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REGIONAL SECURITY ISSUES
LATEST STATEMENTS, BRIEFINGS, AND HEARINGS

Regional Security

Avatars, Virtual Reality Technology, and the U.S. Military: Emerging Policy Issues
Congressional Research Service (via Federation of American Scientists) April 15, 2008

This report describes virtual reality technology, which uses three-dimensional user-generated content, and its use by the U.S. military and intelligence community for training and other purposes. Both the military and private sector use this new technology, but terrorist groups may also be using it to train more realistically for future attacks, while still avoiding detection on the Internet. The issues for Congress to consider may include the cost-benefit implications of this technology, whether sufficient resources are available for the communications infrastructure needed to support expanded use of virtual reality technology, and whether there might be national security considerations if the United States falls behind other nations in developing or adopting this new technology. This report will be updated as events warrant.
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/natsec/RS22857.pdf (6 pages)

FY 2009 Supplemental Protecting the Force, Equipping American Troops, Strengthening National Security

Today, President Bush transmitted to Congress the details for the $70 billion allowance included in the FY 2009 Budget. This provides the necessary resources for ongoing military and intelligence operations for FY09, as well as diplomatic efforts and foreign assistance activities in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. It also provides resources for other international security activities that advance our national security, including urgent food aid.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/pubpress/2008/supp_fact_sheet_050208.pdf (2 pages)

Defense Intelligence Strategy 2008
U.S. Department of Defense (via Federation of American Scientists) May 21, 2008

U.S. defense intelligence agencies should aim to “eliminate” the capabilities of opponents to operate effectively against the United States from outer space or cyber space, according to a new Pentagon strategy for defense intelligence (pdf).
Defense intelligence shall “eliminate any advantage held by our adversaries to operate from and within the space and cyber domains,” says the new strategy document, “Defense Intelligence 2008″ (strategic objective IV).
“As stated in the U.S. National Space Policy, the focus of defense intelligence in space will be to ensure full situational awareness for military and civilian decision-makers, support military planning initiatives, and satisfy operational requirements. As addressed within the Comprehensive National Cybersecurity Initiative, cyberspace has become a vital national interest economically, militarily and culturally, and the current patchwork of passive defense is likely to fail in the face of greater vulnerabilities and more sophisticated threats.”
“Defense intelligence must do its part to defeat this critical threat.”
http://www.fas.org/irp/agency/dod/2008strategy.pdf (24 pages)

National Security Strategy: Legislative Mandates, Execution to Date, and Considerations for Congress
Congressional Research Service (via Federation of American Scientists) May 31, 2008

There is a growing, still highly inchoate debate among practitioners and scholars, including participants from across the political spectrum, concerning the need to reform the U.S. government’s national security system. Reform proponents argue that much of the current architecture was designed to meet the global security challenges of the post-World War II context, and may not be appropriate for addressing 21st-century challenges. That architecture includes the organizations, structures, and processes that govern decision making, budgeting, planning and execution, and congressional oversight of national security activities. National security strategic guidance documents, including formal strategies and other forms of guidance, are a key element of that system.
…
Some critics charge that executive branch processes for developing strategy are flawed because, for example, they fail to establish priorities, consider fiscal constraints, or assign responsibilities to specific agencies. Some note that the issuance of strategic guidance does not always fully comply with legislative mandates, while others note that the mandates themselves could be improved — for example, by better synchronizing requirements for related documents.
Congress can continue to shape the role that strategy documents play in the national security system through legislative requirements regarding the types of strategic documents required, their primary and contributing authors, their contents, their relationships with other strategic documents, their deadlines for delivery, and their form of delivery (classified or unclassified).
This report reviews current legislative mandates for security strategic documents, assesses the recent history of execution, describes strategic documents in related fields for comparison, presents considerations that may be useful in assessing current requirements and execution, and notes several current proposals for changes to legislative requirements. This report will be updated as events warrant.
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/natsec/RL34505.pdf (26 pages)

The Army’s Future Combat System (FCS): Background and Issues for Congress
May 31, 2008

