Unclassified Report on the President's Surveillance Program

The Inspectors General of the Departments of Defense and Justice, the Central Intelligence Agency, the National Security Agency, and the Office of the Director National Intelligence released an unclassified report mandated by Congress on President Bush’s warrantless surveillance program.

The report is the "Unclassified Report on the President’s Surveillance Program" and comments about the report can be found at The Gavel [Speaker Pelosi's blog site]

Friday's Miscellany 07-04-2009

Brookings Institution
· Crisis in Honduras
· Governance Matters 2009: Learning From Over a Decade of the Worldwide Governance Indicators

Canadian Defence & Foreign Affairs Institute (CDFAI)
· CDFAI Dispatch, Summer 2009, v. 7, no. 2
*Engaging the Obama Administration
*Geopolitics Today
*The Canadian Military in the Service of Northern Environmental Stewardship
*Pirates Have Rights, Bring in the Police
*How did this Happen? More Troubling Questions about the Maritime Helicopter Program
*A Renewed Canadian-Iceland NATO Commitment: A Chance to Assist an Old Friend and Ally
*NATO: A Glass Half Full
*Civil-Military Relations in Bangladesh after Pilkhana

Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (CEIP)
· Arab Reform Bulletin, v. 7, no. 5, June 2009
*Lebanon: After the Parliamentary Elections
*Kuwait: New Faces, Same Potential for Trouble
*Iraq: The Status and Future of the Awakening Movements
*Yemen: Economic Crisis Underpins Southern Separatism
*Morocco: Electoral Reform with Public Relations Value
· Moscow Summit: Expert Briefing Live From Moscow
· The Taliban's Winning Strategy in Afghanistan

CATO Institute
· Draw Down in Iraq a Positive First Step

Center for Democracy & Technology (CDT)
· Encouraging the Use of, and Rethinking Protections for De-Identified (and “Anonymized”) Health Data

Center for Security Policy
· Time to reject dictatorship in Latin America
· 'Take My Voice': An Everywoman's Story from Iran
· U.S. Nuclear Deterrence in the 21st Century: Getting It Right
· Walid Phares: Elections in Lebanon & Iran

Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments (CSBA)
· The Pentagon‘s Wasting Assets: The Eroding Foundations of American Power (Andrew F. Krepinevich, Jr. – Foreign Affairs – Jul/Aug 2009 issue)
· Strategy for the Long Haul

Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)
· Conflict, Community, and Criminality in Southeast Asia and Australia
· The Crisis Presidency? The Swedes Take the EU Baton
· Critical Questions : The Departure of U.S. Forces from Iraq‘s Cities
· The Departure of U.S. Forces from Iraq's Cities
· The Dynamics of the "AfPak" Conflict: Metrics and Status Report
· Energy and Climate Change at the Upcoming G-8 Summit
· Military Coup in Honduras: Under What Circumstances Did President Manuel Zelaya Leave Honduras?
· South Asia Monitor: The Congress Comeback: Unexpected Results of the Indian Election - June 01, 2009

Century Foundation
· Iran Election Bulletin, v. 1, no. 9, June 26, 2009
*In Wake of Protests, Khamenei Faces Split Inside Regime
*Resolving the Iranian Crisis Requires Honoring the People’s Will
*Regime Reacts Violently Against Protestors and Faces Uncertain Future
*Baton Carriers
*A Green Revolution in the Making
*Iran 2009 Presidential Election Results

Chatham House
· China in Africa - Preparing for the Next Forum for China Africa Cooperation

Combat Studies Institute (CSI)
· Army Support during the Hurricane Katrina Disaster. Occasional Paper 29
· Back to Basics: A Study of the Second Lebanon War and Operation CAST LEAD
· Over the Beach: US Army Amphibious Operations in the Korean War
· US Army and the Interagency Process: Historical Perspectives: the Proceedings of the Combat Studies Institute 2008 Military History Symposium

Congress. House. Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence
· Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010 - House Report 111-186

Department of Homeland Security Data Privacy and Integrity Advisory Committee
· Final White Paper on Department of Homeland Security Information Sharing and Access Agreements

Department of Homeland Security Inspector General
· OIG-09-78 - Management Advisory Report: FEMA's Response to Hurricane Ike

Department of Homeland Security Privacy Impact Assessments (PIA)
· National Pollution Funds Center – Pollution Response funding, Liability, and Compensation System (NPFC PRFLACS)
· Personal Identity Verification

