• The Bureaucratic Fix to the Military Recruitment Crisis

    Declining recruitment numbers are vexing nearly all branches of the U.S. military. Removing a medical bottleneck could dramatically streamline recruiting for applicants and personnel.

  • Iran Triples Production of Enriched Uranium

    Iran has tripled its production of uranium enriched to 60 percent, after slowing down of production earlier this year, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported on Tuesday. Iran, free of the restrictions it accepted as part of the 2015 deal, is now producing about 9 kg a month of uranium enriched to 60 percent.

  • Research on Extremism in the U.K. Hobbled by Skewed Research Environment

    A new report, analyzing the research environment in the U.K. within which research on extremism takes place, found that there are problems in studying extremism and communicating the findings of studies of extremism. These problems have caused gaps in the knowledge base around extremism in the U.K. and a lack of research on specific extremist movements, especially Islamist extremism.

  • Leveraging Artificial Intelligence in Explosives, Narcotic Detection

    DHS S&T is applying emerging technologies in the development of artificial intelligence / machine learning technologies – and searching for ways to use these technologies to identify dangerous compounds, like those found in explosives and narcotics.

  • Congress Bans Pentagon from Using Chinese Port Logistics Platform

    The U.S. Congress has passed legislation that would ban the Pentagon from using any seaport in the world that relies on a Chinese logistics platform known as LOGINK. LOGINK, by tracking cargo and ship movements, lets Beijing monitor America’s military supply chain, which relies on commercial ports.

  • Tainted Applesauce Pouches May Have Been Intentionally Contaminated: FDA

    Cinnamon applesauce pouches available at Weis, WanaBanana, and Schnucks have been pulled from shelves after they were found to be contaminated with lead. The FDA says it currently believes the adulteration is “economically motivated.”

  • Generative AI and Weapons of Mass Destruction: Will AI Lead to Proliferation?

    Large Language Models (LLMs) caught popular attention in 2023 through their ability to generate text based on prompts entered by the user. Ian J. Stewart writes that “some have raised concerns about the ability of LLMs to contribute to nuclear, chemical and biological weapons proliferation (CBRN). Put simply, could a person learn enough through an interaction with an LLM to produce a weapon? And if so, would this differ from what the individual could learn by scouring the internet?”

  • Red Sea Attacks: Why Arab Nations Won't Join Naval Coalition

    The U.S. has announced a naval coalition to protect shipping from Houthi attacks, but only one Middle Eastern country has joined. Why have others — like Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Egypt — not done so? Each of these states has its own reasons, but analysts say that the one thing the three powers have in common is the fact that they don’t want to be seen as working in defense of Israel.

  • U.S.-Led Taskforce Deploys in Red Sea as Middle East Crisis Threatens to Escalate Beyond Gaza

    The world economy is strongly dependent on the global maritime supply chain. About 80% of international trade by volume is transported by sea. It does not take much to disrupt the global maritime supply chain. Intentional disruptions of the maritime supply chain by pirates or terrorists pose a challenge that goes beyond simple logistics. Attacks on civilian shipping directly affect insurance premiums and deter operators from transiting through certain areas for financial and security reasons.

  • Claims That U.S. Abandoned Arms in Afghanistan are “Farce”: U.S.

    The United States has again denied leaving any weapons in Afghanistan during the American military’s withdrawal from the country in August 2021, dismissing such allegations as “farce.” An administration spokesperson said that over the course of 20 years in Afghanistan, the United States had equipped the Afghan national security forces. In the face of advances by the Taliban insurgency, many Afghan forces had decided not to fight and lay down their arms.

  • Utah Supreme Court Upholds Right to Refuse to Tell Cops Your Passcode

    The Utah Supreme Court ruled that prosecutors violated a defendant’s Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination when they presented testimony about his refusal to give police the passcode to his cell phone. The Utah court’s opinion is the latest in a thicket of state supreme court opinions dealing with whether law enforcement agents can compel suspects to disclose or enter their passwords.

  • Benbrika Case Shows Australia in Danger of Complacency About Violent Extremism

    The fact that convicted terrorist Abdul Nacer Benbrika is being released from jail should be of concern to all Australians. Alarmingly, it’s happening without the court system even being asked to consider a continuing detention order.

  • Planning for an Uncertain Future: What Climate-Related Conflict Could Mean for U.S. Central Command

    The Middle East and Central Asia are projected to become hotter and drier, with reduced access to fresh water, resulting from climate change. These changes could lead to greater conflict in U.S. Central Command’s (CENTCOM) area of responsibility.

  • U.S. Elected Officials Targeted by Vandalism, Threats Following October 7 Attacks

    In the weeks following the October 7 Hamas terror attack on Israel, political activists have targeted elected officials – and their offices – with harassment and vandalism. Many of these incidents featured anti-Israel rhetoric, allegations of support for genocide and demands for a ceasefire.

  • Countering Domestic Violent Extremism in the Ranks: Barriers to Recruitment Screening

    There an uncomfortably high number of Jan. 6 cases involving connections to military, law enforcement, and veteran personnel. These cases echo trends that have existed throughout the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. Carrie Cordero and Katherine L. Kuzminski write that these most recent cases once again raise the question of whether the United States has a problem with domestic violent extremism (DVE) in the military, veteran, and law enforcement ranks.