New START data, Supreme Court ruling on FISA, India’s SSBN and much more. From the Blogs Fusion Centers Flayed in Senate Report: Steven Aftergood writes that the state and local fusion centers supported by the Department of Homeland Security have produced little intelligence of value and have generated new concerns involving waste and abuse, according [...]
U.S.-NZ relations, new DNI directives, declassification at Department of Energy and much more. From the Blogs In 1962, Kennedy was Urged to Take “Drastic Action” Against Leakers: Fifty years ago, the President’s Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board (PFIAB) urged President John F. Kennedy to take “drastic action” against whoever had leaked classified intelligence information to a [...]
Nonstrategic nuclear weapons, surveillance of journalists, building a new foundation with Yemen and much more. From the Blogs Declassification Declassified- PRC and the W88 Warhead: In 2006, the Department of Energy formally declassified the already widely publicized fact “That the People’s Republic of China obtained some Restricted Data information on the W88 [nuclear] warhead, and [...]
Summer issue of the PIR, nuclear energy debate, legality of targeted killing of terrorists and much more. Up for Debate: Nuclear Energy in the United States The U.S. nuclear power industry currently generates about 20 percent of the nation’s electricity. While nuclear plants generate more than half the electricity in six states, the nuclear power [...]
Thorium reactors, new CRS reports, DoD security policy and much more. From the Blogs Greater Autonomy for Unmanned Military Systems Urged: The Department of Defense should focus on increasing the autonomy of drones and other unmanned military systems, a new report from the Defense Science Board said. “Autonomy” in this context does not mean “computers [...]
Crisis in Syria, illicit weapons in war zones, nuclear targeting guidance and much more. Crisis in Syria Syria has one of the most sophisticated chemical weapons programs in the world, and is suspected to have an active biological weapons program. Additionally, there are reports that Syrian rebels have acquired MANPADS, which are surface-to-air missiles fired [...]
STRATCOM Commander rejects high estimates of China’s nuclear arsenal, security of dangerous materials, and much more. From the Blogs STRATCOM Commander Rejects High Estimates for Chinese Nuclear Arsenal: The commander of U.S. Strategic Command (STRATCOM), General Kehler, has rejected claims that China’s nuclear arsenal is much larger than commonly believed. His statement comes at an [...]
Case dismissed based on state secret privilege, Bio agents app, new CRS reports and much more. From the Blogs Court Dismisses Case Based on State Secrets Privilege: On August 14, a federal court dismissed a lawsuit which alleged that the Federal Bureau of Investigation had engaged in unlawful surveillance of Muslim residents of southern California. [...]
Congress resists efforts to reduce secrecy, U.S. strategy in Yemen, new CRS reports and much more. From the Blogs Justice Department Silent on IG Role in State Secrets Cases: The Department of Justice told Congress recently that it would not disclose the number of state secrets cases involving alleged government misconduct, if any, that have [...]
Cost of B-61 life extension program, nuclear Japan, new report on U.S. transitional housing and much more. From the Blogs U.S. “Secretly” Circumvents Somalia Arms Embargo: In apparent violation of an arms embargo on Somalia that it helped to impose 20 years ago, the United States is providing clandestine military support to Somali security services [...]