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, […]
by Ivanka Barzashka and Ivan Oelrich After a cascade of disclosures and official announcements, followed by a great deal of conjecture from experts and the media, the Fordo enrichment plant, Iran’s newest enrichment facility located in the mountains near Qom, opened its doors on October 25 to International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspections. The US, […]
Some of the steps that are favored by the Obama Administration to open up government to public access and participation may be “useful” but they are nevertheless “prohibited” on U.S. Air Force web sites, according to a new Air Force policy instruction. In a January 21, 2009 memorandum on transparency and open government, President Obama […]
Whatever its archaic publication policy may say, the U.S. Air Force still manages to generate and publicly release documents of significant policy interest. A new manual on the Open Skies Treaty explores the origins, development, and implementation of the Open Skies regime, which permits the overflight and inspection of member nations’ territory and facilities. See […]
From time to time, publishers send us review copies of new books. We are glad to receive them, even if we cannot always read the books promptly or produce substantial reviews. New receipts include these: “Nuclear Insights: The Cold War Legacy” by Alexander DeVolpi, volume 2: Nuclear Threats and Prospects, 2009. “Preventing Catastrophe: The Use […]
A House Subcommittee is reviving a decade-old debate over the need to expeditiously replace the older security locks on safes for storing classified documents with new, more sophisticated electromechanical locks. “The secure storage of classified information is a matter of paramount importance to the national security of the United States,” wrote Rep. John F. Tierney […]
The records of several noteworthy congressional hearings that were held in the past two years have been published in the last few weeks, including these: “A Report Card on Homeland Security Information Sharing,” House Homeland Security Committee, September 24, 2008. “Turning Spy Satellites on the Homeland: The Privacy and Civil Liberties Implications of the National […]