European Union Institute for Security Studies (EUISS)
· The Interpolar World: A New Scenario. Occasional Paper no. 79 (June 2009)
· War Crimes, Conditionality and EU Integration in the Western Balkans. Chaillot Paper no. 116 (June 2009)

Financial Action Task Force
· Money Laundering through the Football Sector

Foreign Policy
· 2009 Failed States Index

Freedom House
· Annual Survey Nations in Transit (NIT) - 2009

Government Accountability Office (GAO)
· Defense Travel System: Implementation Challenges Remain, GAO-09-577
· Federal Contracting: Guidance on Award Fees Has Led to Better Practices but Is Not Consistently Applied, GAO-09-630
· Federal Information Security Issues, GAO-09-817R
· Insurance Sales to Military Personnel: Additional Actions Needed to Prevent Improper Life Insurance Sales and Pay Allotment Transactions, GAO-09-452
· Recovery Act: The Department of Transportation Followed Key Federal Requirements in Developing Selection Criteria for Its Supplemental Discretionary Grants Program, GAO-09-785R
· Urban Area Security Initiative: FEMA Lacks Measures to Assess How Regional Collaboration Efforts Build Preparedness Capabilities, GAO-09-651

Heritage Foundation
· Entitlements Darken Long-Term Outlook for Federal Budget
· Entitlement Reform Is Necessary for Long-Term Fiscal Stability
· Honduras Fires Its Runaway President: Constitutional Order Is Preserved
· Obama Missile Defense Plan Puts America at Risk
· Terrorist Watch: 23 Plots Foiled Since 9/11
· U.S. Levies Economic Sanctions on North Korea
· What Americans Need to Know About Missile Defense: We're Not There Yet
· Worst-Case Scenario: Dealing with WMD Must Be Part of Providing for Common Defense

Hudson Institute
· START Treaty Renewal and America's Strategic Posture

Human Rights Watch
· "Bring the Gun or You’ll Die": Torture, Rape, and Other Serious Human Rights Violations by Kenyan Security Forces in the Mandera Triangle
· Diamonds in the Rough: Human Rights Abuses in the Marange Diamond Fields of Zimbabwe · Precisely Wrong: Gaza Civilians Killed by Israeli Drone-Launched Missiles
· "What Did I Do Wrong?": Papuans in Merauke Face Abuses by Indonesian Special Forces
· "What Your Children Do Will Touch Upon You": Punitive House-Burning in Chechnya

Institute for Security Studies (ISS)
· Jun 09: No 1 Security Sector Reform in Zimbabwe, What, Why and How?
· Jun 09: No 2 Intelligence and Accountability in Africa

International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)
· "Our World - Views From the Field" Opinion Survey, Part 1: The Impact of Armed Conflict
· Our World - Views from Afghanistan: Opinion Survey 2009
· Our World - Views from Colombia: Opinion Survey 2009
· Our World - Views from Democratic Republic of the Congo: Opinion Survey 2009
· Our World - Views from Georgia: Opinion Survey 2009
· Our World - Views from Haiti: Opinion Survey 2009
· Our World - Views from Lebanon: Opinion Survey 2009
· Our World - Views from Liberia: Opinion Survey 2009
· Our World - Views from Philippines: Opinion Survey 2009

International Crisis Group
· Côte d’Ivoire: What’s Needed to End the Crisis
· Sri Lanka’s Judiciary: Politicised Courts, Compromised Rights

International Relations and Security Network
· Bosnia: Premier Pointlessness
· Chasing Phantoms in the Tajik Mountains
· Costs of War: The Iraq Onus
· Haiti’s Annus Horribilus
· Indonesian Poll: Dangerously Dull
· Iraq: Face of Corruption, Mask of Politics
· The Softer Side of Security
· US$147/B One Year On: Political Winners and Strategic Losers
· White House 2.0: Spreading its Message

Jamestown Foundation
· Terrorism Monitor, July 2, 2009, v. 7, no. 9
*Jihadis Debate Attacks on Western Interests and U.N. Peacekeepers
*A Profile of the Late Qari Zainuddin Mahsud - Waziristan Militant and Opponent of Baitullah Mahsud
*Lashkar-e-Taiba's Financial Network Targets India from the Gulf States
*Uncertainty Surrounds the Arrest of al-Qaeda Financier in Yemen

National Academy Press
· Acute Exposure Guideline Levels for Selected Airborne Chemicals, Volume 7 [free download but registration is required]
· Combating Tobacco Use in Military and Veteran Populations [free download but registration is required]
· Evaluating Testing, Costs, and Benefits of Advanced Spectroscopic Portals for Screening Cargo at Ports of Entry: Interim Report (Abbreviated Version) [free download but registration is required]

