Iraq and Afghanistan Reconstruction reports

Newly released reports of interest on the reconstuction efforts in Afghanistan and Iraq --

Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR)
Quarterly Report to Congress [January 2009]

Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR)
Quarterly Report to Congress [January 2009]

Planning Guidance for Response to a Nuclear Detonation

Planning Guidance for Response to a Nuclear Detonation: First Edition

The Homeland Security Council has just published the first edition of its planning guidance for responding to a nuclear detonation in the United States. The HSC is a Federal interagency committee with representation from the Executive Office of the President (homeland Security Council and Office of Science and Technology Policy), the Departments of Defense, Energy, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Transportation, Veteran’s Affairs, the Environmental Protection Agency, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

According to the document, “The purpose of this guidance is to provide emergency planners with nuclear detonation-specific response recommendations to maximize the preservation of life in the event of an urban nuclear detonation. This guidance addresses the unique effects and impacts of a nuclear detonation such as scale of destruction, shelter and evacuation strategies, unparalleled medical demands, management of nuclear casualties, and radiation dose management concepts.”

DoD Releases 2009 Quadrennial Roles and Missions Review

DOD just released the 2009 Quadrennial Roles and Missions Review (QRM) Report to Congress.

Information about it from the press release --
http://www.defenselink.mil/releases/release.aspx?releaseid=12470

The Department of Defense released today the 2009 Quadrennial Roles and Missions Review (QRM) Report to Congress in accordance with the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008. Although the department has completed similar reviews in the past, this was the first review conducted with the intention of establishing a framework for performing roles and missions analysis on a recurring basis every four years.

Within the 2009 QRM review, the DoD defined its core missions and core competencies. In addition, the department reviewed recent efforts undertaken across the force to improve its ability to conduct joint operations in several evolving mission areas.

The department defined its core mission areas as "missions for which DoD is uniquely responsible, provides the preponderance of capabilities, or is the U.S. government lead as established by national policy." The DoD's core mission areas are: homeland defense and civilian support; deterrence operations; major combat operations; irregular warfare; military support to stabilization, security, transition and reconstruction operations; and military contribution to cooperative security.

In order to link DoD core mission areas with its capabilities development processes, the department identified nine core
competencies: force application; command and control; battlespace awareness; net centric; building partnerships; protection; logistics; force support; and corporate management and support.

The 2009 QRM review also describes how the department reviewed the rapidly-evolving roles, missions, and capabilities associated with irregular warfare, cyberspace operations, unmanned aircraft systems, and intratheater airlift. The report discusses ways the department is working to enhance operations in these areas, as well as opportunities to improve whole-of-government approaches to solving problems in today's complex security environment.

The department will continue initiatives to establish the right balance between winning today's wars while preventing tomorrow's conflicts.

Intelligence Community 500 day plan update

The Director of National Intelligence has released the latest status update for the IC 500 day plan. This latest update showing key accomplishments for the 500 Day Plan initiatives can be found at http://www.dni.gov/500-day-plan/400dayplan.pdf

Previous IC reports include:
United States Intelligence Community (IC) 100 Day Plan for INTEGRATION and COLLABORATION

United States Intelligence Community (IC) 100 Day Plan Follow Up Report

United States Intelligence Community 500 Day Plan for INTEGRATION and COLLABORATION

Friday's Miscellany 1-23-2009

American Institute for Contemporary German Studies (AICGS)
· Climate Change and Energy Security: Lessons Learned
· Religion and Public Policy: A German-American Comparison
· U.S. and European Banks: Two Sides of the Same Story?

Brookings Institution
· $25/Barrel Oil? Coming Up!
· A Case Study of Aid Effectiveness in Kenya: Volatility and Fragmentation of Foreign Aid, with a Focus on Health
· Does Openness To International Financial Flows Raise Productivity Growth?
· Europe, the United States, and Middle Eastern Democracy: Repairing the Breach
· Measuring the Cost of the TARP
· The Obama Orders: A Quick and Dirty Analysis
· President Obama's Plan to Close Guantánamo

Bureau of Justice Statistics
· Characteristics of Suspected Human Trafficking Incidents, 2007-08

Canadian Defence & Foreign Affairs Institute (CDFAI)
· Setting the Stage for the Obama Administration: The Players, the Program, and the Opportunities for Canada

Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
· China’s Fourth Quarter 2008 Statistical Record: Q&A Session
· Nuclear Security Spending: Assessing Costs, Examining Priorities
· Pointers for the Obama Administration in the Middle East: Avoiding Myths and Vain Hopes

Center for American Progress
· After Midnight: The Bush Legacy of Deregulation and What Obama Can Do
· Interactive Map: Recovery Beyond the Beltway: The Nationwide Allocation of $541 Billion · How to Close Guantánamo
· An Iraqi Refugee Story [video]
· Let's Get it Started: What President-Elect Obama Can Learn from Previous Administrations in Making Political Appointments
· Presidential Appointments by the Numbers

Center for New American Security (CNAS)
· Tell Me Why We’re There? Enduring Interests in Afghanistan (and Pakistan)

Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)
· Bolivia's Constitutional Vote: Implications for the Future
· A Cabinet-level Development Agency: Right Problem, Wrong Solution
· DIIG Current Issues No.4: European Defense Spending Outlook, 2009
· Enhancing Stabilization and Reconstruction Operations: A Report of the Global Dialogue Between the European Union and the United States
· Iranian Weapons of Mass Destruction: Strategic and Warfighting Implications of a Nuclear Armed Iran

