GAO - 13 "Urgent Issues" for New Administration

The General Accountability Office (GAO) has launched a new transition
website intended to help make the transition an informed and smooth one.
The website can be found at http://www.gao.gov/transition_2009/

The 13 urgent issues they identified are as follows and are in
alphabetic order not priority order:

* Caring for Service Members
* Defense Readiness
* Defense Spending
* Food Safety
* Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan
* Oversight of Financial Institutions and Markets
* Preparing for Large-Scale Health Emergencies
* Protecting the Homeland
* Public Diplomacy and International Broadcasting
* Retirement of the Space Shuttle
* Surface Transportation
* The 2010 Census
* Transition to Digital TV

The website also includes sections on:
* Agency-by-Agency Issues
* Major Cost-Saving Opportunities
* Management Challenges Across the Government
* Long-Term Fiscal Outlook
* Examples of Upcoming GAO reports on Major National Issues

REPORT - Defense Imperatives for the New Administration

The Defense Science Board has posted its new report - "DefenseImperatives for the New Administration."
Previous DSB reports can be found at http://www.acq.osd.mil/dsb/pages/reports.htm The subjects tackled in this report include:
**Protect and defining the homeland
**Maintaining capability to project for around the world to deter or
defeat
**Bringing stability to states and regions
**Thwarting terrorism and bringing terrorists to justice, anytime and
anywhere
**Supporting state and local authorities in providing domestic
catastrophe relief A variety of interesting graphs and charts are included.

Friday's Miscellany 10-31-2008

American Enterprise Institute
· European Missile Defense: Looking at the Heart and Soul of the U.S.-European Alliance
· Foreign Aid: What Works and What Doesn't

American Institute for Contemporary German Studies (AICGS)
· A New Map for American-German Relations: Memorandum to the New U.S. President

Amnesty International
· The Human Cost of Armed Conflict in the Philippines
· Isolated and Abused: Women Migrant Domestic Workers in Jordan
· More Face Abuse and Death as Colombia's Government Denies Human Rights Situation

Brookings Institution
· Global Economic Crisis: Short and Long-term Prospects for Egypt
· Policy Options in Afghanistan
· Ukraine, Georgia and MAP – Time for Plan B

Canadian Defence & Foreign Affairs Institute
· "The Audacity of Common Sense"

Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
· Nuclear Renaissance: Is It Coming? Should It?
· Russian–American Security Relations After Georgia
· Stabilizing Afghanistan: Threats and Challenges

Center for Security Policy
· All Roads Lead to Jerusalem
· Shariah Finance: Sell-off or Sell-out?

Center for Security Studies (CSS)
· No. 42: Comprehensive Approaches in International Crisis Management

Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)
· Crafting U.S. Economic Strategy toward Asia: Lessons Learned from 30 Years of Experience
· Iranian Weapons of Mass Destruction: Part III: Biological Weapons Programs
· Islamic Radical Ideologies and South Asian Security: The Case of Bangladesh
· OPEC Production and the Falling Price of Oil
· Russia and European Energy Security: Divide and Dominate
· The U.S.-Japan Alliance: A New Framework for Enhanced Global Security

Centre for Social Cohesion
· Islam on Campus: A Survey of UK Student Opinions

Century Foundation
· Resolving America’s Islamist Dilemma: Lessons from South and Southeast Asia

Congress. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
· Energy: A Matter of National, Economic, and Environmental Security

Congressional Budget Office (CBO)
· Preparing for Our Common Future: Policy Choices and the Economics of Climate Change

Council on Foreign Relations
· Counterterrorism in India

Department of Defense Inspector General (DODIG)
· D-2009-001 Information Assurance Controls for the Defense Civilian Pay System
· D-2009-006 Small Arms Ammunition Fund Management in Support of the Global War on Terror
· D-2009-007 Procurement and Use of Nontactical Vehicles at Bagram Air Field, Afghanistan

