There is an urgent need to reach consensus on how to configure the future U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile, says a new report (pdf) of the Defense Science Board (DSB). “We are already late in addressing [stockpile] needs and the current pace of progress in defining, approving, and implementing the needed capabilities is not encouraging.” The […]
Updated Below: Government attorneys reached deep into their legal bag of tricks to devise a subpoena (pdf) against the American Civil Liberties Union demanding “any and all copies” of a classified document that was leaked to the ACLU in October. Questioned by an ACLU attorney as to the authority for this demand, a government attorney […]
In considering the future of the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile, the government must decide between two basic courses of action, explains a new report (pdf) from the Congressional Research Service: either it must seek to extend the functional lifetime of existing nuclear weapons, or it must develop a new generation of warheads. The CRS report […]
Updated Below When the New York Times mentioned in passing recently that polonium-210 had once been used to power U.S. spacecraft, it caused a furrowing of the brow among the seven or so people who dwell on the history of space nuclear power, since it is almost certainly not correct. “President Eisenhower, eager to promote […]
A recent report from the secretive JASON scientific advisory group considers the feasibility of using microorganisms to produce fuels as a metabolic product, such as hydrogen or ethanol. “Microorganisms present a great opportunity for energy science,” the JASON report (pdf) to the Department of Energy said. “Microorganisms are simpler than plants; they have smaller genomes […]
Updated Below A recently updated U.S. Army regulation (pdf) defines the parameters of legitimate military intelligence activities and outlines procedures for identifying “questionable” intelligence operations. Among the permissible activities, for example, military intelligence “may conduct nonconsensual physical surveillance of U.S. persons who are– military personnel on active duty status; present or former intelligence component employees; […]
A new U.S. Navy instruction offers a “guide to the operation and administration of detention facilities.” Detention means “the temporary holding of persons in custody in a detention facility pending a decision to officially charge them with a criminal offense. Detention is distinctly different from confinement that includes pretrial or post-trial confinement.” See “Guide for […]
A recent Congressional Research Service report observed irregularities in government spending on military space. “Tracking the DOD space budget is extremely difficult since space is not identified as a separate line item in the DOD budget. Additionally, DOD sometimes releases only partial information (omitting funding for classified programs) or will suddenly release without explanation new […]
The apparent murder of former Russian intelligence officer Alexander Litvinenko through polonium poisoning seemed like an outlandish innovation in crime. But it was not the first time that polonium had been deliberately administered to human subjects. In 1944 at the University of Rochester in New York, “tracer amounts of radioactive polonium-210 were injected into four […]
The flight test of a sea-based missile defense system in the Pacific was aborted yesterday after an interceptor missile failed to launch from an Aegis cruiser, the Pentagon’s Missile Defense Agency said. It was the latest setback in an ambitious sea-based missile defense program that will cost more than one billion dollars in 2007. “In […]
In a major new report (pdf) that could serve as an appendix to the Final Report of the 9/11 Commission, the Congressional Research Service performed a detailed assessment of the implementation of the Commission’s recommendations. “The discussions herein are organized on the basis of policy themes that are at the core of the 9/11 Commission’s […]
Some other noteworthy new products of the Congressional Research Service that are not widely available to the public include the following (all pdf). “Nuclear Fuel Reprocessing: U.S. Policy Development,” November 29, 2006. “Homeland Security: Evolving Roles and Missions for United States Northern Command,” updated November 16, 2006. “U.S. Strategic Nuclear Forces: Background, Developments, and Issues,” […]