Missile Watch A publication of the FAS Arms Sales Monitoring Project Vol. 3, Issue 3 November 2010 Editor: Matt Schroeder Contents: Editor’s Note: Wikileaks and arms trafficking, Missile Watch sponsorship program Global News: UN Arms Register: Venezuela was the largest importer of MANPADS in 2009 Global News: Extradition of Viktor Bout could reveal much […]
A white paper describes plans for a joint warhead. By Hans M. Kristensen The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) has sent Congress a white paper describing plans for extending the life of the W78 warhead on the Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). According to the paper, W78 Life Extension Program Description and Work Scope, […]
The Library of Congress confirmed on Friday that it had blocked access from all Library computers to the Wikileaks web site in order to prevent unauthorized downloading of classified records such as those in the large cache of diplomatic cables that Wikileaks began to publish on November 28. Since the Congressional Research Service is a […]
On December 3, I participated in an interesting, somewhat testy discussion about Wikileaks on the show Democracy Now along with Glenn Greenwald of Salon.com, who is a passionate defender of the project. The ultimate victory of Wikileaks (or something like it) is guaranteed, Mr. Greenwald suggested, so any criticism of it is basically irrelevant. “We […]
Morton Halperin speaks at CSIS By Hans M. Kristensen Kevin Kallmyer at CSIS has an interesting recap of a recent debate between Paula DeSutter and Mort Halperin about the New START Treaty. Ratification of the treaty is held up in Congress by a handful of Senators who (mis)use questions about, among other issues, verification to […]
The ongoing release of U.S. diplomatic communications by the Wikileaks organization is “embarrassing” and “awkward,” said Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates yesterday, but its consequences for U.S. foreign policy are likely to be “fairly modest.” “I’ve heard the impact of these releases on our foreign policy described as a meltdown, as a game-changer, and […]
As confidential U.S. diplomatic documents continue to enter the public domain, it is worth remembering that not everything that is written down in a government document, even (or especially) in a classified document, is necessarily true. “Truth telling” involves a bit more than trafficking in official records. Any historian or archival researcher knows that. So […]
Nuclear physicist Sam Cohen died Sunday at age 89, the Washington Post reported in an obituary today. Cohen, a veteran of the Manhattan Project, conceived, designed and advocated development of the neutron bomb, a high-radiation anti-personnel weapon. He cordially despised the Federation of American Scientists, which didn’t stop him from writing and calling us regularly […]
Noteworthy new documents from the Congressional Research Service that have not been made readily available to the public include the following (all pdf). “Changes in Airport Passenger Screening Technologies and Procedures: Frequently Asked Questions,” November 23, 2010. “North Korea’s 2009 Nuclear Test: Containment, Monitoring, Implications,” November 24, 2010. “Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty: Background and Current Developments,” […]
The massive disclosure of a quarter million diplomatic records by Wikileaks this weekend underscores the precarious state of the U.S. national security classification system. The Wikileaks project seems to be, more than anything else, an assault on secrecy. If Wikileaks were most concerned about whistleblowing, it would focus on revealing corruption. If it were concerned […]
Senator Kit Bond, Republican of Missouri, gave a speech in the Senate on the New START treaty. Eli Lake’s summary is in the Washington Times. He made accusations of serious shortcomings in the treaty. I address these points because they appear to be substantive and earnest, unlike some of the hysteria and outright silliness coming […]
Updated below U.S. efforts to promote the rule of law in Afghanistan are expanding and accelerating. Nearly a billion dollars has been spent in the past decade to strengthen Afghanistan’s legal infrastructure, rising from $7 million in FY2002 to an estimated $411 million in FY2010. In July 2010, a new Ambassador-rank position was created to […]