A new U.S. Army Field Manual (pdf) presents a vision of excellence in military leadership and articulates principles by which such excellence may be achieved. “It is critical that Army leaders be agile, multiskilled pentathletes who have strong moral character, broad knowledge, and keen intellect.” But in America, the “warrior ethos” is not an independent […]
Several recently updated reports from the Congressional Research Service, not readily available to the public, provide an introduction to the subject of conventional arms sales and the proliferation of weapons technology (all pdf). “International Small Arms and Light Weapons Transfers: U.S. Policy,” updated October 2, 2006. “Military Technology and Conventional Weapons Export Controls: The Wassenaar […]
Some more reports from the Congressional Research Service on diverse topics include the following (all pdf). “Freedom of Information Act Amendments: 109th Congress,” updated September 22, 2006. “The Endangered Species Act and ‘Sound Science’,” updated October 5, 2006. “Federal Research and Development Funding: FY2007,” updated October 10, 2006. “Globalizing Cooperative Threat Reduction: A Survey of […]
The U.S. intelligence community can and should form a more integrated whole without its member agencies sacrificing their individual character, according to a Five Year Strategic Human Capital Plan (pdf) from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI). “A truly integrated IC is the only answer to the myriad threats that we face,” […]
In an extraordinarily brief statement, the Director of the National Intelligence Office announced that the United States has confirmed that North Korea’s large explosion last week was nuclear. How do they know and why did it take them so long to confirm?
Under the Invention Secrecy Act of 1951, the government may impose a secrecy order on patent applications submitted to the Patent Office whenever the disclosure of the inventions described in such applications “might be detrimental to the national security.” At the end of Fiscal Year 2006, there were 4,942 secrecy orders in effect, a slight […]
Executive Branch agencies have implemented President Bush’s December 2005 executive order 13392 on improving the processing of Freedom of Information Act requests “in a vigorous manner fully commensurate with the importance of this unprecedented Presidential initiative,” according to an enthusiastic new report to the President (pdf) from the Attorney General. The President’s order “has had […]
Last Sunday, North Korea apparently tested a nuclear explosive. The “apparently” is needed because the explosion was so small—by nuclear standards—that some have speculated that it may have been a large conventional explosion. What is the technical significance of the test, what does it mean, and what should we do now? There is no question […]
Actual or purported national security secrets are routinely published not only by mainstream news organizations and best-selling authors but also by journals of opinion on the political left and right and the occasional blog. The ability to freely traverse the boundaries of classified government information, with only rare and isolated limitations, is practically a defining […]
The use of stealth techniques and technologies to reduce the signatures of intelligence or military satellites a subject that seems to be properly classified, for the most part. But it has also left discernable traces in the public domain. Those traces were assembled by Allen Thomson in his Stealth Satellite Sourcebook (pdf), which has been […]
A newly enacted law requires the creation of a publicly searchable online database of government grants and contracts. The implications of that law and the challenges ahead were explored by the Congressional Research Service in a new report. See “The Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act: Background, Overview, and Implementation Issues” (pdf), October 6, 2006. […]
The steady stream of new military doctrinal and other publications includes several items which will be of interest and importance to some Secrecy News readers. “Counterland Operations” (pdf), Air Force Doctrine Document 2-1.3, 11 September 2006, refers to the use of U.S. air and space assets against enemy land-based forces. Security for U.S. ships crossing […]