Department of Homeland Security
· Keynote Address at National Homeland Defense Foundation by Charles E. Allen, Under Secretary for Intelligence and Analysis/Chief Intelligence Officer

Director of National Intelligence (DNI)
· Intelligence Community Directive (ICD) 707 - Center for Security Evaluation
· Intelligence Community Policy Guidance (ICPG) 707.1 - Construction Security Review Board

Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
· Hate Crime Statistics, 2007

Government Accountability Office (GAO)
· Check 21 Act: Most Consumers Have Accepted and Banks Are Progressing Toward Full Adoption of Check Truncation GAO-09-8
· Check 21 Act: Questions for Consumers about Check 21 Act (GAO-09-9SP, October 2008), an E-supplement to GAO-09-8
· Combating Nuclear Smuggling: DHS's Phase 3 Test Report on Advanced Portal Monitors Does Not Fully Disclose the Limitations of the Test Results GAO-08-979
· Defense Critical Infrastructure: Developing Training Standards and an Awareness of Existing Expertise Would Help DOD Assure the Availability of Critical Infrastructure GAO-09-42
· Defense Health Care: Additional Efforts Needed to Ensure Compliance with Personality Disorder Separation Requirements GAO-09-31
· Export Controls: Challenges with Commerce's Validated End-User Program May Limit Its Ability to Ensure That Semiconductor Equipment Exported to China Is Used as Intended GAO-08-1095
· USA Patriot Act: Better Interagency Coordination and Implementing Guidance for Section 311 Could Improve U.S. Anti-Money Laundering Efforts GAO-08-1058

Henry L. Stimson Center
· Afghanistan and Pakistan: More Realism Needed to Prevent US Failure

Heritage Foundation
· Approaching the "Invisible Red Line": Why Congress Must Act Now to Restore Military Readiness
· Into Africa: Bush Initiatives That Deserve Continuing Support
· The New Cold War: Reviving the U.S. Presence in the Arctic
· North Korea Nuclear Verification: Has the U.S. Blinked?
· OPEC Redux: Responding to the Russian–Iranian Gas Cartel

Institute for National Security Studies
· Global Insurgency and Salafi Jihad Movement

Institute for Security Studies
· Monograph No 151: Africa in the New World. How Global and Domestic Developments will Impact by 2025

International Crisis Group
· Azerbaijan: Defence Sector Management and Reform
· Correcting Course: Victims and the Justice and Peace Law in Colombia
· Oil for Soil: Toward a Grand Bargain on Iraq and the Kurds

International Relations and Security Network
· Comprehensive Approaches to International Crisis Management
· The Future of US Foreign Policy
· Russia's Western Security Outpost

Lexington Institute
· Memo to Demo's: Missile Defense Is Our Top Military Need

National Academies Press
· Combined Exposures to Hydrogen Cyanide and Carbon Monoxide in Army Operations: Final Report

National Interest Online
· Xenophobia on the Continent

National Priorities Project
· The Military Cost of Securing Energy

RAND
· Deterrence -- From Cold War to Long War: Lessons from Six Decades of RAND Research
· Facing Human Capital Challenges of the 21st Century: Education and Labor Market Initiatives in Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates
· Thinking About America's Defense: An Analytical Memoir

Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR)
· Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction Quarterly Report to the United States Congress (October 30, 2008)

Strategic Studies Institute
· Dueling Natures
· Leadership and National Security Reform: The Next President's Agenda
· PLA Missions Beyond Taiwan
· Slowing Military Change

United Nations Office of Legal Affairs
· Audiovisual Library of International Law

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP)
· CBP Trade Strategy Fiscal Years 2009-2013

US Institute of Peace
· Iraq’s Cultural Heritage: Preserving the Past for the Sake of the Future

Washington Institute for Near East Policy
· Kirkuk: The Land the Surge Forgot
· Iraqi Politicians Ponder Status of Forces Agreement
· New FBI Powers: A Necessary Step for Counterterrorism
· OPEC Deliberates: A Saudi Opportunity

