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.
January brought a jolt of game-changing national political events and government funding brinksmanship. If Washington, D.C.’s new year resolution was for less drama in 2026, it’s failed already.
We’re launching a national series of digital service retrospectives to capture hard-won lessons, surface what worked, be clear-eyed about what didn’t, and bring digital service experts together to imagine next-generation models for digital government.
How DOE can emerge from political upheaval achieve the real-world change needed to address the interlocking crises of energy affordability, U.S. competitiveness, and climate change.
As Congress begins the FY27 appropriations process this month, congress members should turn their eyes towards rebuilding DOE’s programs and strengthening U.S. energy innovation and reindustrialization.