Commission on the National Guard and Reserves final report

The final report to Congress and the Secretary of Defense from the Commission on the National Guard and Reserves is now available. "Transforming the National Guard and Reserves into a 21st Century Operational Force"

Their main site also includes links to the hearings and other reports.

National Defense Intelligence College Press publications

The National Defense Intelligence College Press is now posting their publications on their website. http://www.ndic.edu/press/press.htm

Some recent releases of interest include:

• A Muslim Archipelago Islam and Politics in Southeast Asia
• Critical Thinking and Intelligence Analysis
• Improving the Law-Enforcement-Intelligence Community Relationship
• The Coast Guard Intelligence Program Enters the Intelligence Community
• Mongolia's Peacekeeping Commitment
  

DBS Report - Directed Energy Weapons

The Defense Science Board (DSB) has posted its Dec 2007 report on Directed Energy Weapons. The Defense Science Board Task Force on Directed Energy Weapon" is available directly at http://www.acq.osd.mil/dsb/reports/2007-12-Directed_Energy_Report.pdf
or from their main reports page at
http://www.acq.osd.mil/dsb/reports.htm

A previous report was done in 2001 -- The DSB Task Force on High Energy Laser Weapon Systems Applications can be found directly at http://www.acq.osd.mil/dsb/reports/rephel.pdf or again from the main DSB reports page -- http://www.acq.osd.mil/dsb/reports.htm

NEW DSB REPORT -- Strategic Communication

FYI
The Defense Science Board has posted its latest report -- The Report of
the Defense Science Board Task Force on Strategic Communication can be
found directly at
http://www.acq.osd.mil/dsb/reports/2008-01-Strategic_Communication.pdf

or linked from http://www.acq.osd.mil/dsb/reports.htm

This report was "conducted within the context of the DSB 2007 Summer
Study on Challenges to Military Operations in Support of National
Interests." The report "offers important recommendations for
transforming the nation's strategic communication capability."

Friday's Miscellany 01-25-2008

Air Force

• Air Force Roadmap: the Vision for the Future.
  

American Enterprise Institute

• The North Korean Problem: Toward a Diplomatic Solution in 2008?

Amnesty International

• Darfur Camps Flooded with Weapons

BASIC

• IRAN UPDATE

Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

• Pakistan Resources

Center for American Progress

• Clock Ticks on Two Time Bombs: Attacks in Iraq Raise Questions About Surge
• Iraq Benchmark Report Card: Total Benchmarks: 3 of 18 Accomplished
  

Center for Security Policy

• Front-Gate: Islamic Society of North America
• Washington's Pakistan Debacle

Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments

• U.S. Strategy in Iraq: A Third Way Alternative
  

Center for Strategic and International Studies

• Cordesman's Open Letter on Afghanistan to the House Committee on Armed Services
  
• The Evolving Security Situation in Iraq: The Continuing Need for Strategic Patience
  

Centre for European Reform

• The Roadmap to Better EU-NATO Relations
  

Combat Studies Institute

• Proceedings of the CSI 2007 Military History Symposium - Warfare in the Age of Non-State Actors: Implications for the U.S. Army
  

Congressional Budget Office (CBO)

• The Budget and Economic Outlook: Fiscal Years 2008 to 2018
• Options for Responding to Short-Term Economic Weakness
  

Department of Homeland Security

• National Response Framework
  

Foreign Policy Research Institute

• Kind of Blue?: Implications of Taiwan’s 2008 Elections
  
• Policy Disruption by NIE
  

Government Accountability Office (GAO)

• Defense Contracting: Contract Risk a Key Factor in Assessing Excessive Pass-Through Charges
• Defense Logistics: The Army Needs to Implement an Effective Management and Oversight Plan for the Equipment Maintenance Contract in Kuwait
• Force Structure -- Need for Greater Transparency for the Army's Grow the Force Initiative Funding Plan
• Influenza Pandemic: Efforts Under Way to Address Constraints on Using Antivirals and Vaccines to Forestall a Pandemic
• Military Operations: Implementation of Existing Guidance and Other Actions Needed to Improve DOD's Oversight and Management of Contractors in Future Operations, testimony by William M. Solis, director, defense capabilities and management, before the Subcommittees of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
  