Friday's Miscellany 10-24-2008

American Academy of Diplomacy and the Henry L. Stimson Center
· A Foreign Affairs Budget for the Future: Fixing the Crisis in Diplomatic Readiness

American Enterprise Institute
· European Missile Defense: Looking at the Heart and Soul of the U.S.-European Alliance
· Getting Religion Wrong: Three Decades of Misreporting Iran and Iraq

Amnesty International
· European Missile Defense: Looking at the Heart and Soul of the U.S.-European Alliance
· Getting Religion Wrong: Three Decades of Misreporting Iran and Iraq

Better World Campaign, the International Republican Institute (IRI) and the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI)
· New Directions for Democracy Promotion

Brookings Institution
· The Enduring Challenge of Concentrated Poverty in America
· Slipping Oil Prices: Is the Oil Rich Middle East Prepared?
· Why Do Terrorists Love To Strike Around Elections?

Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
· Abolishing Nuclear Weapons: Why the United States Should Lead
· Can Trade Policy Support the Next Global Climate Agreement?
· Courts Open New Chapter in Counter-Terrorism
· Global Financial Crisis: Lessons for United States and China
· Iran: Is Productive Engagement Possible?

Center for American Progress
· Dealing with Iraq: Four Reasons Why Americans Need to Debate the Proposed U.S.-Iraq Security Agreement

Center for Defense Information
· Pentagon Study Lambasts Missile Defense Agency [the report is Study on the Mission, Roles, and Structure of the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) by the Institute of Defense Analysis]

James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies
· Beyond UNSCR 1540: the Forging of a WMD Terrorism Treaty

Center for Security Policy
· NATO: Ending the Free Ride
· Senator Kyl on Nuclear Deterrence

Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments
· FY2009 Defense Appropriations Act

Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS)
· Beyond November: Terrorists, Rogue States, and Democracy
· The Bush Administration's Legacy in the Middle East
· Iranian Weapons of Mass Destruction: Part II: Chemical Weapons Programs
· Losing the Afghan-Pakistan War? The Rising Threat

Century Foundation
· Dangerous and Getting More Dangerous: The Delicate Situation between the United States and Iran
· Strategy for U.S. Engagement with the International Criminal Court

Combating Terrorism Center (CTC)
· Iranian Strategy in Iraq: Politics and “Other Means”
· CTC Sentinel, v. 1, no. 11, October 2008
o “Field Notes on Iraq’s Tribal Revolt Against Al-Qaida” by David J. Kilcullen
o “Islamic State of Iraq Commemorates its Two-Year Anniversary” by Pascale Combelles Siegel
o “British Muslims Providing Foot Soldiers for the Global Jihad” by James Brandon
o “Anatomy of Spain’s 28 Disrupted Jihadist Networks” by Javier Jordan
o “The Impact of Global Youth Bulges on Islamist Radicalization and Violence” by Colleen McCue and Kathryn Haahr
o “Jama`at al-Fuqara’: An Overblown Threat?” by Farhana Ali and William Rosenau
o “The Threat of Terrorism to the 2010 Soccer World Cup in South Africa” by Anneli Botha
o “Iraq as the Focus for Apocalyptic Scenarios” by David Cook

Council on Foreign Relations
· Deterring State Sponsorship of Nuclear Terrorism
· India-Afghanistan Relations
· Trade Liberalization: Cordell Hull and the Case for Optimism

Department of Homeland Security Inspector General
· OIG-08-92 - Transportation Security Administration's Control over SIDA Badges, Uniforms, and Identification Cards (Redacted)
· OIG-08-97 - Hurricane Katrina: A Review of Wind Versus Flood Issues (Mandatory)

Environment California Research & Policy Center
· Feeling the Heat: Global Warming and Rising Temperatures in the United States

