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• Next Generation Air Transportation System: Progress and Challenges Associated with the Transformation of the National Airspace System, Report to Congressional Requesters

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  "In 2003, Congress created the Joint Planning and Development Office (JPDO) to plan for and coordinate, with federal and nonfederal stakeholders, a transformation from the current air traffic control system to the 'next generation air transportation system' (NGATS) by 2025. Housed within the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), JPDO has seven partner agencies: the Departments of Transportation, Commerce, Defense, and Homeland Security; FAA; the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA); and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. FAA will have primary responsibility for implementing NGATS. This report addresses (1) the status of JPDO's efforts to plan for NGATS, (2) the key challenges facing JPDO, and (3) the key challenges facing FAA as it implements the transformation. To address these issues, GAO reviewed relevant documents, interviewed agency officials and stakeholders, and conducted an expert panel."

  United States. Government Accountability Office

  2006-11
• Air Force Policy Directive 10-8

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  "This directive establishes Air Force Homeland Defense and Civil Support (HD/CS) policy consistent with federal law, Executive Order (EO) and Department of Defense (DOD) policy. This document aligns the Air Force mission with the Department of Defense Strategy for Homeland Defense and Civil Support. Additionally, the revised AFPD reflects the Headquarters A-Staff structure. [...] It provides overarching guidance to enable the Air Force to organize train and equip by applying the principles, capabilities and competencies of air and space power to HD, defense support of civil authorities (DSCA), Air Force Critical Infrastructure Program (CIP) and emergency preparedness (EP) missions within the United States (US) and its territories and protectorates."

  United States. Department of the Air Force

  2006-09-07
• U.S. Aerospace Industry: Progress in Implementing Aerospace Commission Recommendations, and Remaining Challenges, Report to the Ranking Democratic Member, Subcommittee on Aviation, Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, House of Representatives

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  "The U.S. aerospace industry's wide-ranging activities- including commercial aviation, national security, and space exploration- make it critical to the economic health and strategic strength of our nation. However, the industry faces challenges, such as a national air traffic management system that, in its present form, cannot handle expected increases in demand; an aging aerospace workforce; and an increasingly competitive global market. In response to these and other challenges, Congress established the Commission on the Future of the United States Aerospace Industry in 2001 to recommend potential actions by the federal government and others to support a robust aerospace industry in the 21st century. In 2002, the Commission made recommendations to address these challenges. This report discusses (1) the extent to which federal agencies have addressed selected Commission recommendations and (2) the challenges that remain in addressing the recommendations. Based on the opinions of former Commissioners and GAO research, GAO selected recommendations dealing with the national airspace system, space policy, government-wide management structure, international issues, the aerospace workforce, and research and development. This report is based on reviews of agency documents, literature, and interviews with aerospace experts and officials from relevant federal agencies."

  United States. Government Accountability Office

  2006-09
• U.S. National Space Policy

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  "The President authorized a new national space policy on August 31, 2006 that establishes overarching national policy that governs the conduct of U.S. space activities. This policy supersedes Presidential Decision Directive/NSC-49/NSTC-8, National Space Policy, dated September 14, 1996. [...] Freedom of action in space is as important to the United States as air power and sea power. In order to increase knowledge, discovery, economic prosperity, and to enhance the national security, the United States must have robust, effective, and efficient space capabilities."

  United States. Office of Science and Technology Policy

  2006-08-31
• China and Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction and Missiles: Policy Issues [Updated August 2, 2006]

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  "Congress has long been concerned about whether U.S. policy advances the national interest in reducing the role of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and missiles that could deliver them. Recipients of China's technology reportedly include Pakistan and countries that the State Department says support terrorism, such as Iran and North Korea. This CRS Report, updated as warranted, discusses the national security problem of China's role in weapons proliferation and issues related to the U.S. policy response, including legislation, since the mid-1990s. China has taken some steps to mollify U.S. concerns about its role in weapons proliferation. Nonetheless, supplies from China have aggravated trends that result in ambiguous technical aid, more indigenous capabilities, longer-range missiles, and secondary (retransferred) proliferation. As the Director of Central Intelligence (DCI) has reported to Congress, China remains a 'key supplier' of weapons technology, particularly missile or chemical technology. Policy issues in seeking PRC cooperation have concerned summits, sanctions, and satellite exports. On November 21, 2000, the Clinton Administration agreed to waive missile proliferation sanctions, resume processing licenses to export satellites to China, and discuss an extension of the bilateral space launch agreement, in return for another promise from China on missile nonproliferation."

  Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

  Kan, Shirley

  2006-08-02
• Next Generation Air Transportation System: Preliminary Analysis of Progress and Challenges Associated with the Transformation of the National Airspace System, Statement of Gerald L. Dillingham, Ph.D., Director, Physical Infrastructure Issues

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  "The health of our nation's air transportation system is critical to our citizens and economy. However, the current approach to managing air transportation is becoming increasingly inefficient and operationally obsolete. In 2003, Congress created the Joint Planning and Development Office (JPDO) to plan for and coordinate, with federal and nonfederal stakeholders, a transformation from the current air traffic control (ATC) system to the 'next generation air transportation system' (NGATS). Housed within the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), JPDO has seven partner agencies that make up JPDO's senior policy committee: the Departments of Transportation, Commerce, Defense, and Homeland Security; FAA; the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA); and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. This testimony, which provides preliminary results from GAO's [Government Accountability Office] ongoing work on JPDO, provides information on (1) the status of JPDO's efforts to plan for NGATS, (2) the key challenges facing JPDO as it moves forward with its planning efforts, and (3) the key challenges facing FAA as it implements the transformation while continuing its current operations. The statement is based on GAO's analysis of JPDO documents, interviews, and the views of a panel of experts, as well as on past GAO work."

  United States. Government Accountability Office

  2006-07-25
• WMD Proliferation, Globalization, and International Security: Whither the Nexus and National Security?

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  "Throughout the 1990s, the United States national security establishment gradually embraced the idea of a growing threat posed by the proliferation of a variety weapons and weapons technologies that could cause mass casualties to combatants and non-combatants. Nuclear weapons had long occupied the rhetorical space used by policy makers to describe weapons that could kill on a mass scale, but gradually terminology associated with nuclear weapons got subsumed by term "weapons of mass destruction" (WMD), which quickly became an accepted term in the national security policy lexicon. The term is first believed to have surfaced in the media in the aftermath of the German bombing of the Guernica in April 1937. It reappeared periodically during World War II in reference to the indiscriminate killing of civilians by aircraft. Today, the term is defined in U.S. Code Title 50 as "any weapon or device that is intended, or has the capability, to cause death or serious bodily injury to a significant number of people through the release, dissemination, or impact of toxic or poisonous chemicals or their precursors; a disease organism; radiation or radioactivity." For purposes of this analysis, the term is defined as weapons that can inflict mass casualties on combatants and noncombatants using nuclear and radiological devices, long range missiles, and chemical- and biological weapons."

  Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.). Center for Contemporary Conflict

  Russell, James A. (James Avery), 1958-

  2006-07
• Federal Research and Development: Budgeting and Priority-Setting Issues, 709th Congress [June 30, 2006]

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  "This report summarizes current research and development (R&D) priority-setting issues- in terms of expenditures; agency, topical, or field-specific priorities; and organizational arrangements to determine priorities. It will be updated as needed. Federal R&D funding priorities reflect presidential policies and national needs. Defense R&D predominated in the 1980s, decreasing to about 50% of federal R&D in the 1990s. In non-defense R&D, space R&D was important in the 1960s as the nation sought to compete with the Soviet Union; energy R&D was a priority during the energy-short 1970s, and, since the 1980s, health R&D has predominated in non-defense science. This Administration's R&D priorities include weapons development, homeland security, space launch vehicles, and, beginning in 2006, more support for physical sciences and engineering. For FY2007, R&D is requested at almost $137 billion of budget authority, about 1.8% more than enacted in FY2006. The request would increase funding for physical sciences and engineering programs in the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Department of Energy's (DOE) Office of Science, and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) laboratories as part of the President's American Competitiveness Initiative (ACI) to enhance innovation. Funding for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) R&D would increase by about 8% largely to develop human space vehicles, but cuts would be made in aeronautics, life sciences, and other research activities. Continuing previous emphases, the budget would slightly increase in real dollar terms support for defense development. National Institutes of Health (NIH) R&D funding would be flat and R&D funding for all other agencies would decrease from FY2006 enacted levels."

  Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

  Knezo, Genevieve Johanna

  2006-06-30
• Federal Research and Development: Budgeting and Priority-Setting Issues, 109th Congress [Updated June 14, 2006]

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  "Federal research and development (R&D) funding priorities reflect presidential policies and national needs. Defense R&D predominated in the 1980s, decreasing to about 50% of federal R&D in the 1990s. In non-defense R&D, space R&D was important in the 1960s as the nation sought to compete with the Soviet Union; energy R&D was a priority during the energy-short 1970s, and, since the 1980s, health R&D has predominated in non-defense science. This Administration's priorities include weapons development, homeland security, space launch vehicles, and beginning in 2006, more support for physical sciences and engineering. For FY2007, R&D is requested at almost $137 billion of budget authority, about 1.8% more than enacted in FY2006. The request would increase funding for physical sciences and engineering programs in the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Department of Energy's (DOE) Office of Science, and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) laboratories as part of the President's American Competitiveness Initiative (ACI) to enhance innovation. Funding for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) R&D would increase by about 8% largely to develop human space vehicles but cuts would be made in aeronautics, life sciences, and other research activities. Continuing previous emphases, the budget would slightly increase in real dollar terms support for defense development. National Institutes of Health (NIH) R&D funding would be flat and R&D funding for all other agencies would decrease from FY2006 enacted levels."

  Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

  Knezo, Genevieve Johanna

  2006-06-14
• Ungoverned Spaces: The Challenges of Governing Tribal Societies

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  From the thesis abstract: "This thesis addresses the efforts of different regimes to establish their authority over the Pashtun ethnic group. The Pashtun are at the heart of the conflict in Afghanistan, which also reaches into northwestern Pakistan. They provide both an important and current example of why 'ungoverned spaces'--geographic regions beyond the reach of central authority--have become such important topic among many of the world's countries. People that exist within a sovereign state's borders and outside the state's authority present a potentially dangerous problem to both the state itself and the international community. To address the challenges facing a state attempting to establish its authority over the Pashtun, this thesis identifies normative and organizational structures associated with rural Pashtun tribes and discusses how these factors impede the creation of central state authority. These factors are applied to three cases--concerning Britain, Pakistan, and the Soviet Union--which involved a modern government's efforts to establish its authority over the Pashtun. In almost every case, the state failed when it either misunderstood the importance of these structural factors or willfully ignored them to pursue other interests. [...] Looking beyond the Pashtun case, the research in this thesis suggests that policies focused purely on suppression, isolation, or accommodation are destined to fail in establishing state authority."

  Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.)

  Groh, Ty L.

  2006-06
• Global Climate Change [Updated May 12, 2006]

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  "There is concern that human activities are affecting the heat/energy-exchange balance between Earth, the atmosphere, and space, and inducing global climate change, often termed 'global warming.' Human activities, particularly the burning of fossil fuels, have contributed to increased atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) and other trace greenhouse gases. If these gases continue to accumulate in the atmosphere at current rates, most scientists believe significant global warming would occur through intensification of Earth' s natural heat-trapping 'greenhouse effect.' Possible impacts might be seen as both positive and negative, depending on regional or national variations. [...] In March 2001, the Bush Administration rejected the Kyoto Protocol, and thus the United States is not party to it (and therefore is not subject to its requirements) as it enters into force. President Bush concluded a cabinet-level climate policy review with an announcement in 2002 of a 'new approach' for the United States based on reducing the greenhouse gas intensity (greenhouse gas emissions per unit of GDP) of the U.S. economy. This report briefly reviews the status of climate science, international negotiations, and congressional activity focused specifically on climate change."

  Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

  Fletcher, Susan R.; Justus, John R.

  2006-05-12
• Air Force Policy Directive 10-24: Air Force Critical Infrastructure Program (CIP)

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  "This directive establishes policy for the Air Force Critical Infrastructure Program (CIP) and supports the implementation of Homeland Security Presidential Directive/HSPD-7, 'Critical Infrastructure Identification,' 'Prioritization, and Protection,' December 17, 2003 and DoDD 3020.40, 'Defense Critical Infrastructure Program,' 19 August 2005. […] This publication has been substantially revised and must be completely reviewed. Major changes include recent publication changes, HQ USAF realignment, and renaming the program from Air Force Critical Infrastructure Protection to Air Force Critical Infrastructure Program. This publication changes AF CIP implementation responsibilities from the Air Force Chief Information Officer to the HQ USAF Deputy Chief of Staff, Air, Space and Information Operations, Plans and Requirements (AF/A3/5). In addition, this publication revises and creates the roles and responsibilities of Headquarters Air Force, Major Commands, Field Operating Agencies, Direct Reporting Units, Air Force Sector Leads and Combatant Commands."