Center for Technology and National Security Policy (CTNSP)
· Civilian Surge: Key to Complex Operations

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
· Public Health Preparedness: Strengthening CDC’s Emergency Response

Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Defense Information Analysis Center
CBRNIAC Newsletter, 2008, v. 9, no. 4.
· Homeland Defense / Civil Support Capabilities-Based Assessment Overview
· CDTF Provides Realistic Training for 93rd CST
· MRICD Scientist Retires After 58 Years of Service
· Exercise Readies First Units for NORTHCOM Assignment
· MRICD Scientist Appointed Editor of New Journal
· Force Health Protection & Readiness Launches CB Warfare Exposures Web Site
· U.S. Northern Command Gains Dedicated Response force
· Umatilla Completes VX Artillery Projectile Disposal Campaign
· History of Army Chemical and Biological Decontamination – Part II

Combating Terrorism Center
CTC Sentinel, January 2009, v. 2, no. 1
· “Al Qa`ida’s Five Aspects of Power” by The Combating Terrorism Center
· “A Case Study of the January 2008 Suicide Bomb Plot in Barcelona” by Fernando Reinares
· “A Holistic Critique of Singapore’s Counter-Ideological Program” by Kumar Ramakrishna
· “Shifting Trends in Suicide Attacks” by Assaf Moghadam
· “The Future of Moqtada al-Sadr’s New Jaysh al-Mahdi” by Babak Rahimi
· “Reconsidering the Role of Militias in Iraq” by Major James J. Smith, U.S. Army
· “The Pakistan Army and its Role in FATA” by Shuja Nawaz
· “Iraq’s Border Security: Key to an Iraqi Endstate” by Lieutenant Colonel Steven Oluic, U.S. Army

Council on Foreign Relations (CFR)
· Inevitable' that U.S. Will Have to Deal with Hamas
· Obama May Face 'Rebuff' from Europe on Military Step-Up in Afghanistan
· President Obama and the World
· Russian-American Relations Symposium: Session Three: The Future of Russian-American Relations (Video)
· Searching for an Afghan Strategy

Department of Defense Joint Chiefs of Staff
· Capstone Concept for Joint Operations" [ver. 3.0 19 January 2009]

Department of Energy Electricity Advisory Committee
· Bottling Electricity: Storage as a Strategic Tool for Managing Variability and Capacity Concerns in the Modern Grid
· Keeping the Lights on in a New World
· Smart Grid: Enabler of the new Energy Economy

Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
· Action Directives [critical infrastructure protection; risk analysis; state and local intelligence sharing; transportation security; and state, local, and tribal integration]
· Action Directives on Cyber Security and Northern Border Strategy

Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI)
· INAUGURAL SECURITY: Behind the Scenes
o Story
o Video

Government Accountability Office (GAO)
· Bankruptcy: Judiciary Should Take Further Steps to Make Bankruptcy Data More Accessible GAO-09-28
· Federal User Fees: Additional Analyses and Timely Reviews Could Improve Immigration and Naturalization User Fee Design and USCIS Operations GAO-09-180
· Financial Regulation: A Framework for Crafting and Assessing Proposals to Modernize the Outdated U.S. Financial Regulatory System GAO-09-314T
· High-Risk Series: An Update GAO-09-271
· Immigration Application Fees: Costing Methodology Improvements Would Provide More Reliable Basis for Setting Fees GAO-09-70
· Natural Hazard Mitigation and Insurance: The United States and Selected Countries Have Similar Natural Hazard Mitigation Policies but Different Insurance Approaches GAO-09-188R · Real Property: Infrastructure Investment Presents Opportunities to Address Long-standing Real Property Backlogs and Reduce Energy Consumption GAO-09-324T
· VA Health Care: Long-Term Care Strategic Planning and Budgeting Need Improvement GAO-09-145

Heritage Foundation
· Can the ILO Be Saved from Itself?
· Holding Terrorists Accountable: A Lawful Detainment Framework for the Long War
· President Obama's Inaugural Speech: Tough Road Ahead for U.S. Foreign Policy
· Time for a New International Game Plan
· The Truth About China's Growth

Human Rights Watch
· Crisis Without Limits: Human Rights and Humanitarian Consequences of Political Repression in Zimbabwe
· On the Margins: Rights Abuses of Ethnic Khmer in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta
· Up in Flames: Humanitarian Law Violations and Civilian Victims in the Conflict over South Ossetia
· Will Lobbyists Turn the Stimulus Package Into a Festival of Fiscal Greed?

Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS)
· Nuclear Iran: Not Inevitable

Institute for Security Studies (ISS)
· Kenya – A Year after the Crisis: The Quest for Electoral Reform and Transitional Justice

International Crisis Group
· Local Election Disputes in Indonesia: The Case of North Maluku

International Relations and Security Network
· Chavez's Year of Reckoning
· Costs of War: The Security Blanket
· Gas Game: Losers All Around
· Rioting Eastern Europe
· Russia: Xenophobia on the Rise
· Turkey: Coup Investigation Raises Tensions

Investigative Project on Terrorism
· Terrorism Financing Roots and Trends of Saudi Terrorism Financing

Jamestown Foundation
China Brief, January 22, 2009 Volume 9 Issue 2
· CCP Provincial Committees' Reports Highlight Growing Wealth and Urban-Rural Inequality
· Chinese State Media Goes Global: A Great Leap Outward for Chinese Soft Power?
· Commodity Flux and China’s Africa Strategy
· Recent Trends in Russo-Chinese Military Relations
· New Advances in PLA Battlefield Aerospace and ISR
Terrorism Focus January 23, 2009 Volume 7 Issue 2
· UK Trial Exposes al-Qaeda Terrorist Network with Connections to Pakistan
· Turkey Addresses PKK Challenge after Iraq Reaches Status of Forces Agreement with United States
· Colombia’s FARC and the Basque ETA: Exploring the Tactical and Economic Partnership
· Upcoming Changes to the Drug-Insurgency Nexus in Afghanistan

Lexington Institute
· Climate-Change Initiatives Must Be Affordable
· Navy Needs to Stick with Its Unmanned Combat Aircraft

National Defense University
· Joint Force Quarterly (JFQ) 1st Quarter 2009, no. 52
o An Interview with General George W. Casey By David H. Gurney
o Let’s Win the Wars We’re In By John A. Nagl
o Let’s Build an Army to Win All Wars By Gian P. Gentile
o Hybrid Warfare and Challenges By Frank G. Hoffman
o Systems versus Classical Approach to Warfare By Milan N. Vego
o Mobile Nuclear Power for Future Land Combat By Marvin Baker Schaffer and Ike Chang
o Teaching Strategy in the 21st Century By Gabriel Marcella and Stephen O. Fought
o “Military-Political” Relations: The Need for Officer Education By Derek S. Reveron and Kathleen A. Mahoney-Norris
o A Strategic Asset for Engagement: Enhancing the Role of National Defense University By Keith D. Dickson
o Irregular Warfare Lessons Learned: Reforming the Afghan National Police By Lewis G. Irwin
o Effects-based Operations: Combat Proven By Paul M. Carpenter and William F. Andrews
o EBO: There Was No Baby in the Bathwater By Paul K. Van Riper
o Victory—From the Prism of Jihadi Culture By Jeffrey B. Cozzens
o Death of the Combatant Command? Toward a Joint Interagency Approach By Jeffrey Buchanan, Maxie Y. Davis, and Lee T. Wight
o Irregular Warfare Is Warfare By Kenneth C. Coons, Jr., and Glenn M. Harned
o Wired for War? Robots and Military Doctrine By P.W. Singer
o Chinese Disaster Relief Operations: Identifying Critical Capability Gaps By Nirav Patel
o China-Africa Relations in the 21st Century By Jennifer L. Parenti
o Shoulder to Shoulder: The Marine Corps and Air Force in Combat By Daniel J. Darnell and George J. Trautman III
o Inside the Detention Camps: A New Campaign in Iraq By Mason Brooks and Drew Miller
o "Operationalizing” Legal Requirements for Unconventional Warfare By James P. Terry
o Reconstructing Iraq’s Provinces, One by One By Henry L. Clarke
o Why USAFRICOM? By Edward Marks
o U.S. Africa Command: Value Added By Mary C. Yates
· From Sputnik to Minerva: Education and American National Security
· Meeting Complex Challenges Through National Security Reform

National Priorities Project (NPP)
· Military Recruitment 2008: Significant Gap in Army's Quality and Quantity Goals

National Security Archive
· Cuba and the U.S.: Road Map on Efforts to Improve Relations Revealed in Declassified Documents
· President Obama Embraces Openness on Day One
· U.S. Nuclear Detection and Counterterrorism, 1998-2009

Peterson Institute for International Economics
· Did Reagan Rule In Vain? A Closer Look at True Expenditure Levels in the United States and Europe
· Structuring a Green Recovery: Evaluating Policy Options for an Economic Stimulus Package

RAND
· Foundation for Integrating Employee Health Activities for Active Duty Personnel in the Department of Defense
· Police-Community Relations in Cincinnati
· Unfolding the Future of the Long War: Motivations, Prospects, and Implications for the U.S. Army

Stanley Foundation
· The Responsibility to Protect and Foreign Policy in the Next Administration

Task Force on New Americans
· Building an Americanization Movement for the Twenty-First Century

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
· Public Oversight of the Security Sector: A Handbook for Civil Society Organizations

United States Institute of Peace (USIP)
· Dr. Ali Al-Dabbagh's Iraq-based Formula for Regional Cooperation
· Islamic Peacemaking Since 9/11
· Recruitment of Rule of Law Specialists for the Civilian Response Corps

Washington Institute for Near East Policy
· The Iran-al-Qaeda Conundrum
· Jordan's Intelligence Chief Sacked: New Policy Toward Hamas?
· Saudi Leadership Crisis Looms: Health of Crown Prince Falters

White House
· Bush White House Archives
· Agenda - all issues
· Agenda - American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan
· Agenda - Defense
· Agenda - Energy and the Environment
· Agenda - Homeland Security
· Executive Order -- Ensuring Lawful Interrogations
· Executive Order -- Review and Disposition of Individuals Detained at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base and Closure of Detention Facilities
· Executive Order -- Review of Detention Policy Options
· Inaugural Address by President Barack Hussein Obama

White House Office of National Drug Control Policy
· Making the Drug Problem Smaller, 2001-2008
· National Drug Control Strategy: 2009 Annual Report

2008 Military Recruitment Analysis

The National Priorities Project (NPP) has published its finding indicating a gap in the Army's 2008 quality and quanity goals. Their report Military Recruitment 2008: Significant Gap in Army's Quality and Quantity Goals looks at issues such as: Educational Attainment, quality, recruitment rates and more.

