Six months after both the United States and Russia announced suspensions of their respective obligations under the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, the treaty officially died today.
China’s latest Defense White Paper calls out the US for “undermining global stability.”
Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper, who took office last week, has directed senior military and civilian defense officials to “more actively engage with the public,” according to a Pentagon memo issued on Friday. “Simply put, the Department benefits when we thoughtfully engage with the American public, Congressional leaders, international community, and the media,” wrote Jonathan Rath Hoffman, […]
While many countries recognize freedom of speech as a fundamental value, every country also imposes some legal limits on free speech. A new report from the Law Library of Congress surveys the legal limitations on free expression in thirteen countries: Argentina, Brazil, Canada, China, Israel, Japan, Germany, France, New Zealand, Sweden, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and […]
Amidst a deepening rift between the United States and Russia about the role of non-strategic nuclear weapons, Russia has begun to upgrade an Air Force nuclear weapons storage site near Tver, some 90 miles (145 kilometers) northeast of Moscow. Satellite photos show clearing of trees within the site as well as the construction of a […]
There are only nineteen years since 1798 when the U.S. did not have armed forces engaged in military operations abroad, according to an updated tally from the Congressional Research Service. See Instances of Use of United States Armed Forces Abroad, 1798-2019, updated July 17, 2019. The most recent year in which U.S. military forces were […]
The Central Intelligence Agency can disclose restricted information to reporters without waiving its right to withhold the same information from other members of the public, a federal appeals court ruled last week. The appeals court affirmed a 2018 decision in a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit brought by reporter Adam Johnson against the CIA. He had requested copies […]
The Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board is conducting oversight in nearly a dozen areas broadly related to intelligence and counterterrorism. The PCLOB oversight agenda was detailed in a statement this week. “This document describes the Board’s active oversight projects and other engagements. . . .The shorthand descriptions below are intended to provide public transparency, consistent with the protection […]
At the request of the Central Intelligence Agency, the pending intelligence authorization bill includes a provision that would expand the definition of “covert agents” whose identities are protected from unauthorized disclosure. The identities of intelligence officers who are serving abroad or who have done so within the past 5 years are already protected by current […]
The Joint Chiefs of Staff briefly published and then removed from public access a new edition of their official doctrine on the use of nuclear weapons. But a public copy was preserved. See Joint Publication 3-72, Nuclear Operations, June 11, 2019. The document presents an unclassified, mostly familiar overview of nuclear strategy, force structure, planning, targeting, command […]
Decisions that are made in the near future will determine whether or not the US Navy will be able — decades from now — to reduce or eliminate the use of highly enriched uranium (HEU) in nuclear reactors aboard US aircraft carriers and submarines. Since HEU can be used in nuclear explosives, reducing the production, […]
Noteworthy new publications from the Congressional Research Service include the following. The Impeachment Process in the House of Representatives, June 14, 2019 National Security Implications of Fifth Generation (5G) Mobile Technologies, CRS In Focus, June 12, 2019 U.S. Overseas Diplomatic Presence: Background and Issues for Congress, June 6, 2019 Maintaining Electric Reliability with Wind and […]