  United States. Department of the Air Force

  Wynn, Michael W.

  2006-04-28
• Next Generation Air Transportation System: Preliminary Analysis of the Joint Planning and Development Office's Planning, Progress, and Challenges, Statement of Gerald L. Dillingham, Ph.D., Director, Physical Infrastructure Issues, Testimony before the Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics, Committee on Science, House of Representatives

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  "The health of our nation's air transportation system is critical to our citizens and economy. However, the current approach to managing air transportation is becoming increasingly inefficient and operationally obsolete. In 2003, Congress created the Joint Planning and Development Office (JPDO) to coordinate the federal and nonfederal stakeholders necessary to plan and implement a transition from the current air transportation system to the 'next generation air transportation system' (NGATS). JPDO, although housed within the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), has seven partner agencies: the Departments of Transportation, Commerce, Defense, and Homeland Security; FAA; the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA); and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. This testimony provides preliminary results from GAO's ongoing study of the status of JPDO's efforts. GAO provides information on (1) the extent to which JPDO is facilitating the federal interagency collaboration and aligning the human and financial resources needed to plan and implement the NGATS, (2) the actions taken by JPDO to adequately involve stakeholders in the planning process, and (3) the extent to which JPDO is conducting the technical planning needed to develop the NGATS."

  United States. Government Accountability Office

  2006-03-28
• United States Space Policy -- A Policy We Got Right...So Far

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  "Since the race to place a man on the moon was won, the United States has enjoyed a dominant advantage in space, both economically and militarily. From that time, practically every administration pursued policies and programs that ensured dominance of space. This was possible because only the wealthiest countries could afford space technologies and access. Now, even commercial companies (both foreign and U.S. owned) have access to space capabilities. The United States military has transformed in ways that make space dominance essential to the conduct of operations. Information superiority provided by space-based intelligence and communications assets allows commanders information dominance over adversaries. Global positioning systems allow for precision strike capabilities in difficult access areas as well as visibility on blue forces. Space-based broadband assets provide logistics and medical capabilities. While U.S. military access to space is essential, military commanders voice concern that allowing U.S. adversaries access to state-owned or commercially produced space-based products could wipe away the information advantage it has learned to rely on. Information superiority, a hinge pin of U.S. military strategy, like facets of the U.S. economy, could be crippled by attacks to key space-based assets. The United States Government has used a 'right time' approach toward space policy. This paper explores how the United States has used policy to maintain the lead, both economically and militarily, in space."

  Army War College (U.S.)

  Hagg, David

  2006-03-26
• Global Climate Change [Updated March 21, 2006]

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  "There is concern that human activities are affecting the heat/energy-exchange balance between Earth, the atmosphere, and space, and inducing global climate change, often termed 'global warming.' Human activities, particularly the burning of fossil fuels, have contributed to increased atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) and other trace greenhouse gases. If these gases continue to accumulate in the atmosphere at current rates, most scientists believe significant global warming would occur through intensification of Earth' s natural heat-trapping 'greenhouse effect.' Possible impacts might be seen as both positive and negative, depending on regional or national variations. [...] In March 2001, the Bush Administration rejected the Kyoto Protocol, and thus the United States is not party to it (and therefore is not subject to its requirements) as it enters into force. President Bush concluded a cabinet-level climate policy review with an announcement in 2002 of a 'new approach' for the United States based on reducing the greenhouse gas intensity (greenhouse gas emissions per unit of GDP) of the U.S. economy. This report briefly reviews the status of climate science, international negotiations, and congressional activity focused specifically on climate change."

  Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

  Justus, John R.; Fletcher, Susan R.

  2006-03-21
• U.S. Military Space Reference Text, 2006

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  "The purpose of this reference text is to provide information about space systems and their use as they relate to U.S. Army and joint military operations. The intended primary users are U.S. Army Command and General Staff College students, although military commanders, staff officers, Noncommissioned Officers, and instructors may also find it useful. Military space operations are truly joint in their nature. Therefore, there are extensive references to policies, programs, operations and applications from many U.S. Government organizations, the military services, and commercial entities. The format and contents are intended to provide the reader with a central reference as to the environment of space, the capabilities and limitations of U.S. satellite systems, space applications that support the military strategic, operational and tactical levels, and space support planning considerations. In addition, the text provides a cursory background in space history, space policy, orbital mechanics, and threats to U.S. dominance of space."

  National Security Space Institute

  Barker, Jefferson H.; Brown, Darren J.

