FAS members

FAS Roundup: December 5, 2011

Dormant civil liberties oversight board, podcast highlighting Iran’s nuclear program, new CRS reports and more. 

From the Blogs

• Civil Liberties Oversight Board Still Dormant: The Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight board was supposed to provide independent oversight of U.S. counterterrorism policies. But, it remains dormant as its members have not been named or confirmed.

• In the 1950s, Dr. Mary Jean Scott Silk joined the Federation of American Scientists. She worked at Brookhaven National Laboratories from 1952 to 1958 and graduated from John Hopkins University with a doctorate in nuclear physics in 1958. In a Q+A with Dr. Scott Silk on the FAS in a Nutshell Blog, she discusses her involvement with FAS in its early years, her work at Brookhaven and future nuclear threats. 

• New CRS Reports: The history, missions and operations of the nine U.S. military combatant commands (COCOMs) are detailed in a new report from the Congressional Research Service. Additionally, Secrecy News has obtained new  reports regarding the expanding role of women in combat, secret sessions of Congress, and legislation to authorize and require military detention of suspected terrorists.

• New Intelligence Directive on Congressional Notification: Steven Aftergood writes that Director of National Intelligence James Clapper has issued a new Intelligence Community Directive on “Congressional Notification” that generally encourages “a presumption of notification” to Congress regarding significant intelligence activities.

One of the benefits of FAS membership is receiving weekly updates regarding the latest news and information on science and technology issues affecting our world. I am excited to share with you a new e-newsletter that will be sent to members every week, highlighting events, publications, reports and news from FAS and our experts about the urgent need for a more secure world.

One of the benefits of being an FAS member is gaining access to special events, like conference calls, webcasts, and live chats, with FAS experts.

I cordially invite FAS Members to a conference call this Thursday, November 4, 2010, at 2:00 PM EDT.

The launching off point will be my forthcoming article in the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, titled, “Next customer, please: The risk in conventional arms sales along with nuclear energy deals.”

I will speak about my evaluation of certain nuclear energy deals that could result in changing the security perceptions and shifting security alliances.

The conference call will last 45 minutes, with 30 minutes of Q&A.

You may submit questions for the conference call in advance by replying to this post.