The Director of National Intelligence will oversee security clearance investigations and related policies on access to classified information for all federal agencies, according to an executive order issued yesterday by President Bush. The move appears to significantly augment the authority of the DNI since it extends his reach to personnel policies and security clearances that […]
A federal appeals panel found that the designation of a Chinese detainee held in U.S. custody as an “enemy combatant” was “not valid” (pdf) because the classified evidence offered by the government was not sufficient to sustain the charge. In the first legal challenge to enemy combatant status, Huzaifa Parhat, an ethnic Uighur, admitted to […]
Noteworthy new reports from the Congressional Research Service include the following (all pdf). (These reports have also been made available on OpenCRS.) “Iran’s Nuclear Program: Status,” June 23, 2008. “Boumediene v. Bush: Guantanamo Detainees’ Right to Habeas Corpus,” June 16, 2008. “Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA): What Is It, and How Might One Be Utilized […]
Noteworthy new and updated reports from the Congressional Research Service that have not been made readily available to the public include the following (all pdf). “The Cost of Iraq, Afghanistan, and Other Global War on Terror Operations Since 9/11,” updated June 23, 2008. “Conventional Warheads For Long-Range Ballistic Missiles: Background and Issues for Congress,” updated […]
President Bush described the status of U.S. armed forces deployed in combat operations around the world in a brief report to Congress this month that was required by the War Powers Act. “It is not possible to know at this time the precise scope or the duration of the deployment of U.S. Armed Forces necessary […]
July 4 will mark the 42nd anniversary of the Freedom of Information Act, Sen. Patrick Leahy noted in a statement on pending reforms to the Act. “Now in its fourth decade [should be: fifth decade], the Freedom of Information Act remains an indispensable tool for shedding light on bad policies and Government abuses,” he said. […]
Monday, June 30 marks the 100th anniversary of the Tunguska incident in 1908, in which a meteor or comet fragment entered the atmosphere over Tunguska in Siberia producing an enormous explosion. “We know that a rather massive body flew into the atmosphere of our planet,” said Boris Shustov of the Russian Academy of Sciences. “It […]
On June 12, 2008 Senators Richard Burr (R- North Carolina) and Edward Kennedy (D- Massachusetts) introduced S.3127, a bill to reauthorize the Select Agent Program by amending the Public Health Service Act and the Agricultural Bioterrorism Protection Act of 2002 and to improve oversight of high containment laboratories. To provide a context for the content […]
More than 100 U.S. nuclear bombs have been withdrawn from RAF Lakenheath, the forward base of the U.S. Air Force 48th Fighter Wing. Image: GoogleEarth . By Hans M. Kristensen The United States has withdrawn nuclear weapons from the RAF Lakenheath air base 70 miles northeast of London, marking the end to more than 50 […]
The House of Representatives yesterday passed a bill amending the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) to strengthen the public disclosure provisions of that open government law. The bill was introduced by Rep. William Lacy Clay (D-MO) and Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) in April. “In recent years, FACA has been undermined by the practices of the […]
A proposed U.S. missile defense system in Europe that is intended to defend against a postulated Iranian missile threat cannot reasonably proceed without time-consuming testing and validation, according to a newly disclosed internal assessment (pdf) performed for the Department of Defense last year. The U.S. Missile Defense Agency envisions deployment of Ground-Based Interceptors in Poland […]
A proposed new federal rule would require executive branch agencies to accept the “suitability” determinations made by other agencies in hiring federal employees. This is a longstanding policy goal, known as “reciprocity,” that has been endorsed for decades but never fully implemented. Suitability refers to a judgment that a potential employee is not disqualified from […]