Newly acquired satellite photos acquired from Digital Globe (Maxar) show that the People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force (PLARF) is building what appears to be a new type of missile silo in the missile training area near Jilantai, possibly for use by a new ICBM. The photos also show that 18 road-mobile launchers of the long-awaited […]
A new White House budget memo presents science and technology as a distinctly American-led enterprise in which U.S. dominance is to be maintained and reinforced. The document is silent on the possibility or the necessity of international scientific cooperation. “The five R&D budgetary priorities in this memorandum ensure that America remains at the forefront of […]
Many proposals for intermediate-range missiles in Asia refer to conventional weapons, because of their strategic importance, but many Japanese are likely to read these proposals as part of a long and politically fractious history of US weapons deployments to Japanese territory that included nuclear weapons.
Today’s national security classification system “relies on antiquated policies from another era that undercut its effectiveness today,” the Information Security Oversight Office told the President in a report released yesterday. Modernizing the system is a “government-wide imperative,” the new ISOO annual report said. But that is a familiar refrain by now. It is much the same message that […]
In a not very subtle sign of the times, the U.S. Army has produced a deck of playing cards featuring weaponry used or held by Iran in order to familiarize soldiers with Iran’s inventory of weapons and presumably to facilitate their recognition on the battlefield. The Iran collection follows similar decks of playing cards illustrated with Chinese and Russian weapons. Another […]
Noteworthy new publications from the Congressional Research Service include the following. Kashmir: Background, Recent Developments, and U.S. Policy, August 16, 2019 Global Trends in HIV/AIDS, CRS In Focus, updated August 15, 2019 Retroactive Legislation: A Primer for Congress, CRS In Focus, August 15, 2019 Words Taken Down: Calling Members to Order for Disorderly Language in the House, […]
Arms Control Twitter has been abuzz since yesterday’s announcement that the United States had conducted a surprise launch of a Tomahawk missile on Sunday afternoon.
The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is embarking on an ambitious effort to phase out the acquisition of paper records by 2022 and to transition to all-electronic record keeping. The White House Office of Management and Budget has endorsed the initiative and has directed all federal agencies to adopt exclusively electronic formats for managing […]
The problem of domestic terrorism is distinct from that of foreign terrorism because of the constitutional protections enjoyed by U.S. persons, the Congressional Research Service explained last week. “Constitutional principles — including federalism and the rights to free speech, free association, peaceable assembly, petition for the redress of grievances — may complicate the task of conferring domestic […]
Reflexively crying “more nukes” without articulating any kind of strategic vision isn’t going to get us out of the arms race.
Extreme weather events and rising sea levels are causing damage to U.S. military facilities and could threaten U.S. military infrastructure around the world. “Is the military ready for climate change?,” asked Rep. John Garamendi (D-CA). “It is not.” “In the last 12 months, severe storms have devastated Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, Marine Corps Air […]
Over the coming year, high school students around the country will debate whether the U.S. should reduce its arms sales to foreign countries. Specifically, the national debate topic that was selected for the 2019-20 school year is: Resolved: The United States federal government should substantially reduce Direct Commercial Sales and/or Foreign Military Sales of arms […]