Sometimes eating bugs may be the right thing to do. “When food is limited and insects are available, they can become a valuable food source.” That bit of practical wisdom comes from a new US Air Force Handbook on Survival Evasion Resistance Escape (SERE) Operations that was published this week. However, “Caterpillars with hairs should […]
Former President Barack Obama “is gearing up to throw himself into the wonky and highly partisan issue of redistricting, with the goal of reversing the electoral declines Democrats experienced under his watch,” the Washington Post and other news outlets reported this week. The legal framework governing redistricting is discussed in a new report from the […]
Most people are not going to read a book-length study of nuclear weapons command and control, and they shouldn’t have to. But those who need a quick sketch — whether they are reporters, students, or regular citizens — can now find a concise, two-page introduction to the topic from the Congressional Research Service. See Defense […]
Under ordinary circumstances, the U.S. Army relies on high-speed digital communications. But sometimes that is not an option, and soldiers must revert to more primitive methods. “When electrical and/or digital means of communication are inadequate, or not available,” a new Army publication explains, messages may be transmitted “through the use of hand-and-arm signals, flags, pyrotechnics, […]
The U.S. defense budget is comprised of several distinct components, including “base” and supplemental spending, nuclear weapons expenses, veterans benefits, and other defense-related costs. When discussing “the defense budget,” it is therefore important to specify what is being described. Depending on what is included or excluded, “total” U.S. defense spending each year can vary by […]
Deception plays an important role in many military operations. But is hard to deceive an opponent (or anyone else) when evidence of that deception is visible in plain sight. A new military term — “competing observable” — has been introduced to capture this problem. In the context of military deception, an ordinary “observable” is defined […]
Science and technology policy issues that may soon come before Congress were surveyed in a new report from the Congressional Research Service. Overarching issues include the impact of recent reductions in federal spending for research and development. “Concerns about reductions in federal R&D funding have been exacerbated by increases in the R&D investments of other […]
The National Security Agency is proposing to expand and modernize its headquarters site at Fort Meade, Maryland. “For NSA/CSS to continue leading the Intelligence Community into the next 50 years with state-of-the-art technologies and productivity, its mission elements require new, centralized facilities and infrastructure,” according to a newly released Final Environmental Impact Statement for the […]
A new report from the Congressional Research Service examines the judicial record of U.S. Supreme Court nominee Judge Neil M. Gorsuch in advance of his Senate confirmation hearing. “The report begins by discussing the nominee’s views on two cross-cutting issues — the role of the judiciary and statutory interpretation. It then addresses fourteen separate areas […]
The Central Intelligence Agency formally asserted the state secrets privilege this week in order to prevent disclosure of seven categories of information concerning its post-9/11 interrogation program, and to prevent the deposition of three CIA officers concerning the program. The move was first reported in the New York Times (“State Secrets Privilege Invoked to Block […]
“The recent announcement by U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions that he would recuse himself from any investigations into President Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign has raised questions about how often recusals by the Attorney General have happened in the past.” “While there is no official compilation of recusals, it appears that Attorneys General of the […]
Updated below The National Declassification Center has completed declassification review of more than half of the classified files from the U.S. Embassy in Djakarta, Indonesia from the turbulent years of 1963-1966. The remainder of the task is expected to be completed by this summer. So far, 21 of 37 boxes of classified Djakarta Embassy files […]