Establishing civilian control of intelligence and security services is a challenge and a crucial milestone for any aspiring democracy. Among other post-Soviet countries of Eastern Europe, Ukraine has made some remarkable strides in this direction.
“As Ukraine continues the process of democratic consolidation, the issue of intelligence oversight remains vital, to ensure political accountability and financial efficiency,” according to a recent master’s thesis on the subject (pdf). “Oversight of intelligence is also important to the political initiatives Ukraine has undertaken to improve ties to NATO and the EU.”
The thesis, by Lt. Col. Oleksii Petrov of the Ukraine Ministry of Defense, presents an updated account of the organization of Ukraine intelligence services, and an explanation of the legal framework in which they operate.
The government of Ukraine publicly discloses current and retrospective spending levels for its various intelligence services, which is more than the U.S. has been able to manage.
Thus, the 2007 budget for the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine (FISU) is 248 million grivnas (around $50 million), and the agency employs 4350 personnel, according to online budget documents cited and translated by the author.
See “Political and Budgetary Oversight of the Ukrainian Intelligence Community: Processes, Problems and Prospects for Reform” by Oleksii Petrov, Naval Postgraduate School, September 2007.
Familiar semiconductor policy approaches – export controls and subsidies – are inadequate alone to prevent reliance on Chinese-made legacy chips. Washington and its allies will instead have to turn to the old-fashioned, disruptive tools of trade defense in the face of a challenge of this scale.
The Wildfire Intelligence Center would bring together expertise at all levels of government to give our firefighters and first responders access to cutting-edge tools and the decision support they need to confront this growing crisis.
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FAS today released permitting policy recommendations to improve talent and technology in the federal permitting process. These recommendations will address the sometimes years-long bottlenecks that prevent implementation of crucial projects, from energy to transportation.