Securing U.S. Diplomatic Facilities, and More from CRS
In almost every year since 2007, Congress appropriated less money for diplomatic security than had been requested. In FY2012, the State Department sought $2.9 billion for security, and Congress enacted $2.6 billion.
The diplomatic security function, including its funding profile, was discussed in the light of recent attacks of U.S. diplomatic facilities in Benghazi, Libya and elsewhere in a new report from the Congressional Research Service. See Securing U.S. Diplomatic Facilities and Personnel Abroad: Background and Policy Issues, November 26, 2012.
Some other new and updated CRS reports that have not been made publicly available include the following.
Panama: Political and Economic Conditions and U.S. Relations, November 27, 2012
The Judgment Fund: History, Administration, and Common Usage, November 26, 2012
Financing the U.S. Trade Deficit, November 16, 2012
Saudi Arabia: Background and U.S. Relations, November 27, 2012
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.