A critical assessment of the feasibility of reaching the Department of Defense’s goal of producing 80 plutonium pits (or triggers) for nuclear weapons was prepared by the Congressional Research Service. It provides new analysis of the space and material requirements needed to achieve the declared goal. See Manufacturing Nuclear Weapon “Pits”: A Decisionmaking Approach for […]
Nearly two years after President Obama issued a National Insider Threat Policy “to strengthen the protection and safeguarding of classified information” against espionage or unauthorized disclosure, the effort is still at an early stage of development. Only last week, the U.S. Air Force finally issued a directive to implement the 2012 Obama policy. (AF Instruction […]
New products from the Congressional Research Service that Congress has withheld from online public distribution include the following. Safe at Home? Letting Ebola-Stricken Americans Return, CRS Insights, August 5, 2014: 2014 Quadrennial Homeland Security Review: Evolution of Strategic Review, CRS Insights, August 6, 2014 Reducing the Budget Deficit: Overview of Policy Issues, August 7, 2014 […]
A bill introduced in the House of Representatives by Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS) would direct the President to reduce the amount of classified information by 10%. It is one of several new congressional initiatives seeking to rectify perceived defects in the national security classification system. Most prominently, the Senate Intelligence Committee is engaged in an […]
New products from the Congressional Research Service that Congress has withheld from online public distribution include the following. Asylum Policies for Unaccompanied Children Compared with Expedited Removal Policies for Unauthorized Adults: In Brief, July 30, 2014 EPA’s Proposed CO2 Rule for Existing Power Plants: How Would It Affect Nuclear Energy?, CRS Insights, August 4, 2014 […]
In this issue brief, FAS President Dr. Charles Ferguson takes a look at options for the United States to gain back leadership via a cooperative approach. The brief analyzes what nations could be effective partners for the United States in furthering nonproliferation while providing for the continued use of peaceful nuclear energy.
Rumors about a violation have swirled around Washington (and elsewhere) for a long time. Apparently, the GLCM was first launched in 2007 (see image to the left), so why the long wait?
“Identity intelligence” is a relatively new intelligence construct that refers to the analysis and use of personal information, including biometric and forensic data among others, to identify intelligence targets of interest and to deny them anonymity. The term began to appear a few years ago and was included, for example, in a 2012 Defense Intelligence […]
New and updated products of the Congressional Research Service obtained by Secrecy News include the following. U.S.-Russia Economic Relations, CRS Insights, July 29, 2014 Russia Sanctions: Options, CRS Insights, July 28, 2014 Protecting Civilian Flights from Missiles, CRS Insights, July 28, 2014 Possible Missile Attack on Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, CRS Insights, July 28, 2014 […]
In preparing its recent report on the Section 702 surveillance program, the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (PCLOB) demonstrated an unusual mode of declassification, in which one executive branch agency asks another agency to declassify information. In this case, the process was remarkably productive, and it may offer a precedent for future declassification efforts. […]
New or newly updated publications from the Congressional Research Service that Congress has withheld from online public distribution include the following. Free Exercise of Religion by Closely Held Corporations: Implications of Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc., July 23, 2014 What Is the Farm Bill?, July 23, 2014 Deploying 5G (Fifth Generation) Wireless Technology: Is […]
In 2000, both houses of Congress passed legislation that would have made any leak of classified information a felony. The provision, contained in the FY2001 intelligence authorization act, was designed “to ensure the prosecution of all unauthorized disclosures of classified information.” said Sen. Richard Shelby, the primary sponsor of the provision, at the time. While […]