The tables are:
Table 1: Educational Attainment, FY 2008
Table 2: High Quality, FY 2008
Table 3: Active-duty Army Recruits per 1000 Youth, by Region, FY 2005-2008
Table 4: Active-duty Army Recruits Per Thousand Youth by State, FY 2008
Table 5: Active-duty Army Recruits: Top 100 Counties, FY 2008
Table 6: Active-duty Army Recruits: Top 100 Counties by Recruitment Rate, FY 2008

Capstone Concept for Joint Operations

The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, ADM Mullen, has signed off on and released the latest version of the "Capstone Concept for Joint Operations" [ver. 3.0 19 January 2009].

The press release is available and indicates this is the first update since August 2005

"The capstone concept details the main security challenges facing the joint force: winning the nation’s wars, deterring adversaries, developing cooperative security, defending the homeland and responding to civil crises."

Peanut Butter Recall Database

If you are peanut butter fan and are worried about which products are safe and which aren't - try this site from the CDC. You can search it, browse by peanut butter product or view by brand or product -- Peanut Butter Product Recalls

Obama Inaugural address

The Obama Inaugural address and video are available at http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/inaugural-address/

Inaugural Address
By President Barack Hussein Obama

My fellow citizens: I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you've bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors.
I thank President Bush for his service to our nation -- (applause) -- as well as the generosity and cooperation he has shown throughout this transition.
Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath. The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace. Yet, every so often, the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms. At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because we, the people, have remained faithful to the ideals of our forebears and true to our founding documents.
So it has been; so it must be with this generation of Americans.
That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood. Our nation is at war against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age. Homes have been lost, jobs shed, businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly, our schools fail too many -- and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.
These are the indicators of crisis, subject to data and statistics. Less measurable, but no less profound, is a sapping of confidence across our land; a nagging fear that America's decline is inevitable, that the next generation must lower its sights.
Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this America: They will be met. (Applause.)
On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord. On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn-out dogmas that for far too long have strangled our politics. We remain a young nation. But in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness. (Applause.)
In reaffirming the greatness of our nation we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of short-cuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the faint-hearted, for those that prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things -- some celebrated, but more often men and women obscure in their labor -- who have carried us up the long rugged path towards prosperity and freedom.
For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and traveled across oceans in search of a new life. For us, they toiled in sweatshops, and settled the West, endured the lash of the whip, and plowed the hard earth. For us, they fought and died in places like Concord and Gettysburg, Normandy and Khe Sahn.
Time and again these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were raw so that we might live a better life. They saw America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions, greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction.
This is the journey we continue today. We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on Earth. Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week, or last month, or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished. But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions -- that time has surely passed. Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America. (Applause.)
For everywhere we look, there is work to be done. The state of our economy calls for action, bold and swift. And we will act, not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth. We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together. We'll restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology's wonders to raise health care's quality and lower its cost. We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age. All this we can do. All this we will do.
Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions, who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short, for they have forgotten what this country has already done, what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage. What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them, that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply.
The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works -- whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified. Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end. And those of us who manage the public's dollars will be held to account, to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day, because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.
Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill. Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom is unmatched. But this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control. The nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous. The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our gross domestic product, but on the reach of our prosperity, on the ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart -- not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common good. (Applause.)
As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our Founding Fathers -- (applause) -- our Founding Fathers, faced with perils that we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man -- a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience sake. (Applause.)
And so, to all the other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born, know that America is a friend of each nation, and every man, woman and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity. And we are ready to lead once more. (Applause.)
Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with the sturdy alliances and enduring convictions. They understood that our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please. Instead they knew that our power grows through its prudent use; our security emanates from the justness of our cause, the force of our example, the tempering qualities of humility and restraint.
We are the keepers of this legacy. Guided by these principles once more we can meet those new threats that demand even greater effort, even greater cooperation and understanding between nations. We will begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people and forge a hard-earned peace in Afghanistan. With old friends and former foes, we'll work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat, and roll back the specter of a warming planet.
We will not apologize for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defense. And for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken -- you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you. (Applause.)
For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus, and non-believers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.
To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect. To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society's ills on the West, know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy. (Applause.)
To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history, but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist. (Applause.)
To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds. And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to the suffering outside our borders, nor can we consume the world's resources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it.
As we consider the role that unfolds before us, we remember with humble gratitude those brave Americans who at this very hour patrol far-off deserts and distant mountains. They have something to tell us, just as the fallen heroes who lie in Arlington whisper through the ages.
We honor them not only because they are the guardians of our liberty, but because they embody the spirit of service -- a willingness to find meaning in something greater than themselves.
And yet at this moment, a moment that will define a generation, it is precisely this spirit that must inhabit us all. For as much as government can do, and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies. It is the kindness to take in a stranger when the levees break, the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job which sees us through our darkest hours. It is the firefighter's courage to storm a stairway filled with smoke, but also a parent's willingness to nurture a child that finally decides our fate.
Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends -- honesty and hard work, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism -- these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history.
What is demanded, then, is a return to these truths. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility -- a recognition on the part of every American that we have duties to ourselves, our nation and the world; duties that we do not grudgingly accept, but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character than giving our all to a difficult task.
This is the price and the promise of citizenship. This is the source of our confidence -- the knowledge that God calls on us to shape an uncertain destiny. This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed, why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent mall; and why a man whose father less than 60 years ago might not have been served in a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath. (Applause.)
So let us mark this day with remembrance of who we are and how far we have traveled. In the year of America's birth, in the coldest of months, a small band of patriots huddled by dying campfires on the shores of an icy river. The capital was abandoned. The enemy was advancing. The snow was stained with blood. At the moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in doubt, the father of our nation ordered these words to be read to the people:
"Let it be told to the future world...that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive... that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet [it]."
America: In the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words. With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.
Thank you. God bless you. And God bless the United States of America. (Applause.)

