Friday's Miscellany 03-27-2009

American Society of Civil Engineers
· 2009 Report Card for America's Infrastructure [large file]

Amnesty International
· Jailed Without Justice: Immigration Detention in the USA

Atlantic Council and Chatham House
· New Ideas for the London Summit: Recommendations for the G20 Leaders

Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence
· Exporting Gun Violence: How Our Weak Gun Laws Arm Criminals in Mexico and America

Brookings Institution
· The G-20 London Summit 2009: Recommendations for Global Policy Coordination
· A Guide to Talking with Insurgents
· Making a Good Budget Better
· North Korea’s Third Attempt To Launch a Long-Range Missile and the Last Opportunity To Prevent It · To Rebuild U.S.-Muslim World Relations, Obama Is Not Enough

Canadian Defence & Foreign Affairs Institute
· Connecting the Dots” and the Canadian Counter-terrorism Effort – Steady Progress or Technical, Bureaucratic, Legal and Political Failure?

Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (CEIP)
· Addressing the Global Crisis and Beyond: a French Point of View on the Eve of the G20 Meeting
· Obama's Afghanistan Policy: Q&A with Gilles Dorronsoro
· U.S. Overtures Highlight Divisions In Iran
· U.S.-China Climate Change Cooperation

CATO
· CATO Policy Report, v. 31, no. 2, March/April 2009
*"How to Turn a Recession into a Depression"
*"Constitutional Basics for President Obama"
*"The Government Stole My Home"
* "Cato Leads Opposition to Bloated Spending Package"
*"Shaping the Obama Administration's Counterterrorism Strategy"
· Financial Crisis and Public Policy

Center for American Progress
· Seven Reasons Why We Need to Engage in Afghanistan
· Sustainable Security in Afghanistan: Crafting an Effective and Responsible Strategy for the Forgotten Front

James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies
· CANWFZ Treaty Enters into Force

Center for Security Policy
· Honduras' Faustian Bargain

Center for Security Studies (CSS)
· No. 51: "Last Throw of the Dice? US Strategy in Afghanistan"

Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS)
· The Afghan-Pakistan War: New NATO/ISAF Reporting on Key Trends
· Innovation and Cybersecurity Regulation
· Latin America's Aging Challenge: Demographics and Retirement Policy in Brazil, Chile, and Mexico
· Origins and Evolution of North American Integration

Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
· CREST (CIA Records Search Tool)

Chatham House
· Africa's New Human Rights Court: Whistling in the Wind?
· Cyberspace and the National Security of the United Kingdom: Threats and Responses

Combating Terrorism Center (CTC)
· Dysfunction and Decline: Lessons Learned From Inside al-Qa`ida in Iraq

Congress. House. Armed Services Committee
· Hearings
*Status of the Future Combat Systems Program [March 26, 2009]
*Requirements for the Future Capabilities of the United States Maritime Forces [March 26, 2009]
*Future Roles and Missions of the Missile Defense Agency [March 26, 2009]
*Contingency Contracting: Has the Call for Urgent Reform Been Answered? [March 25, 2009]
*Readiness and Sustainment of the Navy's Surface Fleet [March 25, 2009]
*Effective Counterinsurgency: How the Use and Misuse of Reconstruction Funding Affects the War Effort in Iraq and Afghanistan [March 25, 2009]
*Security Developments in the Areas of Responsibility of the U.S. Pacific Command, U.S. European Command, and U.S. Forces Korea [March 24, 2009]
*Department of Defense Health Information Technology: AHLTA is “Intolerable,” Where Do We Go From Here? [March 24, 2009]

Congress. House. Foreign Affairs Committee
· Hearing schedule
*Climate Change and the Arctic: New Frontiers of National Security [March 25, 2009]
*Update on Lebanon [March 24, 2009]

Congress. House. Homeland Security Committee
· Consolidating DHS: An Update on the St. Elizabeths Project [March 26, 2009]

Congress. Senate. Armed Services Committee
· Current and Future Roles, Missions, and Capabilities of U.S. Military Land Power [March 26, 2009]
· Reserve Component programs of the Department of Defense [March 25, 2009]
· United States European Command and United States Joint Forces Command [March 24, 2009]

Congress. Senate. Foreign Relations
· Alleviating Global Hunger: Challenges and Opportunities for U.S. Leadership [March 24, 2009]
· Foreign Policy and the Global Economic Crisis [March 25, 2009]

