A new Congressional Research Service report (pdf) proposes an analytical framework for assessing the comparative strengths of U.S. conventional and nuclear forces in the context of a hypothetical future conflict with China. The authors consider “the possible role that U.S. nuclear and conventional forces might play in four stages of potential conflicts: deterrence, prior to […]
In the August 9th edition of Jane’s Defense Weekly, Deputy Editor Robin Hughes reveals alleged plans by Iran to supply Hezbollah with “a steady supply of weapons systems,” including Chinese QW-1 and its own Mithaq (or Misagh) man-portable air defense systems (MANPADS). The article cites unnamed western diplomats, who also claim that Iran agreed to […]
In a favorable decision for two former officials of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee who are charged with conspiracy to unlawfully gather national defense information, a federal court ruled (pdf) late last week that they did not solicit actual classified documents and that the government cannot now claim that they did. The latest decision […]
A July 31 Department of Homeland Security report to Congress on the status of defenses against shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles was removed from the Federation of American Scientists web site after DHS objected (pdf) to its publication. DHS urged that the unclassified report, marked “For Official Use Only,” be taken offline and, upon consideration, we agreed […]
Did U.S. intelligence analysts actually “replicate” the mobile biological weapons laboratories that were supposedly deployed by Saddam Hussein, as stated in the Silberman-Robb Commission report? Arms control expert Milton Leitenberg of the University of Maryland posed this question earlier this year. Based on his own investigations, he has now concluded that there was no such […]
“I have been reading [former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel] Sharon’s biography for a while now, and I am going to read the book again.” So said Hizbollah leader Hasan Nasrallah in an autobiographical note published last week in a Tehran magazine. In a discussion of his political objectives, he seemed to exclude the possibility of […]
The U.S. Army has updated its regulations governing unmanned aircraft system operations. See “Unmanned Aircraft System Flight Regulations” (pdf), U.S. Army Regulation 95-23, 7 August 2006.
The administration has submitted a $250M request to Congress to start work on a plutonium recycling program as part of its Global Nuclear Energy Partnership, or GNEP, proposal. Trying to figure out exactly what the proposal is has been like trying to nail Jell-o to the wall. Whatever criticism is raised, DOE responds that, no, […]
In a momentous expansion of the government’s authority to regulate public disclosure of national security information, a federal court ruled that even private citizens who do not hold security clearances can be prosecuted for unauthorized receipt and disclosure of classified information. The ruling (pdf) by Judge T.S. Ellis, III, denied a motion to dismiss the […]
The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) said this week that it will not administer a grant to a San Antonio, Texas law school to study state freedom of information laws. In a story that prompted new concerns about official secrecy, USA Today reported last month that the government was going to pay St. Mary’s University […]
The Defense Intelligence Agency has prepared an illustrated briefing (pdf) on the components of a MANPADS shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missile briefing to assist security personnel in identifying such weapons and apprehending those who possess them without authorization. “An individual cannot legally possess a MANPADS [man-portable air defense system] under federal law,” the DIA briefing notes. “If […]
Ethiopia this week became the 135th country to ratify the comprehensive nuclear test ban treaty (CTBT), which prohibits the explosive testing of nuclear weapons. To enter into force, the CTBT must be ratified by 44 States listed in Annex 2 of the Treaty. So far, 34 of those States have done so. See “Ethiopia ratifies […]