Noteworthy new reports from the Congressional Research Service that have not been made readily available to the public include the following (all pdf).
“National Security Strategy: Legislative Mandates, Execution to Date, and Considerations for Congress,” May 28, 2008.
“Science, Technology, and American Diplomacy: Background and Issues for Congress,” May 22, 2008.
“Mexico-U.S. Relations: Issues for Congress,” updated May 23, 2008.
“German Foreign and Security Policy: Trends and Transatlantic Implications,” updated April 29, 2008.
“The Army’s Future Combat System (FCS): Background and Issues for Congress,” updated May 12, 2008.
“American War and Military Operations Casualties: Lists and Statistics,” updated May 14, 2008.
A prior version of the CRS report on military casualties has been the subject of a widely reprinted spam email message that misrepresented casualties during the Clinton and Bush Administrations. A footnote in the latest CRS update states: “Distorted versions of Tables 4 and 5 have been circulating through the Internet. As the tables here and on the Department of Defense website show, total military deaths and hostile deaths increased from 2001 to 2005, and then decreased in 2006.” See also “E-mail on military deaths is shaky on facts” by Chuck Vinch, Army Times, March 27, 2008.
Satellite imagery of RAF Lakenheath reveals new construction of a security perimeter around ten protective aircraft shelters in the designated nuclear area, the latest measure in a series of upgrades as the base prepares for the ability to store U.S. nuclear weapons.
It will take consistent leadership and action to navigate the complex dangers in the region and to avoid what many analysts considered to be an increasingly possible outcome, a nuclear conflict in East Asia.
Getting into a shutdown is the easy part, getting out is much harder. Both sides will be looking to pin responsibility on each other, and the court of public opinion will have a major role to play as to who has the most leverage for getting us out.
How the United States responds to China’s nuclear buildup will shape the global nuclear balance for the rest of the century.