The Office of the Director of National Intelligence has released a heavily redacted version of its Congressional Budget Justification Book for Fiscal Year 2009 in response to a request under the Freedom of Information Act.
Although most of the substance of the document has been withheld, a number of details of interest (to some) have been preserved. So, for example, the glossary explains that “CAPNet is a secure private network permitting electronic connectivity between the Legislative Branch of the Federal Government, principally the intelligence oversight committees, and certain intelligence community personnel, primarily in the legislative liaison offices.”
Budget books for several subsequent years have also been released and will be posted in coming days.
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.