Spy satellites and other classified intelligence technologies are poised to play a greater role in domestic homeland security and law enforcement missions, challenging long-standing legal and policy barriers against their domestic use. The Wall Street Journal reported today that the Director of National Intelligence recently authorized access to intelligence satellite products by officials of the […]
The Missile Defense Agency has published a glossy brochure setting forth its vision of a missile defense system based in Europe. See “Proposed U.S. Missile Defense Assets in Europe” (pdf), Missile Defense Agency, June 15, 2007. Various perspectives on the missile defense program were presented in a recently updated report of the Congressional Research Service, […]
Department of Homeland Security’s Inspector General released a stinging new report that details serious issues facing the National Bio-Surveillance Integration System (NBIS). NBIS was launched in 2004 with the goal of integrating all of the biosurveillance programs across the US into a single system to enhance our capability to detect agents and disease trends and […]
Comprehensive data on U.S. military deaths from the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812 through Operation Iraqi Freedom were presented in a recently updated report (pdf) from the Congressional Research Service. “This report is written in response to numerous requests for war casualty statistics and lists of war dead. It provides tables, compiled by […]
Some more noteworthy new products from the Congressional Research Service that have not been made readily available to the public include these (all pdf). “Enemy Combatant Detainees: Habeas Corpus Challenges in Federal Court,” updated July 25, 2007. “Iraq and Al Qaeda,” updated July 27, 2007. “Air Cargo Security,” updated July 30, 2007. “F-35 Joint Strike […]
For decades now “The U.S. Intelligence Community” by Jeffrey T. Richelson has been the best one-volume account of the structure and operation of the far-flung U.S. intelligence bureaucracy. The fifth edition has just been published. When I encounter an unfamiliar intelligence term, an odd acronym or a reference to an obscure office somewhere in the […]
Most Strategic Security Blog readers are probably already aware of the recent outbreak of Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) in the UK, but I thought it might be useful to post summary information on what we know to date. In short, it appears as if the virus was found on two farms, that the likely […]
If the Leahy-Cornyn bill to strengthen the Freedom of Information Act that was adopted in the Senate last week becomes law, as expected, it will not happen a moment too soon, because current government handling of FOIA requests is deteriorating, according to a new analysis from the Coalition of Journalists for Open Government. “Over the […]
The American Civil Liberties Union filed an unusual motion (pdf) with the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court seeking public disclosure of recent Court orders interpreting the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), the law that regulates warrantless surveillance within the United States. “Over the next six months, Congress and the public will debate the wisdom and necessity […]
Recent reports of the Congressional Research Service on topics related to openness and transparency include the following (all pdf). “Does Price Transparency Improve Market Efficiency? Implications of Empirical Evidence in Other Markets for the Health Sector,” July 24, 2007. “State E-Government Strategies: Identifying Best Practices and Applications,” July 23, 2007. “Clinical Trials Reporting and Publication,” […]
On August 1, the Pacific island nation of Palau became the 139th country to ratify the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty that would ban all nuclear explosions. Among states that possess nuclear weapons, only France, Russia and the United Kingdom have ratified the Treaty. To enter into force, the CTBT Organization explained in an August 7 […]
A newly updated U.S. Army regulation on information assurance defines standards and procedures for protecting classified and unclassified information in automated information systems. See “Information Assurance” (pdf), AR 25-2, August 3, 2007. Meanwhile, a new U.S. Navy Instruction establishes policy on monitoring of Navy communications for internal security purposes. See “Communications Security (COMSEC) Monitoring of […]