The prosecution of two former officials of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) for allegedly receiving and communicating classified information without authorization poses novel legal issues, the presiding judge in the case said last week. “We are a bit in new, uncharted waters, and that’s why I’m going to consider this matter extremely carefully,” […]
Some recent reports of the Congressional Research Service on Middle East-related topics include the following. “Israel: Background and Relations with the United States,” updated March 16, 2006. “Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas: Overview of Internal and External Challenges,” updated March 9, 2006. “Iraq: Elections, Government, and Constitution,” updated March 13, 2006. “Iraq: U.S. Regime Change Efforts […]
The Senate Armed Services Committee plans to hold a hearing on Wednesday, March 29th, on the Pentagon’s new offensive Global Strike mission. The Committee has asked the following officials to testify: * Peter C. W. Flory, Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Policy * General James E. Cartwright, USMC, Commander, U.S. Strategic Command * […]
National security letters are investigative tools used in foreign intelligence investigations to compel the disclosure of certain transactional information such as financial records and communications data. NSLs have become controversial due to their increasing use by government agencies (primarily the FBI), and because of the non-disclosure requirements and the limited judicial oversight involved in their […]
Some more notable new reports from the Congressional Research Service are the following. “Material Support of Terrorists and Foreign Terrorist Organizations: Sunset Amendments in Brief,” updated March 17, 2006. “Tactical Aircraft Modernization: Issues for Congress,” updated March 16, 2006. “Syria: U.S. Relations and Bilateral Issues,” updated March 13, 2006. “AIDS in Africa,” updated March 9, […]
The U.S. Army has issued a new manual (large pdf) on unmanned aerial systems (UAS), which are increasingly used in a wide spectrum of reconnaissance, surveillance and targeting missions. UAS include what were formerly referred to as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), plus their payloads and support systems. The new Army manual includes fresh information on […]
Dr. Thomas C. Butler is one of the rather few people in the history of humanity of whom it can be truly said that he helped to save millions of lives. A specialist in the plague and other infectious diseases, his research helped lead to the adoption of oral hydration as a standard treatment for […]
Judge John D. Bates was appointed last month by Chief Justice John Roberts to serve on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. Judge Bates of the D.C. District is the eleventh member of the secretive Court, which processes applications for domestic intelligence search and surveillance under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978. He replaces Judge […]
The Department of Energy has released a redacted version of its twentieth report on inadvertent releases (pdf) of classified nuclear weapons information found in declassified records at the National Archives. Upon examination of nearly 300,000 pages of public records, reviewers found 47 pages which they said should not have been released. Those pages were embedded […]
Judge Frederick J. Scullin, Jr. of the Southern Northern District of New York was identified last week as a member of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, which was established by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 to provide judicial authorization for intelligence search and surveillance activities within the United States. Although Judge Scullin was […]
The website freedominfo.org, sponsored by the National Security Archive, has produced a splendid new catalog of freedom of information laws in some 60 countries around the world, with links to underlying statutes and related background information (flagged by BeSpacific.com). “For the first time, the National Archives and Records Administration has made available online more than […]
Rep. Bob Ney (R-OH), the most outspoken opponent of proposals to permit direct public access to Congressional Research Service reports, recently lost his chairmanship of the House Administration Committee in the initial fallout of the unfolding corruption scandals in Congress. But it is unclear whether his sensible successor, Rep. Vernon Ehlers (R-CA) (R-Mich.), will be […]