To the eyes of a military planner, a city presents “an elaborate combination of horizontal, vertical, interior, and exterior forms superimposed on a landscape’s natural relief, drainage, and vegetation.” A newly reissued U.S. Army manual contemplates the difficulties facing military action in the urban environment with a focus on intelligence collection. See Intelligence Support to […]
New and updated reports that were issued by the Congressional Research Service last week include the following. Data Security and Breach Notification Legislation: Selected Legal Issues, December 28, 2015 Sex Discrimination and the United States Supreme Court: Developments in the Law, December 30, 2015 The Budget Control Act of 2011 as Amended: Budgetary Effects, December […]
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Last year, the United States led the world in arms sales, tallying up $36.2 billion in worldwide arms transfer agreements. Russia took second place with $10.2 billion in arms transfer agreements, out of a global total of $71.8 billion in 2014. This information, and much more on the subject, was presented in a new report […]
The notion that the U.S. should strengthen the military capabilities of foreign partners so that they could assume increased responsibility for regional security is critically examined in a major new report from the Congressional Research Service. The approach known as Building Partner Capacity (BPC) “has increased in prominence within U.S. strategy, arguably becoming a central […]
The Congressional Research Service has updated several of its reports on Navy ship and submarine programs: Navy DDG-51 and DDG-1000 Destroyer Programs: Background and Issues for Congress, December 17, 2015 Navy Littoral Combat Ship (LCS)/Frigate Program: Background and Issues for Congress, December 17, 2015 Navy Virginia (SSN-774) Class Attack Submarine Procurement: Background and Issues for […]
Early next year the Obama administration, with eager backing from hardliners in Congress, is expected to commit the U.S. taxpayers to a bill of $20 billion to $30 billion for a new nuclear weapon the United States doesn’t need: the Long-Range Standoff (LRSO) air-launched cruise missile. The new nuclear cruise missile will not be able […]
Military terms and symbols that are used by the U.S. Army have been compiled in an updated reference manual, along with acronyms and abbreviations. See ADRP 1-02, Terms and Military Symbols, December 2015. Intended to foster a common vocabulary, the manual can also help outsiders to interpret distinctive Army expressions and patterns of speech. The […]
The U.S. Air Force is attempting to develop and procure multiple major aircraft systems at the same time, generating programmatic and budgetary uncertainty. “The United States Air Force is in the midst of an ambitious aviation modernization program, driven primarily by the age of its current aircraft fleets,” a new report from the Congressional Research […]
By Hans M. Kristensen With a series of highly advertised sea- and air-launched cruise missile attacks against targets in Syria, the Russian government has demonstrated that it doesn’t have a military need for the controversial ground-launched cruise missile that the United States has accused Russia of developing and test-launching in violation of the 1987 Intermediate-Range […]
The number of chronically homeless persons in the U.S. dropped from more than 120,000 in 2008 to around 84,000 in 2014, a new report from the Congressional Research Service notes. The federal government has undertaken to end chronic homelessness by 2017. “One of the reasons that federal programs have devoted resources to ending chronic homelessness […]
The national census in 2020 will be the first to rely primarily on the Internet for collecting census data, thereby creating new avenues for fraud and disruption. A new report from the JASON scientific advisory panel describes the problem and outlines some solutions. Why would anyone want to interfere with the constitutionally-mandated census, which maps […]