Foreign Policy Research Institute (FPRI)
· Egypt Reenters the Fray
· Learning from Contemporary Conflicts to Prepare for Future War
· Redefining U.S. Interests in the Middle East

Georgia Tech Information Security Center
· Emerging Cyber Threats Report for 2009: Data, Mobility and Questions of Responsibility will Drive Cyber Threats in 2009 and Beyond

Government Accountability Office (GAO)
· Drug Safety: Better Data Management and More Inspections Are Needed to Strengthen FDA's Foreign Drug Inspection Program GAO-08-970
· Federal Energy Management: Agencies Are Acquiring Alternative Fuel Vehicles but Face Challenges in Meeting Other Fleet Objectives GAO-09-75R
· Responses to Questions for the Record; September 2008 Hearing on the Next Generation Air Transportation System: Status and Issues. GAO-09-130R
· Social Security Numbers Are Widely Available in Bulk and Online Records, but Changes to Enhance Security Are Occurring. GAO-08-1009R
· Social Security Numbers: Transfers and Sales of Public Records That May Contain Social Security Numbers (GAO-08-1004SP, September 2008), an E-supplement to GAO-08-1009R,
· VA National Initiatives and Local Programs that Address Education and Support for Families of Returning Veterans GAO-09-22R

Heritage Foundation
· The 2008 Index of Government Dependency
· Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) Attack: A Preventable Homeland Security Catastrophe
· Protecting Against the Terrorist Threat: Continuing the Fight and Confronting the Challenges Ahead

Hudson Institute
· Security Aspects of the South Stream Project

Human Rights Watch
· Not the Way Forward: The UK’s Dangerous Reliance on Diplomatic Assurances
· A Way Forward for Workers’ Rights in US Free Trade Accords

Institute for Security Studies (ISS)
· African Perspectives on Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction, Dominique Dye
· Child Justice in South Africa
· The Pan-African Parliament, Is the Glass Half-Full or Half-Empty?

International Crisis Group
· Burma/Myanmar after Nargis: Time to Normalise Aid Relations
· The Philippines: The Collapse of Peace in Mindanao
· Sudan’s Southern Kordofan: The Next Darfur?

International Peace Institute
· Pacific Settlement of Border Disputes: Lessons from the Bakassi Affair and the Greentree Agreement

International Relations and Security Network
· Costs of War: War on Bankruptcy
· Kazakhstan: Investor Status
· Palestine's Problematic Parlay
· A Perfect Storm: Calming the Global Food Crisis
· Turkish Military on the Defensive
· Ukraine's NATO Hopes Dashed

Lexington Institute
· Satellite Cancellation Raises Questions about Army Plans

National Defense Intelligence College (NDIC)
· Interrogation World War II, Vietnam and Iraq

New America Foundation
· How Not to Lose Afghanistan (and Pakistan)

Organization of American States, Committee on Hemispheric Security
· Dealing with Gangs Involved in Criminal Activities

Pew Internet & American Family Life Project
· Networked Families: Parents and Spouses are Using the Internet and Cell Phones to Create a “New Connectedness” that Builds on Remote Connections and Shared Internet Experiences
· Related reports

President’s Identity Theft Task Force
· President’s Identity Theft Task Force Report -- Combating Identity Theft: A Strategic Plan

RAND
· Embracing the Future: Embedding digital repositories in the University of London · Facing Human Capital Challenges of the 21st Century: Education and Labor Market Initiatives in Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates
· Improving Cost-Effectiveness and Mitigating Risks of Renewable Energy Requirements
· Reorganizing U.S. Domestic Intelligence: Assessing the Options http://www.rand.org/pubs/monographs/2008/RAND_MG767.pdf

Henry L. Stimson Center
· New Information and Intelligence Needs in the 21st Century Threat Environment

Strategic Studies Institute
· Leadership and National Security Reform: The Next President's Agenda

Trust for America's Health
· Blueprint for a Healthier America: Modernizing the Federal Public Health System to Focus on Prevention and Preparedness

US Institute of Peace
· The Treasury Approach to State-Building and Institution-Strengthening Assistance: Experience in Iraq and Broader Implications
· Whither Peace Operations?