Congressional Research Service (via Federation of American Scientists)
The Future Combat System (FCS) is the U.S. Army’s multiyear, multibillion dollar program at the heart of the Army’s transformation efforts. It is the Army’s major research, development, and acquisition program consisting of 14 manned and unmanned systems tied together by an extensive communications and information network. FCS is intended to replace such current systems as the M-1 Abrams tank and the M-2 Bradley infantry fighting vehicle. The FCS program has been characterized by the Army and others as a high-risk venture due to the advanced technologies involved and the challenge of networking all of the FCS subsystems together so that FCS-equipped units can function as intended.
The FCS program exists in a dynamic national security environment which could significantly influence the program’s outcome. The Administration has committed the United States to ‘the Long War,’ a struggle that could last for decades as the United States and its allies attempt to locate and destroy terrorist networks worldwide. Some question if FCS, envisioned and designed prior to September 11, 2001 to combat conventional land forces, is relevant in this ‘Long War’? where counterinsurgency and stabilization operations feature prominently. The FCS program has achieved a number of programmatic milestones and is transitioning from a purely conceptual program to one where prototypes of many of the 14 FCS systems are under development. With a variety of estimates on the total cost of the FCS program, questions have been raised about FCS affordability, and the Army cites anticipated budgetary constraints for the recent restructuring of the program from 18 to 14 systems.
The overall FCS program is in a variety of developmental phases, with some technologies on the verge of being fielded to units and others still under development with varying degrees of success. The 110th Congress, in its appropriation, authorization, and oversight roles may wish to review the FCS program in terms of its projected capabilities and program costs. This report will be updated as the situation warrants.
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/weapons/RL32888.pdf (30 pages)

Middle East

Remarks by Treasury Deputy Secretary Robert M. Kimmitt at the Palestine Investment Conference
May 21, 2008

Bethlehem-- On behalf of the U.S. delegation, I would like to thank President Abbas and Prime Minister Fayyad for inviting us to this conference. We also would like to express our appreciation to the chair of the Steering Committee, National Economy Minister Hassouneh, Conference CEO Hassan Abu Libdeh, and the many conference sponsors and partners who worked hard to put together such an historic, groundbreaking event.

I was in Jerusalem last November when the idea for this conference was just being explored. It is very exciting to return now, and gratifying to see such a large and diverse crowd of business representatives from so many sectors and regions. This evening, our delegation will have the pleasure of dining with a few of the Palestinian private sector leaders with whom I met in Jerusalem last fall -- and we look forward to talking with them and others about the progress that has been made over the last six months and the new business opportunities that this conference is certain to generate.
http://www.ustreas.gov/press/releases/hp993.htm

President Bush Attends World Economic Forum
Sharm el Sheikh International Congress Center, Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt, May 18, 2008

"Taking your place as a center of progress and achievement requires investing in your people. Some analysts believe the Middle East and North Africa will need to create up to 100 million new jobs over the next 10 to 15 years just to keep up with population growth. The key to realizing this goal is an educated workforce.
This starts early on, with primary schools that teach basic skills, such as reading and math, rather than indoctrinating children with ideologies of hatred. An educated workforce also requires good high schools and universities, where students are exposed to a variety of ideas, learn to think for themselves, and develop the capacity to innovate. Not long ago the region marked a hopeful milestone in higher education. In our meeting yesterday, President Karzai told me he recently handed out diplomas to university graduates, including 300 degrees in medicine, and a hundred degrees in engineering, and a lot of degrees to lawyers, and many of the recipients were women. (Applause.)
People of the Middle East can count on the United States to be a strong partner in improving your educational systems. We are sponsoring training programs for teachers and administrators in nations like Jordan and Morocco and Lebanon. We sponsored English language programs where students can go for intensive language instruction. We have translated more than 80 children's books into Arabic. And we have developed new online curricula for students from kindergarten through high school.
It is also in America's interest to continue welcoming aspiring young adults from this region for higher education to the United States. There were understandable concerns about student visas after 9/11. My administration has worked hard to improve the visa process. And I'm pleased to report that we are issuing a growing numbers of student visas to young people from the Middle East. And that's the way it should be. And we'll continue to work to expand educational exchanges, because we benefit from the contribution of foreign students who study in America because we're proud to train the world's leaders of tomorrow and because we know there is no better antidote to the propaganda of our enemies than firsthand experience with life in the United States of America. "
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2008/05/20080518-6.html

U.S. Assistance to the Middle East
C. David Welch, Assistant Secretary, Near Eastern Affairs Bureau
Testimony before the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia, May 8, 2008

