FAS Roundup: August 19, 2013 Radioactive waste, military support to civil authorities and much more.

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FAS Roundup: August 19, 2013 Radioactive waste, military support to civil authorities and much more.

From the Blogs Leaks Inspire GAO Review of "Classification Inflation": In wake of Edward Snowden leaks, Representative Duncan Hunter requested that the Government Accountability Office (GAO)  review the current U.S. classification system. The main concern is that unnecessary secrecy may put legitimate secrets at risk and overclassification is bad security policy. Yucca Mountain: Currently, there are a number of sites for the disposal of low-level radioactive waste in the United States, but the nation is still struggling to answer a question that many nations have already satisfactorily addressed – where to put high-level radioactive waste. In the first of a series of blog posts exploring Yucca Mountain and nuclear waste disposal, Dr. Y provides an overview of high-level radioactive waste and the science behind it.  When Can the Military Support Civil Authorities?: The Posse Comitatus Act of 1878 generally prohibits military forces from performing ordinary civilian law enforcement functions such as arrest, surveillance, interdiction, search and seizure. A recently updated Department of Defense doctrine notes that, despite this prohibition, “There are several forms of direct assistance to civilian law enforcement by military personnel that are permitted under the Military Purpose Doctrine." These may include investigations related to the Uniform Code of Military Justice, enforcement actions on a military installation, and measures to protect classified military information or equipment.

Call for Applications: NPEC Public Policy Fellowship for Government Staffers The Nonproliferation Policy Education Center  (NPEC) Public Policy Fellowship is designed to educate policymaking staffers in the U.S. government on the essentials of issues related to nuclear weapons proliferation and nuclear energy.  Participants will include policy staffers committed to protecting U.S. and international security against the threats posed by the further spread of nuclear weapons.  The lecture-based seminars are taught by Henry Sokolski, executive director of the Nonproliferation Policy Education Center;  and Charles Ferguson, president of the Federation of American Scientists. The deadline to apply is September 11, 2013. For more information on the fellowship and application information, click here. Position Opening: Associate Director for the Program in Arms Control, Disarmament and International Security The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is seeking an associate director for its program in arms control, disarmament and international security (ACDIS); it is a 12 month position. The Associate Director, under the direction of the ACDIS Director, will write, administer and manage grants, coordinate conferences and workshops, and manage ACDIS print publications and web pages.  The Associate Director will represent ACDIS and demonstrate strong administrative responsibility, while advocating for the international goals and initiatives of ACDIS, the Center for Global Studies (CGS), and the University. For more information click here.

FAS in the News Aug 19: Air Force Times, "Unit That Failed Nuclear Missile Inspection Raring For Second Chance" Aug 17: New York Times, "Expecting The Unexpected From Jeff Bezos" Aug 15: The New Yorker, "A Quantum Leap For The Government In Mining Twitter Feeds" Aug 14: The Guardian, "Intelligence Committee Urged To Explain If They Withheld Crucial NSA Document" Aug 13: Agence France-Presse, "Chill In US-Russian Relations Dims Disarmament Hopes" Aug 13: Global Security Newswire, "Cargo Plane That Test-Launched ICBM Retiring"  Aug 12: McClatchy Newspapers, "Senate Intelligence Panel Could Seek To Declassify Documents; It Just Doesn't" Aug 12: Nextgov, "Military Shuts Down Allegedly Illegal Money Laundering Investigation"

About the FAS Roundup: We send you this weekly collection of publications, posts, events, and media appearances by FAS Experts and their work to keep you up to date with the issue areas that we cover. To ensure that you receive future FAS Roundups, sign up for FAS News and Updates.