Washington Institute for Near East Policy
· A Forum without a Future?
· UN Resolution 1701: A View from Israel
· UN Resolution 1701: A View from Lebanon
· UN Resolution 1701: A View from the United States

World Security Institute (WSI)
· Arab Insight, v. 2, no. 3, Fall 2008 - Arab Memo to the Next American President
o Engaging Islamist Groups: How to Talk to the Elephant in the Room by Mustapha Khalfi, Morocco
o Promoting Democracy in Arab Countries: Practice Makes Perfect? By Radwan Ziadeh, Syria
o Before Leaving Iraq: A Responsible Withdrawal by Salah al-Nasrawi, Iraq
o Palestinian-Israeli Conflict: Searching for Peace on the Roadmap by Samir Ghattas, Palestinian Territory
o Improving U.S. Standing in the Arab World: Can Public Diplomacy Do the Trick? By Sadiq el-Faqih, Sudan
o Ending the Darfur Crisis: A Sudanese Perspective by Khaled al-Tegani al-Nour, Sudan
o The Future of U.S.-Arab Relations: Sinking in Oil? By Hussein Abdallah, Egypt
o Arabs, Iran and Nuclear Weapons: Balancing the Equation by Mohamed Abdel Salam, Egypt
o Resolving the Syrian Question: Why and How to Engage by Burhan Ghalioun, Syria
o Greasing the Presses: Money and Journalism in Egypt by Mohamed Ezz el-Arab, Egypt
o Social and Political Change: In the Wake of the Oil Boom by Hassanein Tawfiq Ibrahim, United Arab Emirates
o Egyptian Public Opinion: The Role of Satellite TV Stations by Sobhi Essaila, Egypt

REPORT - Iranian Strategy in Iraq: Politics and “Other Means"

The Combating Terrorism Center (CTC) at West Point has released its newest report - Iranian Strategy in Iraq: Politics and “Other Means".

From their press release on the report:

This report addresses Iran’s dual-strategy of providing military aid to Iraqi militia groups and giving political support to Iraqi political parties. Although the report details the scope and nature of Iranian support to Iraqi militias, it concludes that Iran’s political efforts are the core of its effort to project influence within Iraq. The report also concludes that Iran has recently worked to reduce the level of violence in Iraq while concentrating on a political campaign to shape the SFA and SOFA agreements to its strategic ends. The report does not address Iran’s economic and social influence in Iraq.

· Chapter 1 of the report describes Iran’s covert operations in Iraq before the U.S.-led invasion in 2003, including the formation of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps.

· Chapter 2 assesses the trajectory of Iranian intervention in Iraq since 2003.

· Chapters 3 and 4 describe Iranian lethal aid in Iraq and draw heavily on the interrogation summaries of detained militia members.

· Chapter 5 provides key findings and recommendations.

Friday's Miscellany 10-17-2008

American Academy of Diplomacy
· A Foreign Affairs Budget for the Future: Fixing the Crisis in Diplomatic Readiness

American Institute for Contemporary German Studies (AICGS)
· Counter-Terrorism and German-American Relations: A German Perspective

Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO)
· States of Preparedness. Health Agency Progress, (2nd. Ed.)

