Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse: “While terrorism prosecutions involving extremists affiliated with ISIS grab the headlines, international terrorists make up only a small proportion of all terrorism prosecutions that take place each year in the United States. The latest available data from the Justice Department show that during the first eleven months of FY 2017 less… Continue Reading
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Category Archives: Defense
CRS – Domestic Terrorism: An Overview
Domestic Terrorism: An Overview, Jerome P. Bjelopera, Specialist in Organized Crime and Terrorism. August 21, 2017. “The emphasis of counterterrorism policy in the United States since Al Qaeda’s attacks of September 11, 2001 (9/11) has been on jihadist terrorism. However, in the last decade, domestic terrorists—people who commit crimes within the homeland and draw inspiration… Continue Reading
NYT – How the Kremlin built one of the most powerful information weapons of the 21st century
RT, Sputnik and Russia’s New Theory of War How the Kremlin built one of the most powerful information weapons of the 21st century — and why it may be impossible to stop. Jim Rutenberg. September 13, 2017. “…After RT [Russia’s state-financed international cable network] and Sputnik gave platforms to politicians behind the British vote to… Continue Reading
FAS – Senate Intelligence Authorization Report Filed
Steven Aftergood – Secrecy News/FAS: “Do the security clearance procedures that are used for granting access to classified information actually serve their intended purpose? To help answer that question, the Senate Intelligence Committee mandated a review of security clearance requirements, including “their collective utility in anticipating future insider threats.” See the Committee’s new report on… Continue Reading
Interactive web visualization of information about capabilities consequences of missile launches
“MISSILEMAP is an interactive web visualization meant to aid in the understanding of information about the capabilities and consequences of missile launches, in particular nuclear-armed ballistic missiles. It allows for the graphical representation of ranges, great-circle paths, accuracy (Circular Error Probable), blast damage, and probabilities of kill (the chance that a given weapon will put… Continue Reading
CRS Report – Domestic Terrorism: An Overview
Via FAS – Domestic Terrorism: An Overview, Jerome P. Bjelopera, Specialist in Organized Crime and Terrorism. August 21, 2017. “The emphasis of counter terrorism policy in the United States since Al Qaeda’s attacks of September 11, 2001 (9/11) has been on jihadist terrorism. However, in the last decade, domestic terrorists—people who commit crimes within the… Continue Reading
CRS Report – Russia: Background and U.S.
Russia: Background and U.S. Policy, Cory Welt, Analyst in European Affairs, August 21, 2017. “Over the last five years, Congress and the executive branch have closely monitored and responded to new developments in Russian policy. These developments include the following: increasingly authoritarian governance since Vladimir Putin’s return to the presidential post in 2012; Russia’s 2014… Continue Reading
President’s National Infrastructure Advisory Council Report – Securing Cyber Assets
President’s National Infrastructure Advisory Council (NIAC) Report – Securing Cyber Assets – Addressing Urgent Cyber Threats to Critical Infrastructure, August 2017. “Executive Summary: Imperative Takeaways – Our review of hundreds of studies and interviews with 38 cyber and industry experts revealed an echo chamber, loudly reverberating what needs to be done to secure critical U.S.… Continue Reading
US Role in the World: Background and Issues for Congress
CRS report via FAS – U.S. Role in the World: Background and Issues for Congress. Ronald O’Rourke, Specialist in Naval Affairs; Michael Moodie, Assistant Director and Senior Specialist in Foreign, Affairs, Defense and Trade. August 17, 2017. “The overall U.S. role in the world since the end of World War II in 1945 (i.e., over… Continue Reading
The Patterns in Global Terrorism: 1970-2016
The Patterns in Global Terrorism: 1970-2016, by Anthony Cordesman, August 14, 2017 – “Terrorism has become one of the dominating national security threats of the 21st century. It is also one of the most complex — mixing the actions of states, extremists, and other non-state actors in a wide range of threats and types of… Continue Reading
Nuclear Threat Initiative Report on North Korea
“Nuclear Threat Initiative is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization working to reduce global threats from nuclear, chemical and biological weapons.” Last Updated: July, 2017 [Except as follows with the full report here] “The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) has an active nuclear weapons program and tested nuclear explosive devices in 2006, 2009, 2013, and twice… Continue Reading
GAO Report on increasing deployment of DOD biometrics and forensics
DOD Biometrics and Forensics: Progress Made in Establishing Long-term Deployable Capabilities, but Further Actions Are Needed, GAO-17-580: Published: Aug 7, 2017. Publicly Released: Aug 7, 2017. “The Department of Defense (DOD) has validated its requirements for long-term deployable biometric capabilities (such as fingerprint collection devices) and forensic capabilities (such as expeditionary laboratories). Biometric capabilities are… Continue Reading