• Nuclear Nonproliferation: DOE Needs to Reassess Its Program to Assist Weapons Scientists in Russia and Other Countries, by Robert A. Robinson, managing director, natural resources and environment, before the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
  
• Observations on Implementing the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative
• September 11: Improvements Still Needed in Availability of Health Screening and Monitoring Services for Responders outside the New York City Area, testimony by Cynthia A. Bascetta, director, health care, before the Subcommittee on Government Management, Organization, and Procurement, House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
• State and Local Governments: Growing Fiscal Challenges Will Emerge during the Next 10 Years
• Supply Chain Security: Examinations of High-Risk Cargo at Foreign Seaports Have Increased, But Improved Data Collection and Performance Measures Are Needed
  
• "U.S. Financial Condition and Fiscal Future Briefing," by David M. Walker, comptroller general of the United States, before the National Press Foundation, in Washington, D.C. January 17, 2008
  
• United Nations: Management Reforms and Operational Issues, testimony by Thomas Melito, director, international affairs and trade, before the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
• VA and DOD Health Care: Administration of DOD's Post-Deployment Health Reassessment to National Guard and Reserve Servicemembers and VA's Interaction with DOD
  

International Crisis Group

• Indonesia: Tackling Radicalism in Poso

ISN Security Watch

• Bush: Little Chance of Masterstroke
  
• Congo Militias Reach 'Historic' Peace Deal
  
• 'Fighting Terrorism Since 1492' [This is the first in a three-part series on separatist movements in the United States.]
  
• Serbs Vote in Pivotal Election
  
• The US, Iran and a Monkey
  

Lexington Institute

• Why Recruit Pentagon Leaders from the Defense Industry?
  

Multi-National Force-Iraq

• MNC-I Operational Update: Jan. 17, 2008
  
• Phantom Phoenix Update: Jan. 23, 2008
  

National Security Archives

• 1978: Clandestine Operation of Argentine Military Intelligence in Mexico
  

Rand

• Managing Diversity in Corporate America: An Exploratory Analysis
• Setting the Agenda for an Evidence-based Olympics
  

Stateline.org

• State of the States, 2008
  

Strategic Studies Institute

• Development and Reform of the Iraqi Police Forces
  
• Women in Combat Compendium
  

US Department of Energy. Audit Report

• The Department’s Cyber Security Incident Management Program

US Financial Services

• The FBIIC/FSSCC Pandemic Flu Exercise of 2007 After Action Report
  

Washington Institute for Near East Policy

• Conference Proceedings: Autumn of Decisions: A Critical Moment for American Engagement in the Middle East
  
• Britain and the Middle East
  

National Response Framework document released

FYI - the new National Response Framework document has just been released and is now available. The NRF supersedes the National Response Plan and is intended to serve as a guide for how the nation will conduct incident response. The new name is intended to better align the document and this intent.

DOD is a "full partner in the Federal response to domestic incidents, and its response is fully coordinated through the mechanisms of this Framework." [p.11]

It is available directly at http://www.fema.gov/pdf/emergency/nrf/nrf-core.pdf

Other related information is available at their main website the National Response Framework Resource Center -- http://www.fema.gov/emergency/nrf/mainindex.htm

The press release with more background is available at http://www.fema.gov/pdf/emergency/nrf/whatsnew.pdf

Friday's Miscellany 01-18-2008

ACLU

• Pandemic Preparedness: The Need for a Public Health-Not a Law Enforcement/National Security-Approach

Amnesty International

• Campaigning to End Stoning in Iran
• Religious Minority Faces Discrimination in Armenia

Atlantic Council of the United States

• U.S.–Turkey Relations Require New Focus on Energy Security, Middle East, and Fighting Terrorism

Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

• The Draft Party Platform of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood: Foray into Political Integration or Retreat into Old Positions?

