2012 Nuclear Security Summit,secret drone technology, nuclear limbo and much more.

2012 Nuclear Security Summit

• Listen to the new edition of the FAS podcast series, “A Conversation With An Expert,”  featuring FAS President Dr. Charles Ferguson. In this podcast, Dr. Ferguson discusses the goals of the upcoming Nuclear Security Summit in Seoul, securing fissile materials, and nuclear terrorism.

• Visit our 2012 Nuclear Security Summit policy page on our website which highlights FAS work and resources on nuclear security, fissile materials and much more.

• FAS President Dr. Charles Ferguson examines the national and international efforts to control and secure radioactive materials, and offers suggestions on how to reduce the risk of radiological terrorism in a new paper published by the US-Korea Institute at SAIS. 

From the Blogs

• GAO Expands Oversight of Intelligence: The Government Accountability Office has overcome longstanding opposition to its role in intelligence oversight, and has been conducting several projects involving oversight of intelligence agencies.  Steven Aftergood writes that a classified GAO review of FBI counterterrorism programs has been completed (the public version is expected to be released Spring 2012), and a GAO investigation of the role of contractors in intelligence is in progress.

• Nozette Was Manipulated by FBI, his Attorneys Say: In a lengthy rebuttal to a pre-sentencing memo filed by the U.S. government last week, attorneys for scientist Stewart Nozette (who pleaded guilty to attempted espionage and was sentenced to 13 years in prison this week) said that  he never committed espionage and he would never have considered the possibility if he had not been “manipulated and exploited” by FBI agents.

• What the Public Doesn’t Know: Dr. Y writes on the ScienceWonk Blog that we live in a society that depends on radiation and radioactivity, and that our society is better for using them.

• Secret Drone Technology Barred by “Political Conditions”: A certain technology that could extend the mission duration and capabilities of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) was favorably assessed last year by scientists at Sandia National Laboratories and Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation.  But they concluded regretfully that “current political conditions will not allow use of the results.”

• Nuclear Limbo: Dr. Y writes that we are in a state of limbo in regards to nuclear energy use- it is not really thriving, nor is it really dead. So why is it that nuclear energy’s proponents can’t quite get it revived while its opponents can’t quite land the death blow?

• Agency Use of New Media, and More from CRS: Secrecy News has obtained recently released CRS reports on topics such as Russia’s 2012 presidential election, the use of new media and Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) between the United States and Afganistan.

​Events

• Hans Kristensen, director of the Nuclear Information Project, spoke at a briefing at American University in Washington, DC on March 21, 2012 regarding the use of commercial satellite imagery to increase transparency of nuclear forces.

​FAS in the News

• Mar 23: New Scientist, “Syrian Uprising Raises Fears Over Chemical Weapons”
• Mar 22: Politico, “Atomic Eye in the Sky for Spy-In-Chief?”
• Mar 22: Gizmodo, “The Secret Nuclear Drone Tech the U.S. Government Hid”
• Mar 22: McClatchy News, “Army Tried to Delete Bales From Web After Arrest”
• Mar 22: Kansas City Star, “After Bales’ Arrest, Military Tried to Delete Him From Web”
• Mar 19: Fox News, “U.S. Government Spent At Least $945M on Advertising in 2010″
• Mar 19: Federal Computer Week, “Social Media Challenges Federal Oversight of Agency Communications”