News release: “Today, the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI), under the direction of Chairman Devin Nunes (R-CA) and Ranking Member Adam Schiff (D-CA), approved publication of a newly declassified section of the 2002 Joint Congressional Inquiry into Intelligence Community Activities Before and After the Terrorist Attacks of September 11, 2001. Following a declassification… Continue Reading
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Category Archives: Defense
2015 Annual Report on Security Clearance Determinations
NATIONAL COUNTERINTELLIGENCE AND SECURITY CENTER – OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE. 2015 Annual Report on Security Clearance Determinations, Unclassified. June 28, 2016. “This 2015 annual security clearance determinations report provides the current state of government security clearances. The report is divided into two sections, Security Clearance Volume for the Entire Federal Government and… Continue Reading
Defense Weather Satellites: DOD Faces Acquisition Challenges for Addressing Capability Needs
Defense Weather Satellites: DOD Faces Acquisition Challenges for Addressing Capability Needs, GAO-16-769T: Published: Jul 7, 2016. Publicly Released: Jul 7, 2016. “GAO found in March 2016 that the Department of Defense (DOD), in conducting a requirements review and Analysis of Alternatives (AOA) from 2012 to 2014, generally performed a thorough review for identifying capability gaps… Continue Reading
VA Conducts Nation’s Largest Analysis of Veteran Suicide
News release: “The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has undertaken the most comprehensive analysis of Veteran suicide rates in the U.S., examining over 55 million Veteran records from 1979 to 2014 from every state in the nation. The effort extends VA’s knowledge from the previous report issued in 2010, which examined three million Veteran records… Continue Reading
Commission on Care Final Report
“In Section 202 of the Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act of 2014, Congress established the Commission on Care, charging it to examine veterans’ access to Department of Veterans Affairs health care and to examine strategically how best to organize the Veterans Health Administration, locate health resources, and deliver health care to veterans during the next… Continue Reading
The Report of the Iraq Inquiry – UK
The Report of the Iraq Inquiry [The Chilcot Enquiry] was published on 6 July 2016 (the site includes a search engine). Sir John Chilcot’s (Chair of the Inquiry) public statement can be read here. It states: “We were appointed to consider the UK’s policy on Iraq from 2001 to 2009, and to identify lessons for… Continue Reading
GAO Reports – Defense Contracting, FDIC Information Security, IRS Information Technology
Defense Contracting: Complete Historical Data Not Available on Canceled DOD Solicitations, GAO-16-502R: Published: Jun 29, 2016. Publicly Released: Jun 29, 2016. Information Security: FDIC Implemented Controls over Financial Systems, but Further Improvements are Needed, GAO-16-605: Published: Jun 29, 2016. Publicly Released: Jun 29, 2016. Information Technology: IRS Needs to Improve Its Processes for Prioritizing and… Continue Reading
GAO Reports – Casualty Assistance, Defense Civil Support, Human Trafficking
Casualty Assistance: DOD and the Coast Guard Need to Develop Policies and Outreach Goals and Metrics for Program Supporting Servicemembers’ Survivors, GAO-16-569 Published: Jun 28, 2016. Publicly Released: Jun 28, 2016. Defense Civil Support: DOD Has Made Progress Incorporating the Homeland Response Force into the Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear Response Enterprise, GAO-16-599: Published: Jun… Continue Reading
The European Union: Current Challenges and Future Prospects, updated June 21, 2016 (pre-Brexit)
The European Union: Current Challenges and Future Prospects – Kristin Archick. Specialist in European Affairs. June 21, 2016. “The European Union (EU) is a unique partnership in which member states have pooled sovereignty in certain policy areas and harmonized laws on a wide range of economic, social, and political issues. The EU is the latest… Continue Reading
Democrats Issue Benghazi Report and Release Interview Transcripts
News release: “Today, the Democratic Members of the Select Committee on Benghazi issued a 339-page report entitled, “Honoring Courage, Improving Security, and Fighting the Political Exploitation of a Tragedy.” Democrats also released all of the unclassified interview transcripts in their possession so the American people can read them for themselves….” Continue Reading
Agreement on Export Controls for Conventional Arms and Dual-Use Goods and Technologies
“The Wassenaar Arrangement has been established in order to contribute to regional and international security and stability, by promoting transparency and greater responsibility in transfers of conventional arms and dual-use goods and technologies, thus preventing destabilising accumulations. The aim is also to prevent the acquisition of these items by terrorists. Participating States seek, through their… Continue Reading
The Islamic State’s Acolytes and the Challenges They Pose to U.S. Law Enforcement
The Islamic State’s Acolytes and the Challenges They Pose to U.S. Law Enforcement. Jerome P. Bjelopera, Specialist in Organized Crime and Terrorism. June 13, 2016. “Analysis of publicly available information on homegrown violent jihadist activity in the United States since September 11, 2001, suggests that the Islamic State (IS) and its acolytes may pose broad… Continue Reading
