“This report, mandated by Executive Order 13526, covers implementation by Government agencies’ of the security classification program and the Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) program. The report calls for fuller implementation of the CUI program, and provides recommendations to aid in modernizing the security classification system, which has an estimated annual cost to Government of over $18.39 billion. It calls for… Continue Reading
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Category Archives: Defense
New books – Wars of None: AI, Big Data, and the Future of Insurgency
Lawfare: “…The definitive work on emerging technology and insurgency has yet be written, but two recent books offer suggestions for how the era of big data and AI will affect the United States’ modern conflicts. Small Wars, Big Data: The Information Revolution in Modern Conflict, by Eli Berman, Joseph Felter, and Jacob Shapiro, offers few… Continue Reading
The Facts – DHS Data – Illegal border crossings small share of otherwise legal entries
Washington Post: “President Trump this weekend lamented what he characterized as an invasion of undocumented immigrants that is “very unfair to all of those people who have gone through the system legally and are waiting on line for years.” But illegal border crossings represent a relatively small share of the number of people who enter… Continue Reading
This Is What a Nuclear Bomb Looks Like
New York Magazine: “A ten-kiloton bomb would be seven feet long and weigh about 1,000 pounds. It would be simple to transport such a device aboard a container ship, just another unseen object in a giant metal box among millions of other metal boxes on the ocean. A moderate amount of shielding would be enough… Continue Reading
Joint Chiefs of Staff – Permanent global cyberspace superiority is not possible
Steven Aftergood – Secrecy News Blog: “Military planners should not anticipate that the United States will ever dominate cyberspace, the Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a new doctrinal publication. The kind of supremacy that might be achievable in other domains is not a realistic option in cyber operations. “Permanent global cyberspace superiority is not… Continue Reading
Even soldiers who fight wars from a safe distance have found themselves traumatized. Could their injuries be moral ones?
The New York Times – The Wounds of the Drone Warrior – “…It has been almost 16 years since a missile fired from a drone struck a Toyota Land Cruiser in northwest Yemen, killing all six of its passengers and inaugurating a new era in American warfare. Today, targeted killings by drones have become the centerpiece… Continue Reading
The June 12 Trump-Kim Jong-un Summit
Via EveryCRSReport.com: The June 12 Trump-Kim Jong-un Summit – June 12, 2018 “On June 12, 2018, President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un met in Singapore to discuss North Korea’s nuclear program, building a peace regime on the Korean Peninsula, and the future of U.S. relations with North Korea (known officially as the… Continue Reading
Preparing Libraries for Nuclear War
JSTOR: “During the Cold War, America’s libraries helped patrons prepare for nuclear war, from stocking reference materials to providing fallout shelters: “From seemingly useless under-desk drills to legit bunkers, the general public was prepared for nuclear war during the Cold War. But what about libraries? Reference librarian Brett Spencer examines how libraries and librarians braced for… Continue Reading
U.S. Department of State Personnel: Background and Selected Issues for Congress
CRS report via FAS – U.S. Department of State Personnel: Background and Selected Issues for Congress. Cory R. Gill, Analyst in Foreign Affairs. May 18, 2018. “Shortly after his confirmation as Secretary of State in April 2018, Secretary Mike Pompeo lifted the hiring freeze that former Secretary Rex Tillerson left in place for over a… Continue Reading
AP – US expects fallout from Snowden leaks for years to come
AP: “National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden blew the lid off U.S. government surveillance methods five years ago, but intelligence chiefs complain that revelations from the trove of classified documents he disclosed are still trickling out. That includes recent reporting on a mass surveillance program run by close U.S. ally Japan and on how the… Continue Reading
INTERPOL information database inquiries jump 200 percent
Homeland Preparedness News: “Use of the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) global databases has been on the rise in recent years amid growing threats of terrorist attacks in Europe, with inquiries to stolen and lost travel documents data increasing by more than 200 percent since 2014. Delegates recently met at the 48th INTERPOL European Regional… Continue Reading
Withdrawal from International Agreements: Legal Framework, the Paris Agreement, and the Iran Nuclear Agreement
CNN – President Trump announced on May 8 2018 that the US is withdrawing from the Iran Nuclear Deal – Signs Presidential Memorandum to reinstate economic sanctions – and via EveryCRSReport.com – Withdrawal from International Agreements: Legal Framework, the Paris Agreement, and the Iran Nuclear Agreement, May 8, 2018: “The legal procedure through which the… Continue Reading
