By law, the United States is not supposed to provide certain forms of military assistance to foreign security forces that have committed gross violations of human rights. The underlying laws, which were introduced by Sen. Patrick Leahy in the 1990s and which are known as the Leahy laws, are described in a new report from […]
As the United States struggles to deal with budget problems, as the U.S. Air Force deals with boredom, poor morale, drug use, and cheating on certification exams by their personnel entrusted with control of nuclear missiles, we have a solution that will save money as well as make the world a much safer place – […]
New and updated reports from the Congressional Research Service that Congress has withheld from online public distribution include the following. Perjury Under Federal Law: A Brief Overview, January 28, 2014 Perjury Under Federal Law: A Sketch of the Elements, January 28, 2014 Emergency Relief for Disaster Damaged Roads and Transit Systems: In Brief, January 28, […]
The primary lesson that emerges from the unauthorized disclosures of classified intelligence information by Edward Snowden is that U.S. intelligence agencies must be more transparent in their operations, said Director of National Intelligence James R. Clapper yesterday. “The major takeaway for us, certainly for me, from the past several months is that we must lean […]
The potential for new technologies to harvest energy from the Earth’s crust was considered in a new report from the elite JASON science advisory board on “Enhanced Geothermal Systems” (EGS). “EGS offers important opportunities for increasing the contribution of geothermal energy to U.S. power production: by a few-fold over the next few years, according to […]
With the Sochi Olympics set to start on February 6th there has been an escalating concern about security threats to the Games. There are hunts for female suicide bombers (“black widows”), video threats from militant groups, etc., all of which have triggered a massive Russian security response, including statements by President Putin insuring the safety […]
Recent reports from the Congressional Research Service that Congress has withheld from online public distribution include the following. Identity Theft: Trends and Issues, January 16, 2014 Executive Order 13438: Blocking Property of Certain Persons Who Threaten Stabilization Efforts in Iraq, January 24, 2014 Detention of U.S. Persons as Enemy Belligerents, January 23, 2014 Trends in […]
The diverse factors that shape the execution of disaster relief and other foreign humanitarian assistance missions by the US military are described in a newly updated Department of Defense publication on the subject. See Foreign Humanitarian Assistance, Joint Publication 3-29, January 3, 2014. “Although US military forces are organized, trained, and equipped to conduct military […]
The public controversy that erupted over NSA bulk collection of Americans’ telephone records was a clear sign, if one were needed, that the boundaries of government secrecy had been drawn incorrectly, and that the public had been wrongly denied an opportunity to grant or withhold its consent in such cases. To remedy this systemic problem, […]
Recent reports from the Congressional Research Service that Congress has withheld from online public distribution include the following. Shadow Banking: Background and Policy Issues, December 31, 2013 Energy-Water Nexus: The Water Sector’s Energy Use, January 3, 2014 Energy-Water Nexus: The Energy Sector’s Water Use, August 30, 2013
By Hans M. Kristensen The former U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff, General Norton Schwartz, confirmed last week that the B61-12 nuclear bomb planned by the Obama administration will have improved military capabilities to attack targets with greater accuracy and less radioactive fallout. The confirmation comes two and a half years after an FAS publication […]
While others speak of curbing intelligence surveillance activities, the Defense Science Board argues in a new report that the U.S. government should expand and accelerate global monitoring for purposes of detecting nuclear proliferation as “a top national security objective.” Intelligence techniques and technologies that are used to combat terrorism should also be harnessed to address […]