Congress. Senate. Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee
· Southern Border Violence: Homeland Security Threats, Vulnerabilities, and Responsibilities [March 25, 2009]

Congress. Senate. Judiciary Committee
· Oversight of the Federal Bureau of Investigation [March 25. 2009]

Congressional Budget Office (CBO)
· Flexibility in the Timing of Emission Reductions Under a Cap-and-Trade Program
· Using Pricing to Reduce Traffic Congestion

Council on Foreign Relations
· China's 'Mixed Record' on Human Rights
· Islam: Governing Under Sharia (aka shariah, shari'a)
· Primer: The Financial Stability Plan
· The Shanghai Cooperation Organization

Defense Science Board (DSB)
· The Final Report on of the Defense Science Board (DSB) Task Force on the National Nuclear Security Administration's (NNSA) Strategic Plan for Advanced Computing

Department of Defense
· 2009 DoD Report to Congress on the Military Power of the People’s Republic of China
· DoD Directive [DODD 3020.49] Orchestrating, Synchronizing, and Integrating Program Management of Contingency Acquisition Planning and Its Operational Execution
· DoD Instruction [DODI 3020.48] Guidance for Maritime Operational Threat Response (MOTR)-Related Conferencing Coordination Activities Implementation
· DoD Instruction [DODI 6420.01] National Center for Medical Intelligence (NCMI)

Department of Defense Inspector General (DODIG)
· D-2009-063 Funds Appropriated for Afghanistan and Iraq Processed Through the Foreign Military Sales Trust Fund

Department of Homeland Security Inspector General
· OIG-09-34 - U.S. Coast Guard's Management of 2005 Gulf Coast Hurricanes Mission Assignment Funding · OIG-09-35 - Transportation Security Administration's Known Shipper Program (Redacted)
· OIG-09-36 - Potentially High Costs and Insufficient Grant Funds Pose a Challenge to REAL ID Implementation
· OIG-09-38 - Improvements Needed in Federal Emergency Management Agency Monitoring of Grantees · OIG-09-37 - Management Oversight of Immigration Benefit Application Intake Processes
· OIG-09-40 - Management Letter for U.S. Customs and Border Protection's FY 2008 Consolidated Financial Statement

Department of Homeland Security Office of Immigration Statistics
· Naturalizations in the United States: 2008
· U.S. Legal Permanent Residents: 2008
· Yearbook of Immigration Statistics: 2008

Director of National Intelligence (DNI)
· Intelligence Community Policy Guidance (ICPG) 801.2 - Contracting and Procurement Policy
· Intelligence Community Directive (ICD) 106 - Intelligence Community Strategic Enterprise Management

Foreign Policy Research Institute (FPRI)
· NATO at Sixty—Time for Reassessments
· Needed: A Newish U.S. Policy for a Newish Taiwan Strait

Government Accountability Office (GAO)
· Climate Change: Observations on Federal Efforts to Adapt to a Changing Climate GAO-09-534T
· Coast Guard: Observations on Changes to Management and Oversight of the Deepwater Program GAO-09-462T
· Commercial Vehicle Security: Risk-Based Approach Needed to Secure the Commercial Vehicle Sector. GAO-09-85
· Commuter Rail: Many Factors Influence Liability and Indemnity Provisions, and Options Exist to Facilitate Negotiations GAO-09-282
· Defense Acquisitions: Key Considerations for Planning Future Army Combat Systems GAO-09-410T · Defense Management: Actions Needed to Address Stakeholder Concerns, Improve Interagency Collaboration, and Determine Full Costs Associated with the U.S. Africa Command GAO-09-181
· Defense Management: Key Challenges Should be Addressed When Considering Changes to Missile Defense Agency's Roles and Missions GAO-09-466T
· Department of Defense: Additional Actions and Data Are Needed to Effectively Manage and Oversee DOD's Acquisition Workforce GAO-09-342
· Iraq: Key Issues for Congressional Oversight GAO-09-294SP
· Iraq and Afghanistan: Security, Economic, and Governance Challenges to Rebuilding Efforts Should Be Addressed in U.S. Strategies GAO-09-476T
· Next Generation Air Transportation System: Issues Associated with Midterm Implementation of Capabilities and Full System Transformation GAO-09-481T
· Securities and Exchange Commission: Oversight of U.S. Equities Market Clearing Agencies GAO-09-318R