National Security Archive
· Saddam Hussein Talks to the FBI

New York City Police Department
· Engineering Security: Protective Design for High Risk Buildings

Pew Project for Excellence in Journalism
· 140 Characters of Protest [Iran and Twitter]

RAND
· Influenza Vaccine Use by Adults in the U.S.: A Snapshot at the End of the 2008-2009 Vaccination Season
· Influenza Vaccine Use by Adults in the U.S.: Detailed Survey Data Tables for the 2008-2009 Vaccination Season

Small Wars Journal
· Enhancing the Security Cooperation Marine Air Ground Task Force to Satisfy the Needs of the Uncertain Global Security Environment
· From War Managers to Soldier Diplomats: The Coming Revolution in Civil Military Relations
· The Navy’s Gators: An Endangered Species?
· Not So Fast, Amigas y Amigos
· The People in Arms: A Practitioner’s Guide to Understanding Insurgency and Dealing with it Effectively

Strategic Studies Institute
· Pakistan - The Most Dangerous Place in the World
· Redeployment of the Jedi

US Coast Guard Maritime Liaison Office (MARLO)
· MARLO Newsletter

US Institute of Peace
· New State Department Documents Refute Karadzic Claims

Washington Institute for Near East Policy
· Gulf of Conflict: A History of U.S.-Iranian Confrontation at Sea
· Iraqi Oil: Baghdad Looks for a Bigger Role
· Responding to the Iran Crisis: How to Reconcile Competing Priorities

WorldPublicOpinion.org
· Assessing Leaders Worldwide 2009
· Pakistani Public Opinion on the Swat Conflict, Afghanistan, and the US

REPORT - Progress in Afghanistan

DOD has released its latest report on the "Progress Toward Security and Stability in Afghanistan."

The previous report fwas released in January

Also of interest is their report from June 2008 - "United States Plan for Sustaining the Afghanistan National Security Forces"

Friday's Miscellany 06-26-2009

American Institute for Contemporary German Studies (AICGS)
· Comparing German and American Models in Skill Formation
· The Future of Germany’s Foreign Policy in the Middle East: European, Transatlantic, and Eventually More German?
· Germany and Elections: Dodging the Afghanistan Bullet
· Merkel and Obama: Setting Agendas in Washington
· From Rubble Women to Madam Chancellor: Women’s Long March through the Institutions in Germany

The American Prospect
· The Other Sons of Iraq

Army Command and Staff College
· Design: Tools of the Trade

Army Ground Combat Vehicle Blue Ribbon Panel
· Comprehensive Lessons Learned White Paper (DRAFT)
· The Operational Environment Paper

Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence
· Major School Shooting in the United States Since 1997
· No Gun Left Behind: The Gun Lobby’s Campaign to Push Guns into Colleges and Schools

Brookings
· Designing Detention: A Model Law for Terrorist Incapacitation
· Statutory PAYGO: An Important First Step Toward Fiscal Responsibility
· An Update on the Economic and Fiscal Crises: 2009 and Beyond
· Which Path to Persia? Options for a New American Strategy Toward Iran

Canadian Defence & Foreign Affairs Institute (CDFAI)
· Dancing on Snake Heads in Yemen

Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (CEIP)
· Developments in the Global Economy
· Iran’s Clenched Fist Election: What Next for U.S. Policy?
· Iran's Elections: The International Implications

Center for a New American Strategy (CNAS)
· Interactive Map: Fighting Pushes Pakistanis from Their Homes and Threatens Further Instability
· The New Strategy in Afghanistan
· Striking a Balance: A New American Security

Center for American Progress
· Ending “Don‟t Ask, Don‟t Tell”

Center for Democracy & Technology (CDT)
· Privacy and the White House Cyberspace Policy Review

Center for Immigration Studies (CIS)
· Illegal, but Not Undocumented: Identity Theft, Document Fraud and Illegal Employment

Center for Security Policy
· Will Brazil and China Abandon the Dollar?

Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)
· Issues & Insights v. 09, no. 11
*China’s Challenge to the International Monetary System: Incremental Steps and Long-Term Prospects for Internationalization of the Renminbi

Center for Technology and National Security Policy (CTNSP)
· The Active Denial System: A Revolutionary Non-Lethal Weapon for Today’s Battlefield
· Computer Science Research Funding: How Much Is Too Little?
· Improving the Interface Between Industry and Army Science and Technology: Some Thoughts on the Army’s Independent Research and Development Program

Centre for European Reform
· The EU's Approach to Israel and the Palestinians: A Move in the Right Direction

Century Foundation
· U.S.-Russian Relations and the Democracy and Rule of Law Deficit

Chatham House
· Preliminary Analysis of the Voting Figures in Iran’s 2009 Presidential Election

Congress. House. Armed Services Committee
· Hearings
*Raising Thinking from the Tactical to the Operational Level: JPME I and II at the Services’ and Joint Command and Staff Colleges [June 25, 2009]

Congress. House. Foreign Affairs Committee
· Japan’s Changing Role
· The July Summit and Beyond: Prospects for U.S.-Russia Nuclear Arms Reductions
· A Regional Overview of South Asia
· Somalia: Prospects for Lasting Peace and a Unified Response to Extremism and Terrorism
· U.S. - Africa Trade Relations: Creating a Platform for Economic Growth

Congress. House. Homeland Security Committee
· FY2010 Budget for the Office of Intelligence and Analysis of the Department of Homeland Security
· MARKUP of H.R. 2868 - “The Chemical Facility Antiterrorism Act of 2009”

Congress. House. Oversight and Government Reform Committee
· Afghanistan and Pakistan: Oversight of a New Interagency Strategy
· The Future of the V-22 Osprey: Costs, Capabilities, and Challenges
· Joint Full Committee and Subcommittee on Domestic Policy Hearing Titled: "Bank of America and Merrill Lynch: How Did a Private Deal Turn Into a Federal Bailout? Part II

Congress. House. Science and Technology Committee
· Assessing Cybersecurity Activities at NIST and DHS
· The Science of Security: Lessons Learned in Developing, Testing and Operating Advanced Radiation Monitors

Congress. Senate. Foreign Affairs
· Confronting Drug Trafficking in West Africa
· Iran at a Crossroads?

Congress. Senate. Judiciary Committee
· The Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009

Congressional Budget Office (CBO)
· The Long-Term Budget Outlook
· Measuring the Effects of the Business Cycle on the Federal Budget
· The Troubled Asset Relief Program: Report on Transactions Through June 17, 2009

Council on Foreign Relations (CFR)
· Iran's Revolutionary Guards
· Trade and Climate Change

Department of Defense Inspector General (DODIG)
· Results From Assessment of DoD's Plans for Implementing the Requirements of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Memorandum No. D-2009-RAM-001)

Department of Homeland Security
· Privacy and Civil Liberties Policy Guidance Memorandum

Department of Homeland Security Office of Immigration Statistics
· Trends in Naturalization Rates: 2008 Update

Department of Homeland Security Inspector General
· OIG-09-77 - FEMA's Acquisition of Two Warehouses to Support Hurricane Katrina Response Operations
· OIG-09-75 - U.S. Coast Guard's Plan to Improve Deepwater Accountability (Letter Report)
· OIG-09-73 - Independent Auditor's Report on USCG's FY 2008 Mission Action Plans included in the DHS FY 2009 Internal Control Playbook

Department of Homeland Security Privacy Impact Assessments (PIA)
· Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS) Update

Department of Justice
· Attorney General’s Annual Report to Congress and Assessment of U.S. Government Activities to Combat Trafficking in Persons Fiscal Year 2008

Department of the Army
· 2009 Army Posture Statement

Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
· National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS)

Foreign Policy Research Institute
· Palestinian Security Reform: A Moment of Truth

