Government if they can assist US Air Force organizations to perform intelligence missions.” However, “The liaison function must be conducted on a modest basis that complies with socially acceptable behavior.”
See “Intelligence Contingency Funds,” Air Force Instruction 14-101, 30 April 2009.
This report outlines a framework relying on “Cooperative Technical Means” for effective arms control verification based on remote sensing, avoiding on-site inspections but maintaining a level of transparency that allows for immediate detection of changes in nuclear posture or a significant build-up above agreed limits.
At a recent workshop, we explored the nature of trust in specific government functions, the risk and implications of breaking trust in those systems, and how we’d known we were getting close to specific trust breaking points.
tudents in the 21st century need strong critical thinking skills like reasoning, questioning, and problem-solving, before they can meaningfully engage with more advanced domains like digital, data, or AI literacy.
When the U.S. government funds the establishment of a platform for testing hundreds of behavioral interventions on a large diverse population, we will start to better understand the interventions that will have an efficient and lasting impact on health behavior.