BASIC
· Nuclear Iran: India Has Made Its Choice

Brookings Institution
· Displacement and Human Rights: A Continuing Challenge
· Energy and the Environment: National Security Implications
· The Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement: 10 Year Anniversary
· Moving Beyond Rhetoric: Consultation and Participation with Populations Displaced by Conflict or Natural Disasters
· Protecting Internally Displaced Persons: A Manual for Law and Policymakers
· U.S.- ROK: The Forgotten Alliance

Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
· Iran: Is Productive Engagement Possible?
· International Labor Migration in a Globalizing Economy
· When Money Talks: Arab Sovereign Wealth Funds in the Global Public Policy Discourse

Center for a New American Security
· Fighting Over the Next Fight
· The Ripple Effect: China's Responses to the Iraq War
· The Ripple Effect: India's Responses to the Iraq War
· The Ripple Effect: Japan's Responses to the Iraq War

Center for American Progress
· A “Downward Spiral” in Afghanistan

Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments (CSBA)
· Military Manpower for the Long Haul
· The US Defense Industrial Base: Past, Present and Future

Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS)
· 2008 U.S.-China Strategic Nuclear Dynamics Conference: Introduction & Key Findings
· Confronting Two Key Challenges in Afghanistan
· Defense Industrial Initiatives Current Issues: Cost-Plus Contracts
· HOW SOON IS SAFE? Iraqi Force Development and Conditions-Based US Withdrawals
· Iranian Weapons Of Mass Destruction
· The U.S.-India Nuclear Deal and Nonproliferation
· Winning the War in Afghanistan: The Realities of 2009

Chatham House
· Synchronized Dive into Recession: Focus on Damage Limitation

Congressional Budget Office (CBO)
· New Ideas About Human Behavior in Economics and Medicine

Council on Foreign Relations
· Crisis Guide: Climate Change

Defense Science Board (DSB)
· Report of the Defense Science Board Task Force on Nuclear Deterrence Skills

Department of Defense
· United States Africa Command

Department of Homeland Security Inspector General
· OIG-08-95 - Review of DHS Security Controls for Portable Storage Devices

Foreign Policy Research Institute (FPRI)
· Egypt Reenters the Fray
· Redefining U.S. Interests in the Middle East

Freedom House
· Nations in Transit 2008 (Democratization from Central Europe to Eurasia)

Government Accountability Office (GAO)
· Biosafety Laboratories: Perimeter Security Assessment of the Nation's Five BSL-4 Laboratories. GAO-08-1092
· Defense Management: DOD Can Establish More Guidance for Biometrics Collection and Explore Broader Data Sharing. GAO-09-49
· Multiple Agencies Provide Assistance to Service-disabled Veterans or Entrepreneurs, but Specific Needs Are Difficult to Identify and Coordination Is Weak. GAO-09-11R
· Risk-Based Capital: New Basel II Rules Reduced Certain Competitive Concerns, but Bank Regulators Should Address Remaining Uncertainties. GAO-08-953

Heritage Foundation
· Falling Oil Prices: Useful Lessons from the Slump at the Pump http://www.heritage.org/Research/EnergyandEnvironment/upload/wm_2106.pdf
· Finding Pathways to Prosperity in the Americas http://www.heritage.org/research/tradeandeconomicfreedom/upload/wm_2103.pdf

Human Rights Watch
· Breaking the Grip? Obstacles to Justice for Paramilitary Mafias in Colombia
· Returns at Any Cost: Spain’s Push to Repatriate Unaccompanied Children in the Absence of Safeguards

Institute for Foreign Policy Analysis (IFPA)
· Iran with Nuclear Weapons: Anticipating the Consequences for U.S. Policy

Institute for National Security Studies (INSS)
· Irregular Warfare: New Challenges for Civil-Military Relations [Strategic Forum no. 234]

Institute for Security Studies
· African Security Review Vol 17 No 3, 2008 -- Climate Change and Human Security in Africa
o The climate security divide: Bridging human and national Security in Africa, Denise Garcia
o From the West to the rest: Climate change as a challenge to human security in Africa, Dan Kuwali
o Climate change: A new threat to stability in West Africa? Evidence from Ghana and Burkina Faso, Oli Brown and Alec Crawford
o Environmental change and human security in Lesotho: The role of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project in environmental degradation, Oscar Gakuo Mwangi
o Personnel fatalities in United Nations missions, by year, up to 30 June 2008, Henri Boshoff
o Senegal’s democracy: Has Wade lost his edge? David Zounmenou
o Developing national security strategies in the African context, Colonel (Rtd) James D Noteboom
o Oil pipeline sabotage in Nigeria: Dimensions, actors and implications for national security 99 Freedom C Onuoha
o Understanding Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood, Laurence Caromba and Hussein Solomon
o The impacts of environmental degradation on refugee–host relationships, Leah Berry

