New and updated reports from the Congressional Research Service that Congress has chosen not to make available to the public include the following. The Trans-Pacific Partnership Negotiations and Issues for Congress, September 5, 2012 Weather-Related Power Outages and Electric System Resiliency, August 28, 2012 SBA Veterans Assistance Programs: An Analysis of Contemporary Issues, September 4, […]
Updated below Throughout much of this year, the U.S. military has been conducting joint military exercises with Israel or planning such exercises. A descriptive listing of 2012 U.S. exercises with Israel bearing codenames like NOBLE MELINDA and RELIANT MERMAID was recently published in a House Armed Services Committee hearing volume on the FY2013 budget request […]
“DoD security policy is fragmented, redundant, and inconsistent,” according to a new report from the Department of Defense Inspector General. This is not a new development, the report noted, but one that has persisted despite decades of criticism. There are at least 43 distinct DoD security policies “covering the functional areas of information security, industrial […]
Newly updated reports from the Congressional Research Service that have not been made publicly available include the following. Promoting Global Internet Freedom: Policy and Technology, updated August 30, 2012 Vulnerable Youth: Background and Policies, updated August 29, 2012 Researching Current Federal Legislation and Regulations: A Guide to Resources for Congressional Staff, updated August 31, 2012 […]
The classification guides that function as the framework for national security secrecy underwent a substantial overhaul during the past two years. As a result of the Fundamental Classification Guidance Review, a large fraction of existing classification guidance has been eliminated, and at least some existing categories of classified information have been declassified. Out of 3,103 […]
New reports from the Congressional Research Service that Congress has declined to make publicly available include the following. Internet Firearm and Ammunition Sales, August 28, 2012 Political Ads: Issue Advocacy or Campaign Activity Under the Tax Code?, August 29, 2012 U.S. Foreign-Trade Zones: Background and Issues for Congress, August 28, 2012 Critical Infrastructure Resilience: The […]
In its efforts to improve responsiveness to the needs of its customers, the National Reconnaissance Office this year planned to “provide intelligence data to warfighters in the field using mobile devices.” Evidently this capability had not been widely available up to now. That’s one of the slivers of information to be found in the NRO […]
The U.S. Air Force this month issued new guidance on “Geospatial-Intelligence (GEOINT).” See Air Force Instruction 14-132, August 10, 2012. The Instruction mandates that “All GEOINT activities will be conducted in compliance with applicable laws, policies, and directives. They will be conducted in a manner that ensures legality and propriety and that preserves and respects […]
New reports from the Congressional Research Service that have not been made available to the public include the following. Japan’s Possible Entry Into the Trans-Pacific Partnership and Its Implications, August 24, 2012 The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Meetings in Vladivostok, Russia: A Preview, August 16, 2012 501(c)(3) Organizations: What Qualifies as “Educational”?, August 21, 2012 […]
Arms transfers from the United States to other nations increased significantly over the past year, and exceeded previous levels, according to new data reported by the Congressional Research Service. “In worldwide arms transfer agreements in 2011 — to both developed and developing nations — the United States dominated, ranking first with $66.3 billion in such […]
U.S. government guidance on the targeting of nuclear weapons is perhaps the most tightly held of all national security secrets, and “fewer than twenty” copies of the President’s instructions on the subject are extant within the entire Department of Defense. Following a November 2011 hearing of the House Armed Services Committee, Rep. Michael Turner (R-OH) […]
If the former Navy SEAL who co-authored a new book about killing of Osama bin Laden signed a non-disclosure agreement for access to “sensitive compartmented information” (i.e., classified intelligence information), then he was obliged to submit his manuscript to the government for prepublication review even if he believed that it contained no classified information. A […]