An Update from the National Declassification Center
In the past 18 months, the National Declassification Center has completed processing of less than 5% of the 400 million page backlog of 25 year old historical records that are awaiting declassification. Still, the Center “remain[s] confident” that it will meet the December 2013 deadline set by President Obama for processing the entire backlog.
The Center has just published a new biannual report outlining its progress to date along with a description of current efforts and challenges ahead. The report notes that of the 18 million pages that have undergone declassification review at the Center thus far, 92% have been declassified and made available to the public.
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.