FAS Roundup: May 28, 2013

FAS Roundup: May 28, 2013 New issue of the Public Interest Report, government surveillance of reporters and much more.

Spring Issue of the Public Interest Report Now Available Online Spring 2013 Public Interest Report Volume 66, No 2 CONTENTS: Digital Manufacturing and Missile Proliferation PDF Version Digital manufacturing is likely to be one of the key disruptive technologies of the 21st century. It combines desktop design software – the sort that can be run from your home computer- and both traditional and new manufacturing equipment including 3D printers, Computer Numerical Control (CNC) machines that use digital instructions to operate a variety of cutting and millings tools, and laser cutters. By Matthew Hallex. President's Message: Complexity Overload and Extreme Events PDF Version FAS President Charles Ferguson discusses FAS's refocused mission to understand, reduce and respond to catastrophic risks. Energy and World Economic Growth PDF Version Rapid growth in the developing world has changed the economic center of gravity towards Asia, especially with regard to the world’s energy economy. World-wide demand for energy, especially energy that can propel automobiles, is increasing. High energy growth is producing two problems.  The first is the increased greenhouse gas concentrations that result from burning fossil fuels. The second problem is less widely recognized. The share of GDP that must be spent on oil supplies may also limit economic growth. By Carmine Difiglio. Building an Effective Nonproliferation Program: U.S. Support of IAEA Safeguards PDF Version A central pillar of international efforts to stem the spread of nuclear weapons is the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards system. Because of the importance of the IAEA safeguards to international security and the facilitation of the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, the United States provides substantial assistance to the IAEA to improve the safeguards system. By Warren Stern and Susan Pepper. Reflecting on NATO Security in the Context of a Rising China PDF Version The future promises to be far more challenging than the past for international security analysts. The security challenges that we will face will be increasingly complex, transnational, and interrelated. The world is also witnessing other major changes across multiple levels and units of analysis in the international security domain. How will these security challenges impact China's rise in international security? By Michael Edward Walsh. More from FAS PDF Version News and Notes from FAS Headquarters.

From the Blogs Government Monitoring of Journalists, Then and Now: In the wake of recent developments involving seizure of Associated Press telephone records and the identification of Fox News reporter James Rosen as a purported co-conspirator in a leak of classified information, the disreputable tracking of journalists threatens to become the new normal. Steven Aftergood writes that one thin line that has not yet been crossed is the prosecution of journalists for violating the Espionage Act by reporting classified information. Talk Science to Me:  Science illiteracy is rampant in the United States. Over a quarter of the population doesn’t believe in evolution in spite of an extensive fossil record, solid scientific theory, and observations of evolution in both the laboratory and the field. In a new post on the ScienceWonk Blog, Dr. Y examines the role science plays in our everyday lives. Reporter Deemed 'Co-Conspirator' in Leak Case: A federal agent sought and received a warrant in 2010 to search the email account of Fox News correspondent James Rosen on grounds that there was probable cause the reporter had violated the Espionage Act by soliciting classified information from a State Department official. War with Iran? Revisiting the Potentially Staggering Costs to the Global Economy: With the Senate's passage of Resolution 65 on May 22, is the United States drawing closer to military action against Iran? With that question in mind, FAS is re-releasing its pioneering November 2012 report on potential costs to the global economy in six hypothetical military engagements between the United States and Iran. In the first three months of military action alone, the study found that the global economy could lose more than $2 trillion. Historian William Z. Slany, RIP: William Z. Slany, the former Historian of the Department of State and a champion of efforts to declassify the secret history of U.S. foreign policy, passed away earlier this month. In his capacity as Historian of the Department, Dr. Slany helped prepare 16 volumes of the Foreign Relations of the United States series, the official documentary record of U.S. foreign policy, and he oversaw the publication of 125 FRUS volumes.  He led an interagency study to prepare a two volume account of “Nazi gold” and other stolen assets from World War II.

Ballistic Missile Defense: Technical, Strategic and Arms Control Challenges The Federation of American Scientists and the Center for Science, Technology and Security Policy at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) are hosting an event on Thursday, June 6th at 5pm in Washington, DC on the technical, strategic and arms control challenges for ballistic missile defense. Topics that will be discussed include: ballistic missile defense capabilities, realistic testing for reliability and effectiveness, countermeasures, and strategic considerations such as the relationship of current and proposed programs to arms control with Russia and China. Speakers include: Mr. Philip Coyle from the Center from Arms Control and Non-Proliferation, Dr. George Lewis from the Judith Reppy Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies at Cornell University and Mr. Bruce MacDonald from the Federation of American Scientists. To RSVP click here. Additional event details are available here.

FAS in the News May 25: New York Times, "Leak Inquiries Show How Wide A Net U.S. Cast" May 24: Wired, "The Declassification Engine: Your One-Stop Shop For Government Secrets" May 23: Bloomberg Businessweek, "How The U.S. Government Hacks The World" May 23: Politico, "Why Leaks Controversy Could Linger" May 22: The New American, "DOJ Investigates Fox News Reporter In Leak Case" May 21: The Atlantic, "2 SCOTUS Judges in 1971: Espionage Act Doesn't Apply To The Press" May 21: The Marietta Daily Journal, "Overreaching Security Leak Probes Send Message: 'Keep Quiet'" May 21: ABA Journal, "Feds Secretly Got Warrant For Fox Reporter's Email, Claimed News-Gathering Was Likely A Crime" May 20: Washington Post, "Justice Department's Scrutiny Of Fox News Reporter James Rosen In Leak Case Draws Fire" May 20: Los Angeles Times, "FBI Spied On Fox News Reporter, Accused Him Of Crime" May 20: Washington Examiner, "White House Helps Fuel Its Own Political Controversies" May 20: Washington Post, "Fox Calls DOJ Investigation Of Reporter 'Downright Chilling'" May 20: Business Insider, "Here's The Search Warrant Where The FBI Called A Fox News Reporter A 'Co-Conspirator' In A Leak Investigation" May 18: The Ottawa Citizen, "Capability Of Russia's Ballistic Missile Submarine Force Questioned"