FAS Roundup: April 20, 2015

FAS Roundup: April 20, 2015 Image courtesy of Shutterstock  View this email in your browser From the Blogs No Fly List: Govt Offers New Redress Procedures: The government will no longer refuse to confirm or deny that persons who are prevented from boarding commercial aircraft have been placed on the “No Fly List,” and such persons will have new opportunities to challenge the denial of boarding, the Department of Justice announced in a court filing. Until now, the Government refused to acknowledge whether or not an individual traveler had been placed on the No Fly List and, if so, what the basis for such a designation was. That is no longer the case. The new redress procedures were developed in response to legal challenges to the No Fly List procedures, which argued that the procedures were constitutionally deficient or otherwise improper. Special Operations Beyond War and Peace: “Power and influence are now diffusing to a range of actors, both state and non-state, who have not traditionally wielded it,” said Gen. Joseph L. Votel, Commander of U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM), last month. The comparative advantage of U.S. Special Operations Forces, Gen. Votel told Congress in his 2015 SOCOM posture statement on March 18, “is built upon three pillars: 1) persistent engagement, 2) enabling partners, and 3) discreet action.” U.S. Special Operations Forces (SOF) consist of over 69,000 operators and support personnel deployed to more than 80 countries around the world, the SOCOM posture statement said (compared to “over 75 countries” in last year’s statement). They include Army Special Forces, Navy SEALs, Air Commandos, Rangers, Night Stalker helicopter crews and Marine Raiders. Islamic State Financing and More from CRS: Secrecy News has obtained recently released CRS reports on topics such as efforts to achieve a nuclear agreement with Iran, Islamic state financing and U.S. restrictions on travel to Cuba.   Postdoctoral Opportunity: Centre for the Study of Existential Risk, University of Cambridge The Centre for the Study of Existential Risk at the University of Cambridge is currently recruiting four postdoctoral researchers to work on projects related to extreme risks arising from technical advances. Projects include: Specific projects include: responsible innovation in transformative technologies; horizon-scanning and foresight; ethics and evaluation of extreme technological risks, and policy and governance challenges associated with emerging technologies. The deadline to apply is April 24, 2015. Additional details and application details can be found here.    FAS in the News Apr 14: i24 News, "The World This Week: 4/12/15" Apr 14: International Business Times, "Russia-Iran Missile Deal: Putin And Netanyahu Disagree Over Lift Of S-300 Ban"  Apr 13: Washington Post, "Examining The Power Russia's S-300 Missile Will Give Iran"  Apr 11: NPR, "New START Nuke Deal With Russia May Be Aging- But It's Not Over"  Copyright © 2015 Federation of American Scientists, All rights reserved.