Whatever its archaic publication policy may say, the U.S. Air Force still manages to generate and publicly release documents of significant policy interest. A new manual on the Open Skies Treaty explores the origins, development, and implementation of the Open Skies regime, which permits the overflight and inspection of member nations’ territory and facilities. See Air Force Manual 16-604 (pdf) on “Implementation of, and Compliance with, the Treaty on Open Skies,” October 20, 2009.
A summary account of U.S. government programs to combat weapons of mass destruction is provided in the latest annual report from the interagency Counterproliferation Program Review Committee. See “Report on Activities and Programs for Countering Proliferation and NBC Terrorism,” Volume I, executive summary, July 2009 (published September 2009).
There is no question this is a Big Deal. If you are a university or research lab, or aspire to work in one, or are simply an enthusiast of federally-funded research, what’s next will matter.
The emerging federal metascience community is asking fascinating questions that are equally vital for democratic legitimacy: beyond “did this program work” to “how does the federal R&D enterprise itself work, and how could it work better?”
If you’re new to the climate intervention space, welcome! The TL;DR: if we can’t stop the most catastrophic impacts of climate change with current tools quickly enough, then we need a bigger toolbox.
After months of delay, the council tasked by President Trump to review the FEMA released its final report. Our disaster policy nerds have thoughts.