Last year, dozens of categories of previously unclassified information about Afghan military forces were designated as classified, making it more difficult to publicly track the progress of the war in Afghanistan. The categories of now-classified information were tabulated in a memo dated October 31, 2017 that was prepared by the staff of the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction […]
The Defense Advanced Projects Research Agency, established in 1958, is responsible for advancing the state of the art in defense science and technology. The agency’s structure, priorities and budget are discussed in a new report from the Congressional Research Service. See Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency: Overview and Issues for Congress, February 2, 2018. (For a […]
If Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee want to publicly release a classified memo that they prepared on alleged misconduct in the FBI, what could be wrong with that? Quite a lot, actually. Even if the risks of disclosing classified information in this case are small (a point that is disputed), the selective disclosure of […]
The field of artificial intelligence is habitually susceptible to exaggerated claims and expectations. But when it comes to new applications in health care, some of those claims may prove to be valid, says a new report from the JASON scientific advisory panel. “Overall, JASON finds that AI is beginning to play a growing role in […]
New and updated reports from the Congressional Research Service include the following. Administration’s Syria Policy Envisions Continued U.S. Presence, CRS Insight, January 26, 2018 TPP Countries Conclude Agreement Without U.S. Participation, CRS Insight, January 29, 2018 Mexico: Background and U.S. Relations, updated January 29, 2018 2017 Disaster Supplemental Appropriations: Overview, January 25, 2018 Shining a […]
The House Intelligence Committee voted yesterday to invoke a provision of committee rules to authorize the release of a classified memo that is said to be critical of the FBI and its role in investigating Russian interference in the 2016 US presidential election. That provision — Rule X of the Rules of the House of Representatives, […]
The U.S. State Department provided crime scene investigation (CSI) equipment to Palestinian security forces to encourage a “move away from a confession-based investigation process,” according to a 2016 report to Congress that was recently released under the Freedom of Information Act. See U.S. Assistance for Palestinian Security Forces and Benchmarks for Palestinian Security Assistance Funds, FY […]
The potential risks associated with air cargo on domestic and international flights, and the challenges involved in assessing and addressing them, are discussed in a new report from the Congressional Research Service. See Security of Air Cargo Shipments, Operations, and Facilities, January 24, 2018, Other new and updated reports from the Congressional Research Service include the […]
The new budget law that keeps the government open for the next three weeks includes a provision that would permit the transfer and spending of intelligence funds during that period without congressional authorization or approval. “This language is troublesome for the [Senate intelligence] committee because it would authorize the intelligence community to spend funds ‘notwithstanding’ […]
The Marshall Plan, the program of U.S. financial assistance that helped spark the economic recovery of western Europe following World War II, is considered to be one of the most successful U.S. foreign policy initiatives ever and one that might have implications for today. “Although the Marshall Plan has its critics and occurred during a […]
Director of National Intelligence Daniel R. Coats last month issued a newly revised directive that details intelligence community procedures for dealing with leaks of classified information. See Unauthorized Disclosures of Classified National Security Information, Intelligence Community Directive 701, December 22, 2017. The directive formalizes several notable developments in intelligence policy regarding leaks: * It presents an […]
Over the course of U.S. history, twenty Members of Congress have been expelled by their colleagues. Most of those cases were based on charges of disloyalty to the United States in the early Civil War period. Two of them followed convictions on charges of public corruption, most recently in 2002. A new report from the […]