Secrecy News: November 27, 2018

SECRECY NEWS From the FAS Project on Government Secrecy Volume 2018, Issue No. 68 November 27, 2018 Secrecy News Blog:  https://fas.org/blogs/secrecy/ **     DEFENSE PRIMERS, COSTS OF WAR, AND MORE FROM CRS DEFENSE PRIMERS, COSTS OF WAR, AND MORE FROM CRS Several short introductions to basic aspects of U.S. military policy have recently been updated by the Congressional Research Service. Intended for congressional consumers, they may also be useful to others. Defense Primer: Organization of U.S. Ground Forces, CRS In Focus, updated November 16, 2018 Defense Primer: Special Operations Forces, CRS In Focus, updated November 16, 2018 Defense Primer: Navigating the NDAA, CRS In Focus, updated November 16, 2018 Defense Primer: Defense Appropriations Process, CRS In Focus, updated November 16, 2018 Defense Primer: Department of the Army and Army Command Structure, CRS In Focus, updated November 16, 2018     *    *    * It is hard even for attentive members of the public to fully comprehend the U.S. military budget. "The scale of spending alone makes it hard to grasp. Public understanding of the costs of war is further limited by secrecy, faulty accounting, and the deferral of current costs," I argued recently in a short paper for the Costs of War Project at Brown University. See The Costs of War: Obstacles to Public Understanding, November 14, 2018. Neta C. Crawford of Brown University estimated the post-9/11 costs of war at $5.9 trillion through FY 2019.     *    *    * Other noteworthy new releases from the Congressional Research Service include the following. The Global Research and Development Landscape and Implications for the Department of Defense, updated November 8, 2018 U.S. Ground Forces Robotics and Autonomous Systems (RAS) and Artificial Intelligence (AI): Considerations for Congress, updated November 20, 2018 United States and Saudi Arabia Energy Relations, CRS In Focus, November 19, 2018 Global Human Rights: Multilateral Bodies & U.S. Participation, CRS In Focus, updated November 23, 2018 The European Union: Current Challenges and Future Prospects, updated November 15, 2018 Immigration: "Recalcitrant" Countries and the Use of Visa Sanctions to Encourage Cooperation with Alien Removals, CRS In Focus, November 15, 2018 Infrastructure Investment and the Federal Government, CRS In Focus, updated November 19, 2018 Insulin Products and the Cost of Diabetes Treatment, CRS In Focus, November 19, 2018 Quantum Information Science: Applications, Global Research and Development, and Policy Considerations, updated November 19, 2018 What Role Might the Federal Government Play in Law Enforcement Reform?, CRS In Focus, updated November 16, 2018 Who Can Serve as Acting Attorney General, CRS Legal Sidebar, November 15, 2018 _____________________________________ Secrecy News is written by Steven Aftergood and published by the Federation of American Scientists. The Secrecy News Blog is at:      https://fas.org/blogs/secrecy/ To SUBSCRIBE to Secrecy News, go to:      https://fas.org/sgp/news/secrecy/subscribe.html OR email your request to saftergood@fas.org Secrecy News is also archived at:      https://fas.org/sgp/news/secrecy/index.html Support the FAS Project on Government Secrecy with a donation:      https://fas.org/donate/ _______________________ Steven Aftergood Project on Government Secrecy Federation of American Scientists web:    https://fas.org/sgp/index.html email:  saftergood@fas.org voice:  (202)454-4691 twitter:  @saftergood