Friday's Miscellany 1-16-2009

American Enterprise Institute
· International Health Policy in Africa: More Harm Than Good
· Turkish Dilemma

Amnesty International
· Thai Security Forces Systematically Torture in Southern Counter-Insurgency

Bread for the World Institute
· State of World Hunger 2009

Brookings Institution
· Afghanistan Index
· Iraq Index
· The Limits of U.S. Diplomacy in Kashmir
· Memo to the President: Reform Health Care
· Minorities, Displacement and Iraq's Future
· Obama’s Inaugural Address and U.S. Foreign Policy" Lessons from History
· Predicting Proliferation: The History of the Future of Nuclear Weapons
· Reversing the Decline: An Agenda for U.S.-Russian Relations in 2009
· The Role of African NHRIs in Protecting the Human Rights of IDPs
o English
o French

Canadian Defence & Foreign Affairs Institute (CDFAI)
· Canada-U.S. Relations in the Arctic: A Neighbourly Proposal

Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
· Avoiding Mutual Misunderstanding: Sino-U.S. Relations and the New Administration
· Nuclear Security Spending: Assessing Costs, Examining Priorities

Center for American Progress
· Let’s Get It Started (political appointments)
· Operation Safe Haven Iraq 2009: An Action Plan for Airlifting Endangered Iraqis Linked to the United States

Center for Defense Information (CDI)
· Afghanistan Update: December 2008 (Fact Sheets)
· ICBL Releases New Annual Landmine Report
· Mumbai Attacks Demonstrate Terrorist Reliance on Small Arms

Center for New American Security (CNAS)
· Remodeling the U.S. Government for Energy Security: Initial Findings from the Big Energy Map

Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)
· Comparative Connections v. 10, n. 4
· FATA--A Most Dangerous Place: Meeting the Challenge of Militancy and Terror in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan
· The Fighting in Gaza: How Does It End? (And, Will It?)
· Iranian Weapons of Mass Destruction: Doctrine, Policy and Command
· Winning in Afghanistan: Creating Effective Afghan Security Forces

Center for Trade Policy Studies
· "Shipping Jobs Overseas" or Reaching New Customers? Why Congress Should Not Tax Reinvested Earnings Abroad

Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
· Studies in Intelligence, December 2008, v. 52, no. 4
o Teaching Intelligence Analysts in the UK -- What Analysts Need to Understand: The King’s Intelligence Studies Program by Michael S. Goodman and David Omand
o Guardian Spies -- The US Coast Guard and OSS Maritime Operations During World War II by Michael Bennett

Century Foundation
· Guantánamo and Beyond: What to Do about Detentions, Trials, and the “Global War” Paradigm

Congress. House. Committee on the Judiciary [Majority Staff report]
· Reining in the Imperial Presidency: Lessons and Recommendations Relating to the Presidency of George W. Bush

Congress. House. Homeland Security Committee
· Getting Beyond Getting Ready for Pandemic Influenza

Congressional Budget Office (CBO)
· The Budget and Economic Outlook: Fiscal Years 2009 to 2019
· The Role of the 25 Percent Revenue Offset in Estimating the Budgetary Effects of Legislation
· The Troubled Asset Relief Program: Report on Transactions Through December 31, 2008
· Unauthorized Appropriations and Expiring Authorizations

Constitution Project
· Use and Abuse of Immigration Authority as a Counterterrorism Tool: Constitutional and Policy Considerations

Department of Defense
· Citizens’ Report Fiscal Year 2008
· Quarterly Report to Congress - Measuring Stability and Security in Iraq [December 2008]

Department of Defense Inspector General (DODIG)
· D-2009-042 Hiring Practices Used To Staff the Iraqi Provisional Authorities, January 16, 2009
· D-2009-041 Expeditionary Fire Support System and Internally Transportable Vehicle Programs, January 14, 2009
· D-2009-035 DoD IG Report to Congress on Section 357 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008, Review of Physical Security of DoD Installations, January 14, 2009

Department of Health & Human Services
· Assessment of States’ Operating Plans to Combat Pandemic Influenza

Department of Homeland Security
· Annual Performance Report for Fiscal Years 2008-2010
o Appendix A: Verification and Validation of Performance Measures
o Appendix B: Changes to Program Goals, Performance Measures, and Performance Targets
o Appendix C: Summary Findings of Program Evaluations

