By Ivanka Barzashka FAS has posted a report on “Enrichment Supply and Technology Outside the United States” by S. A. Levin and S. Blumkin from the Enrichment Department of the Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant, operated at the time by Union Carbide. The document, prepared for the U.S. Energy Research and Development Administration, reviews international […]
The government’s proposed use of the state secrets privilege in a pending lawsuit was reviewed under the new state secrets policy that was established in September to limit use of the privilege, Attorney General Eric Holder announced on October 30. But upon review the government decided that it was necessary and appropriate to assert the […]
Attempts to predict the occurrence or the likelihood of extreme acts of terrorist violence on the scale of 9/11 should be discouraged because the available data are too sparse to permit the reliable modeling of such “rare events,” according to a new report to the Pentagon (pdf) from the JASON defense advisory panel. In a […]
A new book delves into “the secret history of federal drug law enforcement” and the role of the Drug Enforcement Administration. See “The Strength of the Pack: The Personalities, Politics and Espionage Intrigues that Shaped the DEA” by Douglas Valentine, TrineDay, 2009. Former Congressional Research Service scholar Morton Rosenberg authored a detailed account of the […]
During the course of World War I, tens of thousands of photographs were withheld from publication by the U.S. military. These included images that might have revealed troop movements or military capabilities, pictures that were liable to be used in enemy propaganda, or those that could adversely affect military or public morale. The development of […]
The decision last week by the Director of National Intelligence to declassify the FY2009 budget for the National Intelligence Program is inconsistent with other ODNI classification actions and highlights the confusion over the proper scope of national security secrecy that prevails in the U.S. intelligence community today. On October 30, DNI Dennis C. Blair announced […]
The production of unmanned aerial vehicles by the Pakistani defense firm Integrated Dynamics is described in a new publication (pdf) from the DNI Open Source Center (OSC). Based on public information, the Pakistani UAV product line is intended for scientific and surveillance purposes and does not include weaponized systems. A copy of the OSC publication, […]
Missile Watch A publication of the FAS Arms Sales Monitoring Project Vol. 2, Issue 2 October 2009 Written by Matt Schroeder and Scoville Fellow Matt Buongiorno
In a move that will strengthen internal executive branch oversight of intelligence, President Obama this week said that a White House intelligence oversight board will be required to alert the Attorney General whenever it learns of “intelligence activities that involve possible violations of Federal criminal laws.” A similar requirement for the board to notify the […]
As a result of polygraph testing, more than a thousand applications for employment at the Federal Bureau of Investigation have been rejected or otherwise terminated in the last year alone, the FBI told Congress last month. Polygraph testing has been the single largest reason for discontinuing an application, well ahead of administrative or medical issues, […]
Former FAS President Jeremy J. Stone has published a memoir of his efforts to promote constructive dialogue in several of the world’s most intractable conflicts through his own organization, Catalytic Diplomacy. Remarkably, writes Morton H. Halperin in a Preface to the memoir, “The conflicts that Jeremy sought to mitigate — US-Russian nuclear relations, China’s relation […]
Security personnel monitor nuclear weapons transport at German air base. Image: USAF . By Hans M. Kristensen The new German government has announced that it wants to enter talks with its NATO allies about the withdrawal of the remaining U.S. nuclear weapons from Germany. The announcement coincides with the Obama administration’s ongoing Nuclear Posture Review, […]