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Global Risk
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At 11th Hour, New START Data Reaffirms Importance of Extending Treaty

Just four months before the New START treaty is set to expire, the latest set of so-called aggregate data published by the State Department shows the treaty is working and that both countries – despite tense military and political rhetoric – are keeping their vast strategic nuclear arsenals within the limits of the treaty. The […]

10.01.20 | 7 min read
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FAS
Blog
Personal Debt and National Security

Last June the Department of Defense denied an application for security clearance for access to classified information because the applicant had “delinquent debts totaling about $24,000.” In May, a defense contractor was denied a security clearance based on delinquent debts totaling $87,517. In fact, excessive personal debt is among the most commonly cited reasons for denying or revoking access […]

09.29.20 | 3 min read
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Global Risk
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Construction of New Underground Nuclear Warhead Facility At Warren AFB

The Air Force has begun construction of a new underground nuclear weapons storage and handling facility at F.E. Warren Air Force Base in Cheyenne, Wyoming. The new Weapons Storage and Maintenance Facility (WSMF; sometimes called Weapons Generation Facility), which will replace the current Weapons Storage Area (WSA), will be a 90,000-square-foot reinforced concrete and earth-covered facility with supporting surface structures.

09.28.20 | 2 min read
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Environment
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FDA: COVID-19 vaccine candidates should meet a higher bar for an emergency authorization than other medical products. Trump: Maybe, maybe not.

The disconnect between assurances from federal health and science agencies and President Trump’s words continues. Before Wednesday’s hearing in the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, news broke that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has plans to implement special Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) requirements for COVID-19 vaccine candidates. The vaccine EUA requirements proposed by […]

09.25.20 | 5 min read
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Global Risk
Blog
Vaccine news stories hosting malware disseminated across Spanish-language Twitter

Key Highlights Malware hosted within popular news stories about COVID-19 vaccine trials On September 8, 2020 Oxford University and AstraZeneca placed their COVID-19 vaccine (AZD1222) development on hold.  During Phase 3 trials, a woman in the United Kingdom experienced an adverse neurological condition consistent with a rare spinal inflammatory disorder known as transverse myelitis. As […]

09.23.20 | 5 min read
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Global Risk
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(The Other) Red Storm Rising: INDO-PACOM China Military Projection

Some Missile Numbers Do Not Match Recent DOD China Report U.S. Indo-Pacific Command recently gave a briefing about the challenges the command sees in the region. The briefing says China is the “Greatest Threat to Global Order and Stability” and presents a set of maps that portray a massive Chinese military buildup and very little […]

09.15.20 | 10 min read
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Environment
Blog
Concerns over political interference in the COVID-19 vaccine candidate evaluation process addressed during Senate hearing

The Oval Office, biopharmaceutical executives, and federal agencies have signaled that COVID-19 vaccines could be ready to go this fall; however, leading experts believe that proof of a safe and effective vaccine before Election Day is unlikely. President Trump has said that “we can probably have [a COVID-19 vaccine] sometime in October.” Pfizer and BioNTech executives think they could know whether their […]

09.14.20 | 5 min read
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FAS
Blog
Senator’s Challenge to War Powers Secrecy Blocked

Last January the Trump Administration formally notified Congress under the War Powers Act of a US drone strike that killed Iranian Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani. But unlike all known prior War Powers Act notifications, the report on the Soleimani killing was classified in its entirety. (Previous reports sometimes included a classified annex together with the unclassified notification.) […]

09.11.20 | 7 min read
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Global Risk
Blog
Global enthusiasm and American trepidation in Russian diplomatic vaccine efforts

Key Highlights Key Trends Increased language specific activity linked to Russian vaccine partnerships Since the announcement of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine on August 11, social media has been awash with speculation, consternation, and detestation of the untested vaccine. The vaccine was immediately turned into a political talking point, with accounts like @ImpeachmentHour, unfoundedly, claiming “Trump says […]

09.02.20 | 6 min read
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Global Risk
Blog
The Pentagon’s 2020 China Report

(With table corrected for typos) The Pentagon has just released its long-awaited 2020 version of its annual report on China’s military developments. In this article, we review the elements concerning China’s nuclear forces. The Size of the Warhead Stockpile The biggest surprise in the new report is that it for the first time provides DOD’s […]

09.01.20 | 9 min read
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FAS
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US Army Views North Korean Military Tactics

North Korea’s military “uses tactics based on former Soviet or current Russian doctrine, Chinese developments, lessons learned, and observation of recent military actions,” according to a new US Army manual on the subject. “While North Korea maintains large amounts of military equipment, much of it is outdated making it quantitatively superior to most armies but […]

08.16.20 | 1 min read
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Global Risk
Blog
Weekly COVID-19 Disinformation Report for August 14: #Plandemic to #Scamdemic

Key Highlights Key Trends Virology Journal article linked to claim that Dr. Fauci knew HCQ is a cure.A false claim states that in 2005, Dr. Fauci said that hydroxychloroquine is both “a cure and a vaccine” for coronavirus, referencing a 2005-published study. This article showed the effectiveness of chloroquine against classic SARS, SARS-CoV, in vitro (cells […]

08.14.20 | 4 min read
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