In his new book “Tiger Trap,” veteran intelligence author David Wise turns his attention to the history of Chinese espionage against the United States and the sometimes clumsy, self-defeating U.S. response. While the subject matter often lends itself to exaggeration or anti-China animus, Mr. Wise generally evades these hazards and sticks close to the facts. […]
The US military is planning to replace the tail section of the B61 nuclear bomb with a new guided tail kit to increase the accuracy of the weapon. This will increase the targeting capability of the weapon and allow lower-yield strikes against targets that previously required higher-yield weapons. […]
The legitimacy of official secrecy policy that is taken for granted within official circles is increasingly open to question within the press and among many members of the public. “Government officials must… accept the enduring reality of a media culture that is prepared to publish official secrets and considers such disclosure a patriotic contribution to […]
With little fanfare, the White House last month transmitted the protocols of two treaties on nuclear weapons free zones in the South Pacific and Africa to the U.S. Senate for ratification. The Protocols generally commit the signatories “not to use or threaten to use a nuclear explosive device” against any other party to the Treaty. […]
In a whirlwind conclusion to the prosecution of former National Security Agency official Thomas A. Drake, Mr. Drake agreed to plead guilty to a misdemeanor charge of “exceeding authorized use of a computer.” Prosecutors were unable to sustain any of the felony counts against Mr. Drake that were contained in last year’s ten-count indictment, including […]
A comprehensive new account of U.S. aid to Pakistan was prepared by the Congressional Research Service this week. See “Pakistan: U.S. Foreign Assistance,” June 7, 2011. Also newish from CRS is “Imports from North Korea: Existing Rules, Implications of the KORUS FTA, and the Kaesong Industrial Complex,” May 24, 2011.
The National Security Agency announced yesterday that it has declassified a report that is over two hundred years old. The newly declassified report, entitled “Cryptology: Instruction Book on the Art of Secret Writing,” dates from 1809. It is part of a collection of 50,000 pages of historic records that have just been declassified by NSA […]
The National Security Agency announced yesterday that it has declassified a report that is over two hundred years old. The newly declassified report, entitled “Cryptology: Instruction Book on the Art of Secret Writing,” dates from 1809. It is part of a collection of 50,000 pages of historic records that have just been declassified by NSA […]
New reports from the Congressional Research Service include the following (all pdf). “Text and Multimedia Messaging: Emerging Issues for Congress,” May 18, 2011. “The Motor Vehicle Supply Chain: Effects of the Japanese Earthquake and Tsunami,” May 23, 2011. “Executive Branch Reorganization Initiatives During the 112th Congress: A Brief Overview,” May 26, 2011. “Status of Mexican […]
The prosecution of former National Security Agency official Thomas A. Drake under the Espionage Act “smacks of overkill,” said the Washington Post in an editorial today (“A case that could be overkill against a whistleblower,” June 6). The Post editorial tends to ratify a growing consensus that the prosecution of Drake on charges of unauthorized […]
The National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), the U.S. intelligence agency that builds and operates intelligence satellites, has just released unclassified portions (pdf) of its Congressional Budget Justification Book for Fiscal Year 2011. The large bulk of the document remains classified and unreleased, but the newly disclosed portions reveal a few scraps of new information. “The NRO […]
In a small but momentous shift in national security secrecy policy, President Obama personally ordered the declassification last month of a short paragraph regarding the Soviet space program that appeared in the President’s Daily Brief dated November 26, 1968. The move came in response to a researcher’s request that had been blocked by the Central […]