  2006-03
• National Aeronautics and Space Administration's FY2006 Budget Request: Description, Analysis, and Issues for Congress [Updated January 24, 2006]

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  "For FY2006, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) requested $16.456 billion. That amount was a 2.4% increase over the $16.070 billion (adjusted for the rescission) appropriated in the FY2005 Consolidated Appropriations Act (P.L. 108-447). NASA also received a $126 million supplemental for damages caused by the 2004 Florida hurricanes, yielding a total of $16.196 billion for FY2005. The FY2006 request was 1.6% above that amount. By comparison, the White House had projected in 2004 that NASA's budget would increase by 4.7%. NASA submitted a FY2006 budget amendment on July 15; total funding for the agency did not change. The Administration requested $324.8 million for NASA in the October 28, 2005 reallocation package that included funds for relief from the 2005 hurricanes. NASA's congressionally-approved FY2006 funding is a combination of $16.456 billion in the FY2006 Science, State, Justice, Commerce Appropriations Act ( P.L. 109-108), minus a 0.28% across-the-board rescission in that act, minus a 1% across-the- board rescission in the FY2006 Department of Defense appropriations and hurricane recovery act (P.L. 109-148), plus $350 million added for NASA for hurricane recovery in P.L. 109-148. Congress passed a 2005 NASA authorization bill (P.L.109-155). It contains many policy provisions, and authorizes NASA funding for FY2007-2008 (but not FY2006)."

  Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

  Smith, Marcia S.; Morgan, Daniel (Daniel L.)

  2006-01-24
• Implementation of the Provisions of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, Hearings before the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, United States Senate, One Hundred Ninth Congress, Second Session on Enhancing Oil and Gas Production; Geothermal Energy and other Renewables; and Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Research and Development, June 27, July 11, July 17, 2006

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  From the opening statement of Hon. Craig Thomas, U.S. Senator from Wyoming: "I'm a strong supporter of oil and gas development. It's brought a tremendous amount of good for the State of Wyoming, and, obviously, to the Nation, a challenge we have in keeping our energy program moving and using the public lands and so on to be able to use those resources. I do believe we have to do this in a responsible way. And, of course, I know all of you do that. And I think the energy policy tries to establish that proposal, that we can do it. One of the most significant parts of the energy bill is the creation of the pilot offices to improve Federal permit coordination. There are two of these in Wyoming-one in Buffalo and the other in Rawlins. These pilot offices are not just a way to get more permits out the door, but to do it in a way that is sensitive to the needs of the areas that are producing energy. And, of course, as you know, in a State like ours, half of the State belongs to the Federal Government. Much of it is BLM land, of course, which is open for all kinds of development, and should be. Some of it is national parks, and some of it is national forests. So, we want to be able to use that energy, to the extent that we can. At the same time, we have to preserve those things that are fundamental to the future, and be making decisions now so that we'll be where we want to be 30 years from now, in terms of our resources and so on. I believe BLM and other agencies are doing a good job at this. And it's not easy to balance our needs between energy and the desire to protect open space in the natural resources. So, that's really what we're asking about here today. And we look forward to these hearings and to talk a little bit about how we can best do that to achieve the kind of energy production we need; and at the same time, maintain the resources that we want and to look forward to the kind of country we want to have in the future." Statements, letters, and materials submitted for the record include those of the following: Jeff Bingaman, Kathleen Clarke, Larry E. Craig, Pete V. Domenici, Jeffrey Eppink, Mary Flanderka, Mel Martinez, Tom Reed, Ken Salazar, Craig Thomas, Duane Zavadil, Sally Collins, Larry E. Craig, Bernie Karl, Robert B. Linden, Lisa Murkowski, Lynn Scarlett, Walter Snyder, Chris Taylor, Paul A. Thomsen, Jim Wells, John V. White, Lamar Alexander, James D. Balcom, Pete V. Domenici, Byron L. Dorgan, David Garman, Timothy Leuliette, J. Byron McCormick, Donald L. Paul.