Government Accountability Office (GAO)
· Army Corps of Engineers: Recent Changes Have Reduced the Use of Continuing Contracts, but Management Processes Need to Be Improved, GAO-09-552
· Aviation Safety: Better Data and Targeted FAA Efforts Needed to Identify and Address Safety Issues of Small Air Cargo Carriers, GAO-09-614
· Coast Guard: Observations on the Genesis and Progress of the Service's Modernization Program, GAO-09-530R
· Combating Nuclear Smuggling: DHS Improved Testing of Advanced Radiation Detection Portal Monitors, but Preliminary Results Show Limits of the New Technology, GAO-09-655
· Combating Nuclear Smuggling: Lessons Learned from DHS Testing of Advanced Radiation Detection Portal Monitors, GAO-09-804T [testimony]
· Contract Management: Minimal Compliance with New Safeguards for Time-and-Materials Contracts for Commercial Services and Safeguards Have Not Been Applied to GSA Schedules Program, GAO-09-579
· Cybersecurity: Continued Federal Efforts Are Needed to Protect Critical Systems and Information, GAO-09-835T [testimony]
· Defense Acquisitions: Assessments Needed to Address V-22 Aircraft Operational and Cost Concerns to Define Future Investments, GAO-09-482
· The Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Critical Infrastructure Protection Cost-Benefit Report, GAO-09-654R
· Defense Logistics: Information on the Test and Evaluation and Assignment and Cancellation of National Stock Numbers as It Relates to MILITEC-1, GAO-09-735R
· Energy Markets: Estimates of the Effects of Mergers and Market Concentration on Wholesale Gasoline Prices, GAO-09-659
· Firearm and Explosives Background Checks Involving Terrorist Watch List Records, GAO-09-125R
· Human Capital: Actions Needed to Better Track and Provide Timely and Accurate Compensation and Medical Benefits to Deployed Federal Civilians, GAO-09-562
· Human Capital: Continued Monitoring of Internal Safeguards and an Action Plan to Address Employee Concerns Could Improve Implementation of the National Security Personnel System, GAO-09-840
· International Aviation: Federal Efforts Help Address Safety Challenges in Africa, but Could Benefit from Reassessment and Better Coordination, GAO-09-498
· Military Personnel: Reserve Component Servicemembers on Average Earn More Income while Activated, GAO-09-688R
· V-22 Osprey Aircraft: Assessments Needed to Address Operational and Cost Concerns to Define Future Investments, GAO-09-692T [testimony]

Heritage Foundation
· Create a National Defense Panel to Independently Judge Pentagon's Quadrennial Defense Review http://www.heritage.org/Research/NationalSecurity/upload/wm_2500.pdf
· Do DHS Fire Grants Reduce Fire Casualties?
· The FY 2010 Defense Budget Request: Prelude to Another Procurement Holiday?
· The Iranian Elections and Public Diplomacy 2.0: A Tale of Untapped Potential
· Maritime Security: Fighting Piracy in the Gulf of Aden and Beyond
· Moving Forward on Missile Defense

Human Rights Watch
· Kosovo: Poisoned by Lead: A Health and Human Rights Crisis in Mitrovica’s Roma Camps
· No One to Intervene: Gaps in Civilian Protection in Southern Sudan
· The Risk of Return: Repatriating the Displaced in the Context of Conflict in Eastern Chad
· "They Put Me in the Hole": Military Detention, Torture, and Lack of Due Process in Cabinda

Institute for National Security Studies (INSS)
· MRAPs, Irregular Warfare, and Pentagon Reform
· McNair Paper no. 70 – Saddam’s War: An Iraqi Military Perspective of the Iran-Iraq War
· Strategic Forum no. 241 Diverging Roads: 21st- Century U.S.-Thai Defense Relations

Institute for Security Studies (ISS)
· 18 Jun 2009: The proposed AU Authority: Hybridisation, Balancing Intergovernmentalism and Supranationalism
· 01 June 2009: ISS Paper 188: Elections and Accountability in South Africa

International Crisis Group
· Afghanistan's Election Challenges
· Georgia-Russia: Still Insecure and Dangerous
· Guinea-Bissau: Beyond Rule of the Gun
· Policing in Conflict States – Lessons from Afghanistan
· Recruiting Militants in Southern Thailand

Jamestown Foundation
· China Brief, v. 9, no. 13, June 24, 2009
*CCP Campaign for a New Generation of "Red and Expert" Officials
*Chinese ASBM Development: Knowns and Unknowns
*A Chinese Turn to Mahan?
*Deepening Naval Cooperation between Islamabad and Beijing
· Terrorism Monitor, v. 7, no. 8, June 26, 2009
*The Islamic Shi'a Resistance in Iraq and Iran's Confrontation with the U.K.
*Suicide Bombing Kills Somali Security Minister as Islamists Mount Assault on Mogadishu
*Sleeper Cells and Shi'a Secessionists in Saudi Arabia: A Salafist Perspective
*Mystery Surrounds Alleged Hezbollah Links to Drug Arrests in Curacao

Joint Chiefs of Staff
· JP 3-40, Combating Weapons of Mass Destruction,10 June 2009

Lexington Institute
· Congress Should Move Forward on a New Bomber
· Delay of Army Warfighter Network Would Be Dangerous

Mayors Against Illegal Guns
· Inside Straw Purchasing How Criminals Get Guns Illegally
· Movement of Illegal Guns in America