Department of Homeland Security Privacy Office
· CCTV: Developing Best Practices, Report on the DHS Privacy Office Public Workshop, December 17 and 18, 2007
· Interim Report on the EU Approach to the Commercial Collection of Personal Data for Security Purposes: The Special Case of Hotel Guest Registration Data, conducted pursuant to Section 222(b)(1)(B) of the Homeland Security Act, in order to enforce the provisions of Article 5 of the 2007 Passenger Name Records (PNR) Agreement. January 16, 2009
· Privacy Impact Assessment for the Correspondence Handling and Management Planning System (CHAMPS)
· Privacy Impact Assessment for the Department of Homeland Security Directory Services Electronic Mail System (DSES), January 14, 2009

Department of State
· Citizens’ Report Fiscal Year 2008

Department of State Inspector General
· Status of the Secretary of State's Panel on Personal Protection Services in Iraq Report Recommendations Report Number MERO-IQO-09-01 December 2008

FBI Biometric Center of Excellence
· State-of-the-Art Biometrics Excellence Roadmap (SABER)

Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI)
· Preliminary Semiannual Crime Statistics for 2008

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
· National Disaster Housing Strategy

Foreign Policy Research Institute (FPRI)
· Economic Policy for the Incoming Administration
· Gaza Conflict: Deterrence and the Other Missed Points
· Messages from Mumbai: Terrorism and Policy Implications
· Next-War-itis, This-War-itis, and the American Military
· New Policies and Old Realities in the Middle East

Government Accountability Office (GAO)
· Defense Infrastructure: Additional Information Is Needed to Better Explain the Proposed 100,000-Acre Expansion of the Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site GAO-09-171
· Defense Infrastructure: Army's Approach for Acquiring Land Is Not Guided by Up-to-Date Strategic Plan or Always Communicated Effectively GAO-09-32
· Defense Inventory: Army Needs to Evaluate Impact of Recent Actions to Improve Demand Forecasts for Spare Parts GAO-09-199
· Defense Logistics: Lack of Key Information May Impede DOD's Ability to Improve Supply Chain Management GAO-09-150
· Financial Regulation: A Framework for Crafting and Assessing Proposals to Modernize the Outdated U.S. Financial Regulatory System GAO-09-310T
· Health Information Technology: Federal Agencies' Experiences Demonstrate Challenges to Successful Implementation GAO-09-312T
· International Taxation: Large U.S. Corporations and Federal Contractors with Subsidiaries in Jurisdictions Listed as Tax Havens or Financial Privacy Jurisdictions. GAO-09-157

Henry L. Stimson Center
· The Indian Ocean: A Critical Arena for 21st Century Threats and Challenges

Henley-Putnam University
· Journal of Strategic Security, v. 1, no. 1, November 2008
o Dividing up Intelligence Education by Robert Clark
o Strategic Security as a New Academic Discipline by Sheldon Greaves
o ICWorld: An MMOG-Based Approach to Analysis by Kimberly Gill, David Rolston, Wyatt Wong and Robert Pietrusko
o Redefining Terrorism: Why Mexican Drug Trafficking is more than Just Organized Crime by Sylvia M. Longmire and John P. Longmire, IV
o Intelligence-Service Psychology: A German Perspective by Sven Max Litzcke and Helmut Muller-Enbergs
o Research Note: Using the ITERATE and DOTS Databases by Peter A. Flemming, Edward Mickolus and Todd Sandler

Heritage Foundation
· Contracting in Combat: Advice for the Commission on Wartime Contracting
· Iran and the Next Administration: Policy Challenges
· Key Questions for Susan E. Rice, Nominee for U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations
· Key Questions for Incoming Senior Department of Defense Nominees
· Reforms Needed for a More Effective United Nations: A Memo to President-elect Obama

Human Rights Watch
· World Report 2009: Events of 2008

Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS)
· Detecting the Barrage Approach to Illicit Procurement
· How Cooperation between a Company and Government Authorities Disrupted a Sophisticated Illicit Iranian Procurement
· Iranian Entities' Illicit Military Procurement Networks

Institute for Security Studies (ISS)
· Report of the PSC Retreat Facilitated by the ISS: Conclusions on a Mechanism for Interaction Between the PSC and Civil Society Organisations in the Promotion of Peace, Security and Stability in Africa
· A Societal Responsibility: The Role of Civil Society Organisations in Prisoner Support, Rehabilitation and Reintegration

International Crisis Group
· Engaging Syria? Lessons from the French Experience
· Liberia: Uneven Progress in Security Sector Reform
· Macedonia's Name: Breaking the Deadlock
· Uneven Progress in Security Sector Reform

Jamestown Foundation
· China Brief - January 12, 2009 Volume 9 Issue 1
o Hu Jintao's 'Six-Points' Proposition to Taiwan
o China Flaunts Growing Naval Capabilities
o China’s Gulf of Aden Expedition and Maritime Cooperation in East Asia
o Chinese Inroads in DR Congo: A Chinese "Marshall Plan" or Business?
o Future Prospects of China’s Policy on Climate Change
· Terrorism Focus - January 15, 2009 -- Volume 6, Issue 1
o Jihadis Urge Formation of a New Mujahideen Council to Avenge Israel’s Assault on Gaza
o Turkey Addresses PKK Challenge with Kurdish Language Reforms
o India’s Assam State Reels under New Year’s Terrorist Offensive
o Rocket Attacks from Lebanon Threaten Dangerous Escalation of Gaza War
· Terrorism Monitor - January 9, 2009 Volume 7 Issue
o India’s Sikh Militants Forming Ties with Lashkar-e-Taiba and Pakistani Intelligence
o NATO’s Khyber Lifeline
o Islamist Movements Recruiting in the West for the Somali Jihad
o The Changing Face of the Jihadist Movement in Libya

