DIA threat assessment shows slower Chinese nuclear modernization. . By Hans M. Kristensen At about the same time nuclear arms reduction opponents last week incorrectly accused the Obama administration of considering “reckless” cuts in nuclear forces that would leave the United States “with fewer warheads than China,” Congress received its annual threat assessment from the […]
The Department of Defense said it has cancelled more than 300 of its 1800 classification guides as a result of the ongoing Fundamental Classification Guidance Review. The defunct guides can no longer be used to authorize the classification of national security information. “The Department has continued to make impressive strides in updating our Security Classification […]
Dozens of major news media organizations joined together to defend the notion of a reporter’s privilege to protect the identity of a confidential against compulsory disclosure. The organizations filed an amicus curiae brief in support of New York Times reporter James Risen, who has been subpoenaed to testify in the case of Jeffrey Sterling, the […]
New and updated reports from the Congressional Research Service that Congress has not made readily available to the public include the following. Representatives and Senators: Trends in Member Characteristics Since 1945, February 17, 2012 The Federal Communications Commission: Current Structure and Its Role in the Changing Telecommunications Landscape, February 21, 2012 F-35 Joint Strike Fighter […]
The Department of Defense has done a better job of complying with changes in national security classification policy than it has gotten credit for, Pentagon officials told a Senate Committee. The number of classification guides that are up to date has increased from 30% to over 70%, the officials said, and a new four-volume information […]
The heightened surveillance of classified government information networks that was a predictable response to the unauthorized disclosures published by WikiLeaks is becoming more clearly discernible. “USSTRATCOM/USCYBERCOM is monitoring use of the SIPRNet and now has a mechanism for reporting certain anomalous behaviors for appropriate remediation,” said Thomas A. Ferguson, Deputy Under Secretary of Defense (Intelligence) […]
“I will tell you the relationship between CIA and Special Operations Forces is as good as I have ever seen it,” said Adm. William H. McRaven, Commander of Special Operations Command, in congressional testimony last year. “Both under [CIA] Director Panetta, and now, of course, under Director Petraeus, I think we are going to see […]
New and updated reports from the Congressional Research Service that Congress has declined to make readily available to the public include the following. Extraterritorial Application of American Criminal Law, February 15, 2012 Civilian Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act: Federal Contractor Criminal Liability Overseas, February 15, 2012 Nonstrategic Nuclear Weapons, February 14, 2012 The U.S. Export Control System […]
Despite an outcry from congressional republicans and conservatives against the Obama administration’s plans to reduce nuclear weapons, Republican presidents have been the big disarmers in the post-Cold War era. Click graph for larger version . By […]
The question of whether a reporter is entitled to protect confidential sources has emerged as a central issue in the pending pre-trial appeal in prosecution of Jeffrey Sterling, the former CIA officer who is accused of leaking classified information to New York Times reporter James Risen. “There is no ‘reporter’s privilege’ applicable to criminal prosecutions […]
The Department of Defense basic research program has many strengths as well as some serious weaknesses, according to a new report (large pdf) from the Defense Science Board (DSB), but it needs to open up and to improve its information management practices. “As is true for most programs in the DoD,… less bureaucracy and more […]
New and updated reports from the Congressional Research Service that Congress has not made publicly available include these. Defense: FY2012 Budget Request, Authorization and Appropriations, February 13, 2012 Guam: U.S. Defense Deployments, February 13, 2012 Conventional Prompt Global Strike and Long-Range Ballistic Missiles: Background and Issues, February 13, 2012 Keeping America’s Pipelines Safe and Secure: […]