In an effort to promote cooperation with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) engaged in humanitarian relief operations and to enhance its own emergency response capabilities, the Department of Defense has published a newly updated “Guide to Nongovernmental Organizations for the Military” (pdf). When a devastating earthquake struck Haiti yesterday, several disaster relief organizations such as Oxfam and […]
A new U.S. Navy Instruction (pdf) updates Navy policy on the use of marine mammals for national security missions. It seems that by law (10 USC 7524), the Secretary of Defense is authorized to “take” (or acquire) up to 25 wild marine mammals each year “for national defense purposes.” These mammals — including whales, dolphins, […]
Russia’s Teykovo 4 missile garrison northeast of Moscow is undergoing major upgrades for new SS-27 mobile nuclear missiles. Click image for large illustration of the changes. . By Hans M. Kristensen The latest overview of Russia’s nuclear forces produced by Robert Norris from NRDC and myself is now available on the website of the Bulletin of […]
In a remarkable sign of how the ground is shifting in government information policy, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has invited the public to suggest categories of NRC information that should be published on its web site, and to recommend other measures the Commission might take to improve transparency, public participation and collaboration. A December 8, […]
The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit Friday on behalf of Col. Morris D. Davis, a former chief prosecutor at Guantanamo, alleging that he was unlawfully fired from the Congressional Research Service because he made statements as a private individual that were critical of Obama Administration policy on military commissions. (“CRS Fires A Division […]
“The World Bank Unveiled” tells the story of an attempt by World Bank researcher David Shaman and some of his colleagues to introduce greater transparency into the deliberations of the World Bank. In 1999, at a time when the Bank was subject to intense controversy and public demonstrations, Shaman co-created the internet-based B-SPAN, which offered […]
The government’s much anticipated Nuclear Posture Review, originally scheduled for release in the late fall, then last month, then early February is now due out the first of March. The report is, no doubt, coalescing into final form and a few recent newspaper articles, in particular articles in Boston Globe and Los Angeles Times, have […]
Transparency is essential for effective congressional and public oversight of the arms trade, and the US government is widely (and rightly) praised for its reporting on arms exports. Yet there is also significant room for improvement. Reporting on US arms exports and international arms transfers funded or authorized by the US government is often incomplete, […]
In a December 29 Order published in the Federal Register yesterday, President Obama designated more than two dozen officials as “original classification authorities” (OCAs) who have the power to classify information as Top Secret or Secret, and (in most cases) to delegate such authority to their subordinates. The new list of authorized classifiers contains only […]
Noteworthy new Congressional Research Service reports obtained by Secrecy News include the following (all pdf). “Military Service Records and Unit Histories: A Guide to Locating Sources,” December 16, 2009. “California Drought: Hydrological and Regulatory Water Supply Issues,” December 7, 2009. “Government Collection of Private Information: Background and Issues Related to the USA PATRTIOT Act Reauthorization,” […]
Iran’s state-run television organization known as the IRIB is profiled in a new report (pdf) from the DNI Open Source Center. The rather massive IRIB employs an estimated 46,000 persons, according to the OSC report, and has a reported budget of $900 million. It offers a vast network of internal and external channels, which collectively […]
Happy New Year. We at FAS are a serious, hard-working lot but I thought I would start the year with a blog somewhat less Earth-shattering than we normally do. The following is the result of some research made possible by free time over the holidays. It is with a combination of despair and delight that […]