In the Middle East, U.S. assistance provides a key means to address some of our most pressing and important commitments. Long-term peace, stability, and economic growth in the region are critical to our national security. The United States and our regional partners are involved in a sustained effort to address pivotal issues affecting the balance between moderates and extremists across the region. Assistance will strengthen and expand U.S. capacity for engagement by enhancing our ability to jointly pursue solutions to vital national security issues and combat terrorism and extremism by promoting freedom, democracy, and access to economic opportunity.
Our concept for the region is to support peaceful solutions and to strengthen the hand of democratic leaders against extremists who use violence, repress fundamental freedoms and seek to undermine our interests and our friends. Our FY 2009 budget reflects our continued focus on providing security assistance to our allies to promote our objectives--building well-governed, democratic states, promoting human rights and reducing poverty requires a foundation in security.
Our diplomacy is married up with our programmatic activities across the region in pursuit of our priorities. These priorities begin with a positive outcome in Iraq. Other key U.S. priorities include sustaining the security of Israel; advancing a two state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict; countering the Iranian threat; enhancing the defensive capabilities of our friends in the Gulf; strengthening relations with responsible states in the region, including Egypt, Jordan, and the Gulf states; and supporting Lebanese democracy and sovereignty. In addition, the U.S. will continue to promote efforts involving political, economic, and educational reform, which contribute to our long-term efforts in the war against terror.
http://foreignaffairs.house.gov/110/wel050808.htm

U.S. Assistance to the Middle East: Old Tools for New Tasks?
Statement of George Laudato, Special Assistant to the Administrator for the Middle East, Middle East Bureau, USAID, before the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia, May 8, 2008

Situated along major fault lines of geography, religion, and culture, the Middle East has experienced the strains and stresses—as well as the promise—of the global changes that have occurred in recent decades. The President elevated development alongside diplomacy and defense in the 2002 National Security Strategy, equipping our country to respond to the evolving challenges that face us in this complicated region. And the 2009 budget request integrates these focal points and represents a coordinated effort both within USAID and with related agencies to maximize the impact of our foreign assistance.

Since USAID began working in the Middle East over 50 years ago, U.S. assistance has been used to provide clean water and sanitation facilities, better health care, modern schools and teacher training, microfinance and help for small business, roads and cutting edge information technology. We have helped countries in the region to improve their trade regimes, modernize their banking systems, remove impediments to private sector development, and put effective regulatory systems in place to ensure accountable and transparent governance. The region has seen many improvements over these years that will undergird future advancements where USAID development programs operate.
http://foreignaffairs.house.gov/110/lau050808.htm

The "Red-Dead" Canal: Israeli-Arab Efforts to Restore the Dead Sea
Congressional Research Service (via OpenCRS), May 20, 2008

Regional cooperation in halting continued overuse of scarce water resources has been a casualty of the long-running Arab-Israeli conflict. The Dead Sea has been a victim of this neglect, and scientists estimate that it will decrease substantially in the coming decades due to overexploitation of the Jordan River. One possible solution is to construct a canal from the Red Sea to the Dead Sea to pump sea water into the salt lake while generating hydroelectric power for use in desalination. The governments of Israel and Jordan have been enthusiastic proponents of the “Peace Canal,” and are calling on the international community, including the United States, to support its multi-billion dollar construction. However, opponents of the canal claim that it may do more environmental harm than good and suggest that the Dead Sea be naturally restored by allowing the Jordan River to flow southward unimpeded. Water cooperation is an essential element of the peace process and, with the renewal of Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, joint projects, such as the Red Sea-Dead Sea (Red-Dead) Canal, have been increasingly discussed. This report investigates the proposed Red-Dead Canal and analyzes its political significance and the debate surrounding its possible construction. It will be updated periodically.
http://assets.opencrs.com/rpts/RS22876_20080513.pdf (6 pages)

