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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The next President of the United States could single-handedly do what years of advocacy, investigation, legislation and litigation have yet to fully accomplish, namely to uncover the concealed record of the Bush Administration’s two terms in office on everything from warrantless wiretapping to extraordinary rendition. In an essay published in the Nieman Watchdog today, I […]
Noteworthy new reports from the Congressional Research Service include the following (all pdf). “Homeland Security: Roles and Missions for United States Northern Command,” January 28. “Pakistan’s Nuclear Weapons: Proliferation and Security Issues,” updated January 14, 2008. “Pakistan’s Political Crises,” updated January 3, 2008. “Navy Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) Program: Oversight Issues and Options for Congress,” […]
The DNI Open Source Center, which gathers, translates, analyzes, and distributes unclassified open source intelligence from around the world, is steadily growing in capability and impact, according to Doug Naquin, the Center’s Director. The Open Source Center, which replaced the CIA’s Foreign Broadcast Information Service, is doing more analysis and outreach than its predecessor and […]
Government agencies are still laboring to devise “common standards for preparing terrorism information for maximum distribution,” in response to a December 2005 directive from the President. Recently the Program Manager for the ODNI Information Sharing Environment issued a memorandum (pdf) describing the implementation of such common standards. See “Common Terrorism Information Sharing Standards (CTISS) Program,” […]