U.S. special operations forces are engaged in “more than 100 countries worldwide,” said Adm. William H. McRaven, commander of U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM), in testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee yesterday. “In significant ways, our forces are creating visible and dramatic effects of the greatest magnitude across the globe,” Adm. McRaven said in […]
“In accordance with United States law, the U.S. Government places conditions on the use of defense articles and defense services transferred by it to foreign recipients,” a new report from the Congressional Research Service explains. “Violation of these conditions can lead to the suspension of deliveries or termination of the contracts for such defense items, […]
More than two-thirds of Russia’s current ICBM force will be retired over the next 10 years, a reduction that will only partly be offset by deployment of new road-mobile RS-24 Yars (SS-27 Mod 2) ICBMs such as this one near Teykovo northeast of Moscow. . By Hans M. Kristensen Russia is planning to retire more […]
Questions of compliance with law now arise in every aspect of U.S. military operations, including the most highly classified clandestine activities, and so legal assistance must be routinely factored into military planning and mission execution. A newly updated Army manual describes the diverse forms of legal support to military operations. “Legal issues are a fundamental […]
New and updated reports from the Congressional Research Service that have not been made readily available to the public include the following. China’s Banking System: Issues for Congress, February 20, 2012 Rising Gasoline Prices 2012, March 1, 2012 Gun Control Legislation, March 2, 2012 Budget Process Reform: Proposals and Legislative Actions in 2012, March 2, […]
In an opinion published this week, DC District Judge Richard W. Roberts did an astonishing thing that federal courts almost never do: He probed into the decision to classify a government document and concluded that it was not well-founded. He ordered the agency to release the document under the Freedom of Information Act. The Center […]
In response to a congressional directive, the Department of Defense Inspector General has provided to Congress “an inventory of all identified unauthorized disclosures of SCI [sensitive compartmented information, or classified intelligence] to the public within DoD from the past three calendar years.” The classified IG report also described the actions taken by DoD in response […]
New and updated reports from the Congressional Research Service that Congress has not made directly available to the public include the following. North Korea’s Nuclear Weapons: Technical Issues, February 29, 2012 Afghanistan Casualties: Military Forces and Civilians, February 29, 2012 The Eurozone Crisis: Overview and Issues for Congress, February 29, 2012 Sovereign Debt in Advanced […]
Road-mobile DF-31/31A ICBM launchers deploying to Central China are visible on new commercial satellite images. Click on image for larger version. . By Hans M. Kristensen Recent satellite images show that China is setting up launch units for its newest road-mobile Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) in central China. Several launchers of the new DF-31/31A appeared […]
In this report, FAS President Charles Ferguson examines the national and international efforts to control and secure radioactive materials.
“There is no ‘reporter’s privilege’ that shields the identity of confidential sources in good-faith criminal proceedings,” prosecutors reiterated in a new pre-trial brief in the case of former CIA officer Jeffrey Sterling, who is accused of leaking classified information to author and New York Times reporter James Risen. Consequently, they said, Mr. Risen should not […]
A recently updated U.S. Army doctrinal manual on recovery of U.S. military personnel who are captured by enemy forces — which is considered “one of the highest priorities of the United States Government” — includes a new section on the recovery of journalists who have been kidnapped or detained abroad. “International journalists risk jail, kidnapping, […]