Mineta Transportation Institute
· The Role of Transportation in Campus Emergency Planning

National Academies Press (NAP)
· Approaches to Future Space Cooperation and Competition in a Globalizing World: Summary of a Workshop [download is free but registration is required]
· Assessing Medical Preparedness to Respond to a Terrorist Nuclear Event: Workshop Report [download is free but registration is required]
· Contaminated Water Supplies at Camp Lejeune: Assessing Potential Health Effects [download is free but registration is required]
· Evaluation of Safety and Environmental Metrics for Potential Application at Chemical Agent Disposal Facilities [download is free but registration is required]
· The New Orleans Hurricane Protection System: Assessing Pre-Katrina Vulnerability and Improving Mitigation and Preparedness [download is free but registration is required]
· Opportunities in Neuroscience for Future Army Applications [download is free but registration is required]

New America Foundation
· Green Trade Balance

Peterson Institute for International Economics
· China's Changing Outbound Foreign Direct Investment Profile: Drivers and Policy Implications
· The Global Financial Crisis: Lessons Learned and Challenges for Developing Countries [speech]
· India's Goldilocks Globalization

RAND
· Foundations of Effective Influence Operations: A Framework for Enhancing Army Capabilities
· Police Recruitment and Retention in the Contemporary Urban Environment: A National Discussion of Personnel Experiences and Promising Practices from the Front Lines

Small Wars Journal
· Turkey’s Border Porosity Problem with PKK
· Counterinsurgency: Is “Air Control” the Answer?
· Common Analytic Standards: Intelligence Community Directive # 203 and U.S. Marine Corps Intelligence
· The Seven Deadly Questions: How to Think about Mexico and Beyond
· Poppy is Not the Most Profitable Crop, It’s the Only Crop

Stanley Foundation
· Achieving Nonproliferation Goals: Moving From Denial to Technology Governance

State Department
· 2009 Senator Paul Simon Water for the Poor Act of 2005 Report to Congress
· Political Violence Against Americans 2008

State Department Office of Inspector General
· Performance Audit of the DynCorp Contract for Personal Protective Services in Iraq (MERO-IQO-09-06)
· Nonimmigrant Visa Adjudication: the Visa Referral Process (ISP-CA-05-56)
· The U.S. Mission to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (ISP-I-05-09)

Stimson Center
· Achieving Nonproliferation Goals: Moving From Denial to Technology Governance
· Nuclear CBMs for South Asian Regional Stability

Strategic Studies Institute
· 2009 Key Strategic Issues List
· New Partnerships for a New Era: Enhancing the South African Army's Stabilization Role in Africa

UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)
· 2009 World Drug Report

USCENTCOM
· Unclassified executive summary of the USCENTCOM investigation into civilian casualties in Farah Province, Afghanistan

The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
· Defending the City: NYPD's Counterterrorism Operations
· The Eight Books Ahmadinejad Doesn't Want You to Read
· Myths, Illusions, and Peace: Finding a New Direction for America in the Middle East
· The Security Forces of the Islamic Republic and the Fate of the Opposition

House Intelligence Committee Report

The House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence approved the bill H.R. 2701 and released its report on the Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010. The report is House Report 111-186

The Chairman's statement about this report says, among other things, the bill "amends the National Security Act to change the way Congress is 'fully and currently' informed of all intelligence activities." In a second provision, the bill creates a statutory and independent Intelligence Community-wide Inspector General (IC/IG).

The bill also:
· Authorizes an increase in funding for human intelligence collection and counterintelligence activities as well as research and technology
· Funding in support of US efforts in Afghanistan Pakistan as well as other global security issues
· Investment in cybersecurity capabilities
· Investment in critical language capabilities including five high-priority African languages

REPORT -- Political Violence Against Americans 2008

The State Department has released the latest version of their report Political Violence Against Americans 2008.

There were no reports produced from 2003-2007.

Other versions of this report are available at http://www.state.gov/m/ds/rls/rpt/19691.htm

This report was known as Significant Incidents of Political Violence Against Americans from 1987-1997 and there was also a previous study Lethal Terrorist Actions Against Americans: 1973-1986.

CENTCOM report on the civilian casualties in Farah Province, Afghanistan

The unclassified executive summary of the USCENTCOM investigation into civilian casualties in Farah Province, Afghanistan on 4 May 2009 is now available at
http://www.centcom.mil/images/pdf/uscentcom%20farah%20unclass%20exsum%2018%20jun%2009.pdf