A federal court on Friday issued an injunction (pdf) disabling the internet domain name of Wikileaks.org, the anti-censorship web site devoted to publication of leaks and other unauthorized disclosures of information. The move followed a complaint by Bank Julius Baer, a Swiss bank, that Wikileaks had published confidential bank records that are protected by law. […]
Noteworthy new reports from the Congressional Research Service include the following (all pdf). “Congressional Oversight and Related Issues Concerning the Prospective Security Agreement Between the United States and Iraq,” February 7, 2008. “How Large is China’s Economy? Does it Matter?,” February 13, 2008. “FY2009 Appropriations for State and Local Homeland Security,” February 7, 2008. “The […]
A new report (pdf) from the JASON defense science advisory panel examines the feasibility of modeling explosive shocks to naval vessels to assess their vulnerability. “Underwater mines have long been a major threat to ships. The most probable threats are non-contact explosions, where a high pressure wave is launched towards the ship.” “During World War […]
The United States is planning to intercept a dying reconnaissance satellite with a missile launched from a Navy ship. The administration justifies the intercept on the basis of public safety. That is a long stretch, indeed, and thus far in the news coverage that I have seen there is virtually no mention of the political consequences of the United States’ conducting its first anti-satellite test in over two decades.
The United States, along with China, Russia, and other space-faring nations, should be working to ban anti-satellite weapons. Such a ban would work strongly in the best interests of the United States because we depend more, by far, than any other nation on access to space for our economy and security. Any measure that reduces the threats to satellites will enhance American security. The proposed test is a potential public relations bonanza, showing the public how a defensive missile can protect us from a—largely imaginary—danger from above. What follows is a simple analysis of what some of these dangers might be and a description of what might happen. These are questions that should have been asked of the administration.
Public access to the Reimer Digital Library, which is the largest online collection of U.S. Army doctrinal publications, has been blocked by the Army, which last week moved the collection behind a password-protected firewall. But today the Federation of American Scientists filed a Freedom of Information Act request (pdf) asking the Army to provide a […]
The U.S. Government supported the interdiction of over 80 flights over Colombia last year as well as an undisclosed number of other flights over Brazil that were suspected of involvement in drug trafficking, according to a new White House report to Congress (pdf). The report describes the procedures used, and the results that followed. See […]
The scale of Iranian research in nuclear science and technology is evident from a new bibliography of published research by Iranian scientists. The bibliography, prepared by Mark Gorwitz, a private nonproliferation researcher, includes titles on nuclear physics, reactor safety, isotope separation and more. See “Iranian Nuclear Science Bibliography: Open Literature References,” by Mark Gorwitz, February […]
Priscilla J. McMillan, author of the well-received 2006 book “The Ruin of J. Robert Oppenheimer and the Birth of the Modern Arms Race,” has opened up some of her personal archives relating to Oppenheimer and posted them online. Dozens of primary source documents that were uncovered by Ms. McMillan in the course of her research […]
The Department of Defense has released the final version of its controversial doctrine on “detainee operations” (pdf) which defines the class of unlawful enemy combatants and prescribes their treatment. “US forces must be prepared to properly control, maintain, protect, and account for all categories of detainees in accordance with applicable domestic law, international law, and […]
“Senior investigators on the 9/11 Commission believed their work was being manipulated by the executive director to minimize criticism of the Bush Administration,” according to a new book on the Commission. “Investigative staffers at the Commission believe [executive director] Philip Zelikow repeatedly sought to minimize the administration’s intelligence failures in the months leading up to […]
Some noteworthy new reports from the Congressional Research Service include the following (all pdf). “The DHS Directorate of Science and Technology: Key Issues for Congress,” February 1, 2008. “The Egypt-Gaza Border and its Effect on Israeli-Egyptian Relations,” February 1, 2008. “Holocaust-Era Insurance Claims: Background and Proposed Legislation,” updated February 4, 2008. “North Korean Ballistic Missile […]
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