  United States. Government Printing Office

  2006
• International Space Station and the Iran Nonproliferation Act (INA): The Bush Administrations Proposed INA Amendment [Updated December 5, 2005]

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  "The Iran Nonproliferation Act (P.L. 106-178), as originally enacted, prohibited the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) from purchasing Russian goods and services for the U.S.-led International Space Station (ISS) unless the President certified that Russia was not proliferating certain technologies to Iran. On July 12, 2005, the Bush Administration submitted to Congress an amendment to allow NASA to purchase goods and services from Russia to support the ISS. That presented a classic policy dilemma. Without access to Russian spacecraft, the U.S. use of the ISS could be extremely limited. Yet Russian entities were continuing proliferation activities relating to missile proliferation according to the Department of State. This report explains the Bush Administration proposal and resulting congressional action. CRS Issue Brief IB93017 discusses the ISS program; CRS Report RS22072 discusses the origins of the Iran Nonproliferation Act (INA) and its relationship to the ISS program. Congress passed and the President signed into law (S. 1713, P.L.109-112) a version that is different from the proposal, but allows ISS-related goods and services to be purchased from and delivered by Russia through January 1, 2012."

  Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

  Squassoni, Sharon A.; Smith, Marcia S.

  2005-12-05
• International Space Station and the Iran Nonproliferation Act (INA): The Bush Administration's Proposed INA Amendment [Updated November 14, 2005]

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  "The Iran Nonproliferation Act (P.L. 106-178), as originally enacted, prohibited the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) from purchasing Russian goods and services for the U.S.-led International Space Station (ISS) unless the President certified that Russia was not proliferating certain technologies to Iran. On July 12, 2005, the Bush Administration submitted to Congress an amendment to allow NASA to purchase goods and services from Russia to support the ISS. That presented a classic policy dilemma. Without access to Russian spacecraft, the U.S. use of the ISS could be extremely limited. Yet Russian entities were continuing proliferation activities relating to missile proliferation according to the Department of State. This report explains the Bush Administration proposal and resulting congressional action. CRS [Congressional Research Service] Issue Brief IB93017 discusses the ISS program; CRS Report RS22072 discusses the origins of the Iran Nonproliferation Act (INA) and its relationship to the ISS program. The House and Senate passed S. 1713, which is different from the Administration's proposal, but allows ISS-related goods and services to be purchased from and delivered by Russia through January 1, 2012. The bill is awaiting signature by the President."

  Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

  Smith, Marcia S.; Squassoni, Sharon A.

  2005-11-14
• Control of Hazardous Agents in VA Research Laboratories

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  "This Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Handbook establishes policy and procedures related to select agents and toxins and the prevention and/or detection of terrorist events occurring in or originating from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) research laboratories. NOTE: The procedures contained in this Handbook apply to all Research and Development (R&D) laboratories located within VA facilities, including leased space, and to space within a VA facility leased to a private entity. VA research laboratories located in approved off-site facilities such as affiliate universities are expected to comply with all VA and other Federal laws and regulations regarding security of both research laboratory facilities and select agents and toxins."

  United States. Department of Veterans Affairs

  2005-10-21
• Borders as Membranes: Metaphors and Models for Improved Policy in Border Regions

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  "Political borders are controversial and contested spaces. In an attempt to better understand movement along and through political borders, this project applied the metaphor of a membrane to look at how people, ideas, and things 'move' through a border. More specifically, the research team employed this metaphor in a system dynamics framework to construct a computer model to assess legal and illegal migration on the US-Mexico border. Employing a metaphor can be helpful, as it was in this project, to gain different perspectives on a complex system. In addition to the metaphor, the multidisciplinary team utilized an array of methods to gather data including traditional literature searches, an experts workshop, a focus group, interviews, and culling expertise from the individuals on the research team. Results from the qualitative efforts revealed strong social as well as economic drivers that motivate individuals to cross the border legally. Based on the information gathered, the team concluded that legal migration dynamics were of a scope we did not want to consider hence, available demographic models sufficiently capture migration at the local level. Results from both the quantitative and qualitative data searches were used to modify a 1977 border model to demonstrate the dynamic nature of illegal migration. Model runs reveal that current US-policies based on neo-classic economic theory have proven ineffective in curbing illegal migration, and that proposed enforcement policies are also likely to be ineffective. We suggest, based on model results, that improvement in economic conditions within Mexico may have the biggest impact on illegal migration to the U.S."