Heritage Foundation
· Calling for G-20 Global Action for Economic Recovery: Obama Touches All the Bases but Fails to Score · Elimination of U.S. Pilot Truck Program Triggers Mexican Tariffs
· G-20 Summit: Rhetoric and Empty Promises Will Not Protect Free Trade
· Geithner's Troubling Plan for Troubled Assets
· NATO 60th Anniversary Summit: An Agenda for American Leadership
· New Constitution Pushes Bolivian Economy into Socialism
· New Global Currency Proposal: Good Diplomatic Theater but Bad Policy
· The Obama–Medvedev G-20 Meeting: The Agenda for the First Encounter
· Russia and Eurasia: A Realistic Policy Agenda for the Obama Administration
· Secretary Clinton's Mexico Trip: Three Benchmarks for U.S.–Mexican Relations
· Three Mile Island and Chernobyl: What Went Wrong and Why Today’s Reactors Are Safe
· When Art Becomes a Crime: A Case Study in Overcriminalization

Human Rights Watch
· Rain of Fire: Israel’s Unlawful Use of White Phosphorus in Gaza

Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS)
· Musadan-Ri Missile Launch Site in North Korea

International Crisis Group
· Ending Colombia's FARC Conflict: Dealing the Right Card
· Indonesia: Deep Distrust in Aceh as Elections Approach

International Council on Security and Development
· Afghanistan's Presidential Elections: Power to the People, or the Powerful?

International Relations and Security Network
· Bridging the Demographic Divide
· Finance: Eastern Europe’s Response
· Nabucco: The Fat Lady Sings?
· Prague Falls to Animosity
· Standoff in the Arctic Corral

Jamestown Foundation
· Terrorism Monitor, March 26, 2009, v. 7, no. 7
*Palestinians Skeptical of Osama bin Laden’s Plans for Gaza
* Al-Qaeda Ideologue Describes Alleged Spread of Al-Qaeda in the Levant
*Militant or Peace Broker? A Profile of the Swat Valley’s Maulana Sufi Muhammad
* PJAK, Iran and the United States: Kurdish Militants Designated Terrorists by the United States

National Academies Press
· 21st Century Innovation Systems for Japan and the United States: Lessons from a Decade of Change: Report of a Symposium [free download but registration required]

Peterson Institute
· 09-7: US Taxation of Multinational Corporations: What Makes Sense, What Doesn’t
· 09-6: Pressing the "Reset Button" on US-Russia Relations

Pew Global Attitudes Project
· Optimism and Obstacles for Obama in Europe

Pew Internet & American Life Project
· The Mobile Difference: Technology User Types, Mobile, Digital Divide

Pew Research Center
· Inside the Middle Class: Bad Times it the Good Life

Pew Research Center for the People & the Press
· Unusually Wide Gap in 'Satisfaction,' 'Right Direction' Measures

Project on Government Oversight
· Inspectors General: Accountability is a Balancing Act

Project on National Security Reform
· The National Security Council: A Legal History of the President's Most Powerful Advisers

RAND
· Assessing Combat Exposure and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in Troops and Estimating the Costs to Society: Implications from the RAND Invisible Wounds of War Study [testimony]
· Counterinsurgency in Afghanistan [testimony]
· An Economic Model to Estimate the Profits Resulting from the Employment of Illegal Aliens
· The National Audit Office and Defence Value for Money: Identifying Financial Savings

Stanford Graduate School of Business
· U.S. Dependence on Oil in 2008: Facts, Figures and Context

Stanley Foundation
· The Six-Party Talks and New Opportunities to Strengthen Regional Nonproliferation and Disarmament Efforts

Henry L. Stimson Center
· The Search for Nuclear Stabilization in Southern Asia

Strategic Studies Institute (SSI)
· Provincial Reconstruction Teams: How Do We Know They Work?

Trust for America's Health
· Keeping America’s Food Safe: A Blueprint for Fixing the Food Safety System at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

UK Office for Security and Counter Terrorism
· United Kingdom’s Strategy for Countering International Terrorism

UK Parliament
· Geneva Conventions and United Nations Personnel

U.S. Joint Forces Command
· Irregular Forces Vision

Washington Institute for Near East Policy
· Harmonious Discord Likely at Doha Arab Summit

White House
US Policy towards Afghanistan and Pakistan
· White House Blog
· Press briefing
· White Paper of the Interagency Policy Group's Report on U.S. Policy Toward Afghanistan and Pakistan
· DOD Press Release
· Secretary of Defense Gates Comments
· Chairman of Joint Chiefs ADM Mullen Comments