CATO

• Cracks in the Foundation: NATO's New Troubles

Center for American Progress

• After the Surge: U.S. Army Chief of Staff Casey Is Right to Be Worried

Center for Security Policy

• Globaloney
• Argentina's Kirchner - An Ally of Chavez

Center for Strategic and International Studies

• Iran and the US: Key Issues from an American Perspective
• Comparative Connections v.9 n.4 - A Quarterly E-Journal on East Asian Bilateral Relations
  
• Smart Power Speaker Series with Henry Crumpton

Combating Terrorism Center (CTC)

• Al-Qa'ida's Foreign Fighters in Iraq: A First Look at the Sinjar Records
• CTC Sentinel

Congressional Budget Office (CBO)

• A Comparison of Science and Technology Funding for DOD's Space and Nonspace Programs
• Effects of Gasoline Prices on Driving Behavior and Vehicle Markets
• The Health Care System for Veterans: An Interim Report
• Unauthorized Appropriations and Expiring Authorizations

Florida Statewide Grand Jury

• First Interim Report of the Statewide Grand Jury. Criminal Gangs and Gang Related Violence

Foreign Policy Research Institute

• America’s "Long War(s)"
• Policy Disruption by NIE

Government Accountability Office (GAO)

• Chemical Demilitarization: Additional Management Actions Needed to Meet Key Performance Goals of DOD's Chemical Demilitarization Program
• Energy Markets: Increasing Globalization of Petroleum Products Markets, Tightening Refining Demand and Supply Balance, and Other Trends Have Implications for U.S. Energy Supply, Prices, and Price Volatility
• Iran Sanctions: Impact in Furthering U.S. Objectives Is Unclear and Should Be Reviewed
• Iraq Reconstruction: Better Data Needed to Assess Iraq's Budget Execution

Heritage Foundation

• Nicaragua's President Ortega: The Balancing Act After One Year
• The Iran National Intelligence Estimate: A Comprehensive Guide to What Is Wrong with the NIE
• Advancing Freedom in Burma
• Don't Tap the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, But Tap Elsewhere

Human Rights First

• Private Security Contractors at War: Ending the Culture of Impunity

Human Rights Watch

• Burma’s Gem Trade and Human Rights Abuses
• Crackdown in Burma: Targeted Sanctions Needed: Business-Related Recommendations on Burma

Indiana State University. Dept. of Criminology.

• Terrorist Recruitment in American Correctional Institutions: An Exploratory Study of Non-Traditional Faith Groups. Final Report

Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS)

• ISIS Imagery Brief: New Construction at Syrian Site

International Crisis Group

• "A Seat at the Table: The Role of Displaced Persons in Peace Talks and Peacebuilding" Presentation by Donald Steinberg, Vice-President, International Crisis Group, at the U.S. Institute of Peace, Washington DC, 14 December 2007.
• Timor-Leste: Security Sector Reform

Lexington Institute

• Deal of the Century: Who Will Win the Tanker Competition?

National Defense Intelligence College (NDIC)

• To Our Great Detriment: Ignoring What Extremists Say About Jihad

Office of Immigration Statistics (OIS)

• Trends in Naturalization Rates

Rand

• Estimating the Cost of Administering the Department of Defense Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program
• Maintaining Military Medical Skills During Peacetime Outlining and Assessing a New Approach
  
• Towards a Dutch Interoperability Framework: Recommendations to the Forum Standaardisatie
  
• U.S.-Pakistan Relations: Assassination, Instability, and the Future of U.S. Policy. Testimony

Strategic Studies Institute

• A Contemporary Challenge to State Sovereignty: Gangs and Other Illicit Transnational Criminal Organizations (TCOs) in Central America, El Salvador, Mexico, Jamaica, and Brazil
• Pakistan's Nuclear Future: Worries Beyond War

USAF Counterproliferation Center (CPC)

• Our Backyard: Posse Comitatus and the Challenge of Government Reorganization

Washington Institute for Near East Policy

• Apocalyptic Politics: On the Rationality of Iranian Policy
• Bush's Middle East Trip: The President Embraces Rice's Approach
  
• Prosecuting Terrorism beyond 'Material Support'
• Presidential Politics: Republican and Democratic Views on Middle East Policy