An updated report from the Congressional Research Service proposes a series of questions to help inform and guide congressional debate on the future of the U.S. war in Afghanistan and its aftermath. See In Brief: Next Steps in the War in Afghanistan? Issues for Congress, June 15, 2012. Other new and (mostly) updated CRS reports […]
The Department of Defense has identified 110 sites in the United States that could serve as bases for military unmanned aerial systems (UAS), or drones. A new report to Congress lists each of the 110 sites “and the UAS likely to fly at that location.” See “Report to Congress on Future Unmanned Aircraft Systems Training, […]
New and updated reports from the Congressional Research Service which have not been made publicly accessible include the following. Alternative Fuel and Advanced Vehicle Technology Incentives: A Summary of Federal Programs, June 12, 2012 SBA New Markets Venture Capital Program, June 12, 2012 Health Insurance Premium Credits in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act […]
“The unauthorized release of classified information is a crime–it is a crime–because it threatens our national security and puts the lives of those who are sworn to defend our Nation in jeopardy,” said Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) said on the Senate floor yesterday. “Everyone agrees [this] is criminal conduct.” A resolution introduced by Sen. John […]
New and updated reports from the Congressional Research Service include the following. Mexican Migration to the United States: Policy and Trends, June 7, 2012 Mexico’s Drug Trafficking Organizations: Source and Scope of the Rising Violence, June 8, 2012 International Monetary Fund: Background and Issues for Congress, June 12, 2012 The Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative, June […]
The brewing controversy over leaks of classified information presumes that disclosures of classified information to unauthorized persons are always impermissible and undesirable. But that presumption does not correspond precisely to the reality of government operations as they are conducted in practice. The leaders of the House and Senate Intelligence Committees said last week that they […]
Members of the Senate Intelligence Committee are divided over whether there is a loophole in current law which would permit government agencies to monitor the communications of American citizens without any kind of warrant or other judicial authorization. The dispute was presented but not resolved in a new Senate Intelligence Committee report on the Foreign […]
The integration of drones or unmanned aerial systems (UAS) into the National Airspace System (NAS) needs to be expedited, the Senate Armed Services Committee said in its report on the FY2013 defense authorization bill last week. “While progress has been made in the last 5 years, the pace of development must be accelerated; greater cross-agency […]
The U.S. military is placing too much emphasis on defense against cyber attacks when it should be developing offensive cyber capabilities, according to Sen. John McCain. “”I am very concerned that our strategy is too reliant on defensive measures in cyber space, and believe we need to develop the capability to go on the offense […]
“The Department of Justice has not taken the initiative to prosecute leaks of national security secrets,” said Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX) at a House Judiciary Committee hearing yesterday. Considering that the Justice Department in the Obama Administration has initiated an unprecedented number of leak prosecutions, Rep. Smith had it exactly wrong. But his remark illustrates […]
This satellite imagery analysis from my conference briefing illustrates upgrade of Chinese mobile nuclear missile launch garrison at Qingyang (30°41’52.64″N, 117°53’36.25″E). Such analysis is becoming more important as the U.S. government is curtailing what it releases about Chinese (and Russian) nuclear forces. Click on image for large image version. . By Hans M. Kristensen Earlier […]
The international responses to Iranian and North Korean proliferation bear many similarities, particularly in the use of economic sanctions as a central tool of policy. This issue brief contains an comparative analysis of U.S. policy toward Iran and North Korea.