The Department of Defense has prepared a guide (large pdf) for military personnel who are engaged in foreign disaster relief operations, an endeavor which arises with some frequency. “The U.S. Government (USG) responds to approximately 70-80 natural disasters across the globe each year. In approximately 10-15 percent of these disaster responses, the Department of Defense […]
The Joint Chiefs of Staff have produced updated doctrine on intelligence support to military operations. The new doctrine (pdf) reflects changes in intelligence organizations, roles and missions. Among other things, the new publication introduces the term “biometric-enabled intelligence” or BEI. “BEI is derived from the collection, processing, and exploitation of biometric signatures; the contextual data […]
The Army issued a new directive last week to govern the growing use of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) or “drones” within the United States for training missions and for “domestic operations.” “The Army’s unmanned aircraft systems represent emerging technology that requires access to the National Airspace System,” wrote Army Secretary John M. McHugh in a […]
Some new or updated reports from the Congressional Research Service that have not been made readily available to the public include the following (all pdf). Security Assistance Reform: “Section 1206” Background and Issues for Congress, January 13, 2012 The Berry Amendment: Requiring Defense Procurement To Come From Domestic Sources, January 13, 2012 In Brief: Assessing […]
Gen. V.K. Singh . By Hans M. Kristensen India’s nuclear weapons “are not for warfighting,” the chief of India’s army said Sunday at the Army Day Parade. The weapons have “a strategic capability and that is where it should end,” General V. K. Singh declared. The rejection of nuclear warfighting ideas is a welcoming development […]
The Department of Energy has asked Congress to amend the Atomic Energy Act to allow certain nuclear weapons information that has been removed from the “Restricted Data” classification category to be restored to that category. “Restricted Data” (RD) pertains to classified nuclear weapons design information. It is distinguished from “Formerly Restricted Data” (FRD) which generally […]
Recent legislative action on military detention of suspected enemy combatants perpetuates an ambiguity in the law as to whether U.S. citizens may be so detained, a new report from the Congressional Research Service says. “The circumstances in which a U.S. citizen or other person captured or arrested in the United States may be detained under […]
In a brief filed Friday in the case of former CIA officer Jeffrey Sterling, who is accused of leaking classified information, prosecutors told the U.S. Court of Appeals that New York Times reporter James Risen should be compelled to testify at Mr. Sterling’s trial and to reveal whether it was Mr. Sterling who leaked information […]
Some noteworthy new reports from the Congressional Research Service include the following (all pdf): Legal Issues Associated with the Proposed Keystone XL Pipeline, December 16, 2011 Contemporary Developments in Presidential Elections, January 9, 2012 “Surge Recovery” and Next Steps in the War in Afghanistan: In Brief, January 6, 2011 U.S. Assistance Programs in China, January […]
By Hans M. Kristensen The Obama administration today presented a new defense strategy that it says is needed to realign U.S. military forces and doctrine with the reductions in combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as the new fiscal constraints created by the financial crisis. There are few details in the new strategy for how […]
With the formal ending of the U.S. war in Iraq on December 15, 2011, the Congressional Research Service has produced an updated report on U.S. Periods of War and Dates of Current Conflicts (pdf). “Confusion can occur because beginning and ending dates for ‘periods of war’ in many nonofficial sources are often different from those […]
In a portent of spending cuts that are still to come, the number of employees at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) dropped significantly over the past year. Interestingly, one of the first visible signs of the reduction in the workforce was a decline in the level of ODNI classification activity, which […]