  Sandia National Laboratories

  Malczynski, Leonard; Cockerill, Kristan; Forster, Craig

  2005-10
• Countering a Strategic Gambit: Keeping US Airpower Employable in a China-Taiwan Conflict

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  "The Taiwan issue remains a western Pacific flashpoint. The People's Republic of China (PRC) claims complete sovereignty over Taiwan and has promised to use force if peaceful means fail to keep Taiwan from pursuing independence. Taiwan, meanwhile, has witnessed a significant growth of pro-independence forces in the last few years. The current Taiwanese ruling party's openly pro-independence stance has challenged the PRC. Though cross-strait tensions have waxed and waned, the potential for conflict remains high. The United States has been involved in this situation since it began over 50 years ago and remains committed to both Taiwan's defense and finding a peaceful solution within the bounds of the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act. Chinese leaders see that a possible US intervention in a Taiwan Strait conflict will rely on a joint force dependent on naval power and airpower. In essence, the PRC has begun to shape the potential western Pacific battle space using military, economic, and diplomatic means. Though the People's Liberation Army's (PLA) growing strength has captured many analysts' attention, the force will remain, at best, a regional power for the foreseeable future. The PLA's growing power should be neither under-estimated nor ignored by US policy makers. Still, for at least the near term, China will compensate for its limited military strength by pursuing a strategy using its growing economic power and careful diplomatic pressure on western Pacific nations to limit the United States' ability to deploy and employ airpower to defend Taiwan."

  Air University (U.S.). Press

  Jr., Lawrence M. Martin

  2005-09-01
• Losing the Population; the Impact of Coalition Policy and Tactics on the Population and the Iraqi Insurgency

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  "This paper examines the initial phases of the U.S.-led occupation of Iraq and evaluates the impact of Coalition policy and tactics on the population and the Iraqi insurgency. The Coalition has faced unanticipated challenges and violence in Iraq for three primary reasons: First, an inability to provide security for the Iraqi population, second, the rapid collapse in Iraqi confidence in the Coalition, and finally, the availability of uncontested physical and information space for opposition mobilization. These three key developments occurred due to a mismatch between Coalition policies and tactics implemented in the immediate aftermath of the fall of Saddam Hussein. At the macro level of analysis, Coalition policies and tactics are evaluated using criteria established by a first-hand authority on Arab revolt: T.E. Lawrence, who fostered revolt in Mesopotamia in WWI. At a more specific level of analysis, the author examines, through the lens of social movement theory, the creation and growth of opposition in Sunni areas, as well as the immediate threat posed by the Sadr II Movement. This paper concludes that the rapid decline of popular support for the Coalition between April and August 2003 emanated from Coalition policies and tactics that did not emphasize security for the population. In turn, these security policies created and enabled opportunities and space in which opposition to the Coalition could mobilize with relative impunity."

  Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.)

  Haugh,Timothy D.

  2005-09
• Art of Peace: Dissuading China from Developing Counter-Space Weapons

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  "This paper assesses the viability of applying dissuasion towards the development of offensive counter-space (OCS) systems by China. As a relatively new defense policy and certainly one that has never been explicitly applied previously, the paper delves into the characteristics prescribed by recent US planning documents to develop a strategy that more appropriately addresses current security concerns. Implicitly, dissuasion is intended to prevent future arms races with China through well-placed US actions that channel adversarial efforts in a direction desired by Washington. Several things become clear during this investigation. First, very little scholarly work exists discussing the concept of dissuasion and the mechanisms used to formulate, implement, and execute it as a defense policy. Second, while an admirable attempt to lessen the need for more costly policy options such as deterrence and defeat, dissuasion will not prevent China from developing counter-space weapons, especially since ground-based jammers that target satellite links have already proven effective. Third, the best chance of dissuading China's efforts to acquire space-based OCS systems is through international treaties and laws."

  USAF Institute for National Security Studies

  2005-08
• Defense Acquisitions: Incentives and Pressures That Drive Problems Affecting Satellite and Related Acquisitions

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  "To respond to your request, we [the GAO] analyzed a wide body of GAO, DOD, and industry studies (see enc. III) that discuss acquisition problems and underlying incentives and pressures, including our work on best practices in weapon system development that we have conducted over the past decade, our individual reviews of space system acquisitions and crosscutting problems, DODs independent study of problems affecting SBIRS High, past DOD studies of crosscutting problems with space system acquisitions, and a more recent DOD joint task force study on the acquisition of national security space programs. We also conducted interviews with more than 40 individuals (see enc. IV)-- including experienced space acquisition program managers and program executive officials within Air Force Space Command and its Space and Missile Systems Center, officials responsible for science and technology (S&T) activities that support space, former and current officials within the Office of the Secretary of Defense who have specific responsibility for space oversight or more general weapon system acquisition policy and oversight, and individuals representing various aspects of industry. We conducted our review from February 2005 to April 2005 in accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards."

