The decision to impose a no-fly zone on Libya is scrutinized from various perspectives in a new report (pdf) from the Congressional Research Service.
The report distinguishes “authorization” to establish a no-fly zone from the “legality” of the move, and also from its “legitimacy.” “The three concepts overlap but are all distinct,” the report says.
The report, which may help to inform congressional deliberations, also treats operational and cost issues. A copy was obtained by Secrecy News. See “No-Fly Zones: Strategic, Operational, and Legal Considerations for Congress,” March 18, 2011.
“From the Washington Administration to the present, Congress and the President have enacted 11 separate formal declarations of war against foreign nations in five different wars,” according to another newly updated CRS report. Yet there have been hundreds of U.S. military engagements over the past two centuries.
The significance of a declaration of war as compared to an “authorization” for the use of force was explored in detail in “Declarations of War and Authorizations for the Use of Military Force: Historical Background and Legal Implications,” March 17, 2011.
For a brief overview of Japan’s nuclear disaster, see “Fukushima Nuclear Crisis,” March 15, 2011.
Congress must enact a Digital Public Infrastructure Act, a recognition that the government’s most fundamental responsibility in the digital era is to provide a solid, trustworthy foundation upon which people, businesses, and communities can build.
To increase the real and perceived benefit of research funding, funding agencies should develop challenge goals for their extramural research programs focused on the impact portion of their mission.
Without trusted mechanisms to ensure privacy while enabling secure data access, essential R&D stalls, educational innovation stalls, and U.S. global competitiveness suffers.
Satellite imagery has long served as a tool for observing on-the-ground activity worldwide, and offers especially valuable insights into the operation, development, and physical features related to nuclear technology.