Terrorism

The Al-Qaeda Media Machine
Military Review, May 2, 2008

Lacking a tangible homeland—other than, perhaps, scattered outposts in the wilds of Waziristan—Al-Qaeda has established itself as a virtual state that communicates with its “citizens” and cultivates an even larger audience through masterful use of the media, with heavy reliance on the Internet. For every conventional video performance by Bin-Laden that appears on Al-Jazeera and other major television outlets, there are hundreds of online videos that proselytize, recruit, and train the Al-Qaeda constituency.
…
The Al-Qaeda media machine has grown steadily. Qaeda and its jihadist brethren use more than 4,000 web sites to encourage the faithful and threaten their enemies. The Al-Qaeda production company, As-Sahab, released 16 videos during 2005, 58 in 2006, and produced more than 90 in 2007. Like a Hollywood studio, As-Sahab has a carefully honed understanding of what will attract an audience and how to shape the Al-Qaeda message.
http://usacac.army.mil/CAC/milreview/English/MayJun08/SeibEngMayJun08.pdf (7 pages)

Violent Islamist Extremism, the Internet, and the Homegrown Terrorist Threat
U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, May 9, 2008

During the 110th Congress, under the leadership of Chairman Joseph Lieberman (ID-CT), the Committee continued its investigation into the threat of domestic radicalization and homegrown terrorism inspired by violent Islamist ideology. The Committee has held five more hearings exploring a range of subjects, including an assessment of the homegrown threat in the United States, the European experience with domestic radicalization, the federal government’s efforts to counter the homegrown terrorist threat, the role of local law enforcement in responding to the threat, and the Internet’s role in the radicalization process.
This staff report concerns the last of these subjects – how violent Islamist terrorist groups like al-Qaeda are using the Internet to enlist followers into the global violent Islamist terrorist movement and to increase support for the movement, ranging from ideological support, to fundraising, and ultimately to planning and executing terrorist attacks. In the second section of this report, we examine the increasing number of homegrown incidents and the judgments of the intelligence and law enforcement communities that there will likely be additional homegrown threats in the future. The third section explores the four-step radicalization process through which an individual can be enticed to adopt a violent Islamist extremist mindset and act on the ideology’s call to violence. Section four identifies the disturbingly broad array of materials available on the Internet that promote the violent Islamist extremist ideology. The availability of these resources is not haphazard, but is part of a comprehensive, tightly controlled messaging campaign by al-Qaeda and like-minded extremists designed to spread their violent message. The fifth section of the report examines how these materials facilitate and encourage the radicalization process
http://hsgac.senate.gov/public/_files/IslamistReport.pdf (24 pages)

Terrorism-Related Cases: Special Case-Management Challenges — Case Studies
Federal Judicial Center, April 21, 2008

Cases related to terrorism often pose unusual and challenging case-management issues for the courts. Evidence or arguments may be classified; witnesses or the jury may require special security measures; attorneys contacts with their clients may be diminished; other challenges may present themselves.
The purpose of this Federal Judicial Center resource is to assemble methods federal judges have employed to meet these challenges so that judges facing the challenges can learn from their colleagues experiences.
This Case Studies document includes background factual information about these high-profile cases as well as descriptions of the judges challenges and solutions. The challenges and solutions are summarized in a separate Problems and Solutions document. The information presented is based on a review of case files and news media accounts and on interviews with the judges.
http://www.fjc.gov/public/pdf.nsf/lookup/ts080326.pdf/$file/ts080326.pdf (171 pages)

Iraq

Iran

LC’s Federal Research Division Releases Updated Country Profile of Iran
Library of Congress, May 16, 2008

http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/profiles/Iran.pdf (20 pages)

Iranian Textbooks: Content and Context
Science Applications International Corporation (via Federation of American Scientists), May 31, 2008

The study assesses 85 textbooks of the Islamic Republic of Iran for grade school, middle school and high school students. All of the textbooks have been posted by the Iranian government on the Internet. The books appear in the original Persian or Farsi and have been examined in their native language.
This study also reviews existing investigations into the content of Iranian textbooks.
The study’s most important conclusions include the following points:
• All of the textbooks reveal a clear emphasis on Islam, as it has been interpreted by the leadership of the Islamic Republic of Iran. This emphasis is extreme, and the books clearly aim to indoctrinate students in the logic of the dominant clerics of the ruling Shiite sect.
• The books have inserted direct and indirect Islamic, especially Shiite, teachings. These include teachings on jihad and martyrdom. They provide a distorted view of Shia Islam as the only true path in Islam, and among religions.
http://www.fas.org/irp/dni/osc/irantext.pdf (17 pages)

Updated: June 3, 2008