Some lightly updated reports produced lately by the Congressional Research Service include the following.
Direct Overt U.S. Aid Appropriations for and Military Reimbursements to Pakistan, FY2002-FY2014, April 11, 2013
Sensitive Covert Action Notifications: Oversight Options for Congress, April 10, 2013
Covert Action: Legislative Background and Possible Policy Questions, April 10, 2013
Navy Ship Names: Background For Congress, April 8, 2013
Navy Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) Program: Background and Issues for Congress, April 5, 2013
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.