International Peace Institute
· Beyond Terrorism: Deradicalization and Disengagement from Violent Extremism
· Governing the Global Economy: Strengthening Multilateral Institutions
· Prevention of Genocide and Mass Atrocities and the Responsibility to Protect: Challenges for the UN and the International Community in the 21st Century

International Security Advisory Board, U.S. Dept of State
· China’s Strategic Modernizaton: Report from the ISAB Task Force Board

International Crisis Group
· Reforming the Judiciary in Pakistan
· The Role of International Justice in Preventing and Resolving Deadly Conflict
· Sri Lanka’s Eastern Province: Land, Development, Conflict

International Relations and Security Network
· Backyard Games
· Israel's Race Politics
· Kashmir's New Generation
· A Perfect Storm: Calming the Global Food Crisis
· Trimming a Hawk's Wings

Lexington Institute
· Five Reasons Weapons Spending Won't Fall
· The U.S. Navy's Most Successful Shipbuilding Program

National Academies Press
· Review of Directed Energy Technology for Countering Rockets, Artillery, and Mortars (RAM): Abbreviated Version

National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP)
· NCHRP Report 525, Vol. 13: A Guide to Traffic Control of Rural Roads in an Agricultural Emergency

Nine/Eleven Finding Answers [NEFA] Foundation
· Federation of Islamic Organizations in Europe
· Islamic Jihad Union
· Saudi Terror Operative in Yemen: Target Oil to Cause "Total Collapse"

Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (OSCE)
· Statement of Preliminary Findings and Conclusions on the 15 October 2008 Presidential Election in Azerbaijan

RAND
· Identity Crisis: An Examination of the Costs and Benefits of a Unique Patient Identifier for the U.S. Health Care System
· In Their Own Words: Voices of Jihad -- Compilation and Commentary
· Migrant Women in the European Labour Force: Current Situation and Future Prospects
· RAND Voices of Jihad Database
· Recommended Infrastructure Standards for Mass Antibiotic Dispensing
· The Role of the United States Postal Service in Public Safety and Security: Implications of Relaxing the Mailbox Monopoly

Stanley Foundation
· The Roots of the United States’ Deteriorating Civilian Capacity and Potential Remedies: What an Engagement Strategy Entails: Is the United States Government Equipped?
· Strategic Deterrence and US Nuclear Weapons Policy: US Nuclear Policy Review Project
· United States-China-Japan Working Group on Trilateral Confidence- and Security-Building Measures (CSBMs)

Washington Institute for Near East Policy
· A Forum Without a Future? http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/templateC05.php?CID=2938

DSB report - Nuclear Deterrence Skills

The Defense Science Board has just posted its latest report on Nuclear Deterrence Skills. This report – “Report of the Defense Science Board Task Force on Nuclear Deterrence Skills” cane be found directly at http://www.acq.osd.mil/dsb/reports/2008-09-NDS.pdfhttp://www.acq.osd.mil/dsb/reports.htm or from their reports page http://www.acq.osd.mil/dsb/reports.htm

The DSB Task Force was asked to assess military, federal and contactor nuclear deterrence skills utilizing the 2002 Nuclear Posture Review and the Strategic Capabilities Assessment in doing so. The report provides findings and recommendations addressing broader programmatic issues resulting from a “lack of prioritization and de-emphasis of nuclear related systems.” The report recommends methods and strategies that senior officials should utilize to maintain “a right-sized, properly trained, and experienced work force to ensure the viability of the U.S. nuclear deterrent through 2020.”