Lexington Institute
· Does The Defense Industry Need To Be Restructured?
· Missile Defense: The Boost-Phase Advantage

Lowry Institute for International Policy
· Obama's Inaugural Address and U.S. Foreign Policy: Lessons from History

Maritime Administration (MARAD)
· An Evaluation of Maritime Policy in Meeting the Commercial and Security Needs of the United States

Migration Policy Institute
· Immigrants and the Current Economic Crisis: Research Evidence, Policy challenges, and Implications · Immigration: Data Matters

National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC)
· Memorandum of Agreement Between the Attorney General and the Director of National Intelligence on Guidelines for Access, Retention, Use, and Dissemination by the National Counterterrorism Center of Terrorism Information Contained Within Datasets Identified as Including Non-Terrorism Information and Information Pertaining Exclusively to Domestic Terrorism

National Security Archive
· The Iranian Nuclear Program, 1974-1978
· The Nuclear Emergency Search Team, 1974-1996

Peterson Institute for International Economics
· A Report to the President-Elect and the 111th Congress from the Trade Policy Study Group

Pew Global Attitudes Project
· Before Israel’s Invasion, Hamas Popularity Was Waning Among Its Neighbors -- Even in Gaza Itself
· European Worries About Reliance on Russian Energy Were Already High

Pew Hispanic Center
· Hispanics and the New Administration: Immigration Slips as a Priority

Pew Research Center for the People & the Press
· Strong Confidence in Obama - Country Seen As Less Politically Divided: America's Pre-Inauguration Mood

Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism
· Media Shift from War to Washington

Progressive Policy Institute (PPI)
· Memos to the New President
· North Korea in 2008: Twilight of the God?

RAND
· Domestic Trends in the United States, China, and Iran: Implications for U.S. Navy Strategic Planning · Federal Financial Incentives to Induce Early Experience Producing Unconventional Liquid Fuels
· The Lessons of Mumbai
· Military Enlistment of Hispanic Youth: Obstacles and Opportunities
· A RAND Analysis Tool for Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance: The Collections Operations Model
· A Strategic Planning Approach: Defining Alternative Counterterrorism Strategies as an Illustration

Stanley Foundation
· The US and Rising Powers

Strategic Studies Institute (SSI)
· After Iraq: The Search for a Sustainable National Security Strategy

UK Parliament
· Defence Information Infrastructure

United States Institute of Peace (USIP)
· Disaster in the DRC: Responding to the Humanitarian Crisis in North Kivu
· The Future of Afghanistan
· Passing the Baton: Foreign Policy Challenges and Opportunities Facing the New Administration
· Telling the Story: Documentation Lessons for Afghanistan from the Cambodian Experience
· Toward the End of Poverty in Haiti

Washington Institute for Near East Policy
· The IDF in Gaza: Operational Concepts, Lines of Effort, and Effects
· Obama's Turkey Policy: European Democracy and NATO Benchmarks

White House
· Economic Report of the President, 2009

REPORT - National Disaster Housing Strategy

FEMA released it's the National Disaster Housing Strategy today.

The base report is available at http://www.fema.gov/pdf/media/2009/ndhs.pdf
and the Annexes are available at http://www.fema.gov/pdf/media/2009/annexes_consolidation.pdf or both are available from the press release page - http://www.fema.gov/news/newsrelease.fema?id=47305

According to the press release, the "The Strategy summarizes, for the first time in a single document, the many sheltering and housing capabilities, principles, and policies that guide and inform the disaster housing process. The Strategy also charts the new direction that our disaster housing efforts must take to better meet the disaster housing needs of individuals and communities moving forward."

REPORT - Getting Beyond Getting Ready for Pandemic Influenza

The House Homeland Security Committee released a majority staff report
today indicating the country is not ready for Pandemic Flu. The report
is entitled "Getting Beyond Getting Ready for Pandemic Influenza"

According to the press release, the report "examines the Nation's state
of preparedness and response capabilities in the event of a pandemic
influenza outbreak. It identifies sixteen weaknesses in the outgoing
Bush Administration's approach to get prepared for pandemic influenza.
In addition, the report provides fifteen critical recommendations for
what Congress, the incoming Administration, and the public and private
sectors can do to achieve National readiness to combat this threat."

latest Quarterly Report on Iraq

DOD has released the latest [December 2008] Quarterly report to Congress - Measuring Stability and Security in Iraq.

Previous reports can be found at the Measuring Stability and Security in Iraq homepage

This report includes updates on the political stability, government reform, economic activity and budget execution, indicators by economic activity, the security environment, the Iraqi security forces - their training and performance.

Useful charts and graphs include:
Oil Production and Export (Nov 2007-Nov 2008) [p. 11]
Average Daily Oil Export and Cumulative Revenue (2008) [p. 12]
Average Electricity Demand and Production (2006-2008) [p. 13]
Overall Weekly Security Incident Trends (2004-2008) [p. 18]
Civilian Deaths (2006-20080 [p. 19]
ISF and U.S. Deaths in Iraq (2006-2008) [p. 20]
High Profile Attacks (Explosions 2006-2008) [p. 21]
Ethno-Sectarian Deaths (2006-2008) [p. 22]
Weapons Caches Found by Coalition and Iraqi Forces (2004-2008) [p. 23]
Average Daily Executed Attacks by Province [p. 24]
Neighbor stability [p. 26]
Government Security Efforts [p. 27]
Provincial Iraqi Control map [p. 29]
Mol National Police Forces Operational Readiness [p. 40]
Iraqi Ground Forces Personnel numbers [p. 43]
MoD Forces Operational Readiness [p. 48]

REPORT - DOD Nuclear Weapons Management

The Secretary of Defense’s Task Force on Nuclear Weapons Management, which was appointed in June 2008, released its latest report today.

