The release of President Obama’s first Presidential Policy Directive on “Organization of the National Security System” was reported by Karen DeYoung in the Washington Post and by Josh Gerstein in Politico.
“Secretary of Defense Robert Gates lifted a blanket ban on news media coverage of the honor guard ceremonies that mark the return of military casualties from abroad,” the National Security Archive noted.
The unreleased Bush Administration documents that are most coveted by reporters, civil libertarians, and others are discussed in “Opening the Files on Bush’s Secrets” by Jon Wiener in The Nation, March 16, 2009.
A new Army Field Manual on “Electronic Warfare in Operations” (pdf) has been issued as part of “an overall effort by the Army to rebuild its internal Electronic Warfare capability.” It also serves as a useful primer on the subject. The new Field Manual, FM 3-36, has been approved for unrestricted release.
A new trial date has been set in the “AIPAC Case,” in which two former employees of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee are charged with improperly receiving and transmitting classified national defense information. The new date is May 27, 2009.
Nestled in the cuts and investments of interest to the S&T community is a more complex story of how the administration is approaching the practice of science diplomacy.
Surprise! It’s a double album drop with the release of both the President’s Budget Request (PBR to us, not Pabst Blue Ribbon) and the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Budget Justification for Fiscal Year 2027 (FY27) last Friday.
If properly implemented, a comprehensive reform program to accomplish regulatory democracy that is people-centered and power-conscious could be essential for addressing complex policy changes such as the climate challenge.
Once upon a time, the President’s budget was a realistic proposal to Congress about what the federal government should spend money on. These days, it’s essentially just a declaration of everything the President would do if Congress didn’t matter at all.