One of the few comparatively new features in the post-cold war landscape of U.S. intelligence is the emergence of dozens of domestic intelligence “fusion centers.” These are state and local offices across the country that are supposed to integrate (or “fuse”) multiple information streams from national intelligence sources together with local law enforcement and other […]
Some recently updated reports of the Congressional Research Service that have not been made readily available to the public include the following (all pdf). “Statutory Offices of Inspector General: Past and Present,” updated June 21, 2007. “Medal of Honor Recipients: 1979-2007,” updated May 29, 2007. “GAO: Government Accountability Office and General Accounting Office,” updated June […]
Some of the most important news in Department of Defense information policy has to do with what did not happen. Earlier this year, the Pentagon asked Congress to enact two new provisions that would have restricted public access to broad swaths of unclassified information. But Congress declined to approve either one. One provision would have […]
The United States appears to have quietly removed nuclear weapons from Ramstein Air Base. Here a B61 nuclear bomb is loaded unto a C-17 cargo aircraft. By Hans M. Kristensen The U.S. Air Force has removed its main base at Ramstein in Germany from a list of installations that receive periodic nuclear weapons inspections, indicating […]
The extensive reliance by the U.S. government on private security contractors to support military forces in Iraq poses numerous policy and legal questions that are explored in a new report (pdf) from the Congressional Research Service. “The use of armed contractors raises several concerns for many Members, including transparency and accountability,” the report begins. “Transparency […]
Some other new reports of the Congressional Research Service that have not been made readily available to the public include the following (all pdf). “Enemy Combatant Detainees: Habeas Corpus Challenges in Federal Court,” updated June 26, 2007. “Defense Procurement: Full Funding Policy — Background, Issues, and Options for Congress,” updated June 15, 2007. “Data Mining […]
National security information sharing between the executive branch and Congress is examined in a recent law review article by Heidi Kitrosser. The author suggests that legitimate executive branch secrecy concerns can be addressed by limiting disclosure of certain information to selected congressional committees or other subsets of Congressional membership, which she calls “information funnels.” See […]
By Hans M. Kristensen A new satellite image appears to have captured China’s new ballistic missile submarine. Coordinates: 38°49’4.40″N, 121°29’39.82″E. A commercial satellite image appears to have captured China’s new nuclear ballistic missile submarine. The new class, known as the Jin-class or Type 094, is expected to replace the unsuccessful Xia-class (Type 092) of a […]
A new pamphlet (pdf) from the U.S. Army Intelligence and Security Command (INSCOM) History Office describes locations in and around Washington, D.C. that have significant associations with the history of U.S. military intelligence. “The sites selected span two centuries of military intelligence in support of the Nation and its Army, starting with George Washington in […]
The White House press office and some Bush Administration critics are insisting that the 2003 executive order on classification policy endowed the Vice President with a unique status and classification powers identical to those of the President himself. But that’s not what the executive order says. “In this executive order the President is saying that […]
The Department of Defense TALON database of threat information that compiled information on U.S. persons involved in domestic protests was implemented in compliance with U.S. law, a review by the DoD Inspector General (pdf) concluded. However, some of the raw information was improperly retained in violation of a DoD directive, the IG said in an […]
The Senate Judiciary Committee last week issued a report on the Habeas Corpus Restoration Act, a bill to repeal provisions adopted in the last Congress that eliminated access to U.S. courts for suspected alien enemy combatants. “The legislation would permit detainees held by the United States Government as enemy combatants, or as potential enemy combatants, […]