  United States. Government Accountability Office

  2005-06-22
• Best Defense: Charting the Future of US Space Strategy and Policy

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  "This thesis seeks to inform modern-day space strategy decisions through an examination of three historical case studies in which U.S. strategists and decision makers faced similar high stakes national security decisions with uncertain outcomes: the hydrogen bomb, MIRV missiles, and Star Wars. Analyses of these decision making processes and the resulting consequences give insight into these important questions and may inform us on the potential road ahead for space. These cases reveal how military superiority strategies; faith in, and reliance upon technology to solve complex national security problems; and a strong preference for offensive solutions to secure U.S. national security can produce the opposite of their intended effects. The potential exists for the United States to adopt a military strategy for space -- and acquire weapons to support its fulfillment -- that undermines U.S. grand strategy and delivers less security. The author concludes that given the current context, the nation is better off pushing the status quo in space without perturbing strategic stability, which will help retain the political, military, and economic advantages it has worked so hard to achieve."

  Air University (U.S.). School of Advanced Air and Space Studies

  Coffelt, Christopher A.

  2005-06
• Atlantic Crises: Britain, Europe, and Parting from the United States

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  "The transatlantic relationship has come under enormous stress from both sides of the ocean since the end of the Cold War and, especially, the election of President George W. Bush. The collapse of the Warsaw Pact and the Soviet Union threw American and European strategic thought into disarray as scholars and policy makers alike scrambled to formulate new rationales for Cold War institutions like the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the much-ballyhooed special relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom. Unfortunately, no one with the clear vision of the late George F. Kennan emerged to soften transatlantic squabbles over the Balkans, the post- Soviet space, and emerging security challenges in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. Bush administration officials and like-minded pundits miffed many Europeans with their causal unilateralist rhetoric and apparent willingness to abandon long-standing multilateral initiatives like the Kyoto Treaty. After a brief warming of relations following the horrific attacks of 11 September, American-European interactions turned sour once again as France and Germany led the effort to prevent the UN Security Council from passing a resolution authorizing the Iraq invasion. Of the major European powers only Great Britain offered substantial assistance to the American-led coalition, an artifact of Prime Minister Blair's personal commitments and perhaps of the special relationship. Today, the gradual disengagement of other European coalition members from Iraq and the reluctance of NATO to play a more active role there further fuels discontent in Washington policy circles."

  Naval War College (U.S.). Press

  Hopkinson, William, 1943-

  2005-05
• Human Capital: Selected Agencies' Statuatory Authorities Could Offer Options in Developing a Framework for Governmentwide Reform

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  "As the federal government continues its overall transformation, the centerpiece of this effort is the strategic management of human capital. Federal agencies will need the most effective human capital systems to succeed in their transformations. Congress has recently given agencies such as the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the Departments of Homeland Security (DHS) and Defense (DOD) statutory authorities intended to help them manage their human capital strategically to achieve results. Consequently, in this environment, the federal government is quickly approaching the point where 'standard governmentwide' human capital policies and processes are neither standard nor governmentwide. To be effective, human capital reform needs to avoid further fragmentation within the civil service, ensure reasonable consistency within the overall civilian workforce, and help maintain a reasonably level playing field among federal agencies in competing for talent."

  United States. Government Accountability Office

  2005-04-21
• United States National Space Security Policy and the Strategic Issues for DOD Space Control

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  "The list of how space technology contributes to the world economy grows almost daily. Space globalization is racing faster than U.S. National Security Strategy can keep up. The U.S. Strategy calls for the military to develop capabilities to protect U.S. assets in outer space. This is to ensure the use of space assets during time of conflict. Potential adversaries understand the vulnerabilities. America must deny the enemy use of space if called upon to do so and ensure its ability to operate freely. Space Control actions will increasingly encounter strategic issues as adversaries use third party space assets to enhance their military and intelligence operations. What are the implications for military and national security planners when third party space assets and services are interwoven into an adversary's capabilities? Will current U.S. space policy meet the needs of the nation in an era of space globalization? To answer these questions this paper will review the national and military policies on space. It will also summarize the effects of space globalization, to include the world's increasing reliance on civilian space assets. Finally, a strategic analysis of space control policies and doctrine will determine if there is a sound space strategy in the face of globalization and if not, suggest recommendations for possible action."

  Army War College (U.S.)

  Perdomo, Maurice

  2005-03-18