The Phase II Final report - Review of the DoD Nuclear Mission is now available and there is also an earlier Phase I report - the Air Force's Nuclear Mission [Sept 2008] .

As a result of this report, the Air Force developed its Strategic Plan to Reinvigorate the Air Force Nuclear Enterprise which was released in October 2008

Related reports include:

Report of the Defense Science Board Task Force on Nuclear Deterrence Skills

The Defense Science Board Permanent Task Force on Nuclear Surety: Report on the Unauthorized Movement of Nuclear Weapons. [revised version]

Friday's Miscellany 1-2-2009

American Enterprise Institute
· The Consumer Burden of a Cap-and-Trade System with Freely Allocated Permits
· Obama and Egypt's Coming Succession Crisis

Brookings
· Aid Effectiveness in Cambodia
· Rethinking “Energy Independence”
· Rowing Against the Current: The Diversification Challenge in Africa's Resource-Rich Economies
· The State of Iraq: An Update
· "Stimulus" Doesn't Have to Mean Pork

Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
· Between Ideology and Tactics
· Cuba at Fifty
· Diplomacy in the Middle East: Arab Allies Push Their Own Agendas
· Iran is Coming to Grips with Barack Hussein Obama
· Islamists in Politics: The Dynamics of Participation
· The Logic of Syrian-Israeli Peace

CATO
· The Benefits of Port Liberalization: A Case Study from India

Center for Defense Information (CDI)
· Stohl Analyzes CRS Annual Report on Arms Transfers

Center for Security Policy
· British Army: The Toothless Lion
· Patriots and False Patriots
· Uncle Shariah
· Will Obama 'go to' Defense?

Center for European Reform
· Why is Britain Eurosceptic?

Combating Terrorism Center, West Point
· Iranian Strategy in Iraq: Politics and "Other Means."

Congressional Budget Office (CBO)
· Budget Options, Volume 1: Health Care

Council on Foreign Relations
· Change Converging on Cuba?
· Defense Spending During Economic Crisis
· Healthcare Costs and U.S. Competitiveness
· In the Shadow of the Oval Office: The Next National Security Adviser
· Israel-Palestinian Crisis Explodes onto Obama's Agenda
· Obama's Pakistan Challenge
· Saudi Arabia and the Future of Afghanistan
· Treading Softly in the Philippines

Department of Defense Inspector General (DODIG)
· D-2009-031 Afghanistan Security Forces Fund Phase III-Air Force Real Property Accountability, December 29, 2008

Department of Homeland Security Privacy Office
· Privacy Policy Guidance Memorandum 2008-02, DHS Policy Regarding Privacy Impact Assessments, December 30, 2008
· Privacy Policy Guidance Memorandum 2008-01, The Fair Information Practice Principles: Framework for Privacy Policy at the Department of Homeland Security, December 29, 2008

Foundation for Defense of Democracies
· Syria Sets its Traps for the Obama Administration

Henry L. Stimson Center
· China's Falling Growth and US Hopes for Stabilizing the Global Economy: Mind the Gap · Global Health Security: A Long-Term Prescription
· The Gulf States Must Press the Nuclear Issue Before It’s Too Late

Heritage Foundation
· Abandoning Third-Site Missile Defenses Would Threaten Transatlantic Security
· Gaza Cease-Fire Must Halt Hamas Rockets
· Indonesian President's Praise of Natsir Raises Questions
· National Security Resolutions for 2009
· Principles and Proposals for NATO Reform
· Time to End "Zeroing" in Trade Dumping Calculations
· Toward an Alternative Strategic Security Posture

Human Rights Watch
· Human Rights in Western Sahara and in the Tindouf Refugee Camps
· Sri Lanka: Trapped and Mistreated: LTTE Abuses against Civilians in the Vanni

Middle East Report Online
· Cast Lead in the Foundry
· Dangerous Liaisons: Pakistan, India and Lashkar-e Taiba

National Academies Press
· Maritime Security Partnerships [free download with registration]

National Defense Intelligence College (NDIC)
· Democratización de la Función de Inteligencia—El Nexo de la Cultura Nacional y la Inteligencia Estratégica

Newport Papers, U.S. Naval War College
· U.S. Naval Strategy in the 1980s: Selected Documents

RAND
· Commonality in Military Equipment: A Framework to Improve Acquisition Decisions · Enhancement by Enlargement: The Proliferation Security Initiative
· Facing Human Capital Challenges of the 21st Century: Education and Labor Market Initiatives in Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates

Strategic Studies Institute
Affairs of State: The Interagency and National Security

Washington Institute for Near East Policy
· Hizballah Will Defend Iran -- Not Palestinians
· The Impact of the Gaza Conflict on Palestinian Politics
· Israel's Policy Options in the Gaza Conflict
· Operation 'Cast Lead': Israel's Assault on Hamas