Congressional Research Service Reports - 67 Matching Results

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NATO Enlargement: Pro and Con Arguments: NATO named three candidate states for membership at its summit in July 1997. The U.S. Senate must give its advice and consent to revise the North Atlantic Treaty and admit new members. Key arguments favoring U. S . approval of enlargement include the need to bring stability in central Europe; building a strong transatlantic link with new European democracies, and extending collective defense to countries that remain concerned about a potential Russian threat. Key arguments against NATO expansion include the concern that it will exacerbate tensions with Russia; result in substantial costs and risks that the allies are unwilling to share and the American people are unwilling to shoulder alone; and dilute the mission, political likemindedness, and military effectiveness of the alliance.
NATO Enlargement: The Process and Allied Views: No Description Available.
NATO Enlargement: Pro and Con Arguments: No Description Available.
NATO Expansion: Cost Issues: No Description Available.
NATO's Evolving Role and Missions: No Description Available.
Weapons of Mass Destruction - the Terrorist Threat: The possibility of a terrorist attack using nuclear, biological, or chemical weapons is an ongoing debate in the national security policy arena. While terrorist motivations have traditionally been political onesthat would not benefitfrom such an attack, concern is now voiced over a possible trend of inflicting greater numbers of casualties. Terrorists most likely to attempt attacks with weapons of mass destruction (WMD) are extremist religious millenarian groups and small splinter terrorist cells. N
Military Changes to the Unified Command Plan: Background and Issues for Congress: No Description Available.
Peacekeeping Options: Considerations for U.S. Policymakers and the Congress: This report provides a frame of reference for considering the relative merits of using these organizations in peace and security operations. It first reviews the types of actions and activities available to deal with situations ranging from low-level tension to open conflict to post-conflict transition. It then examines, for each of the organizations, the major considerations, i.e., effectiveness, advantages, and disadvantages, and other important issues for U.S. policy makers in their use.
Chemical Agent Attacks in Japan: The release of the nerve agent Sarin in Tokyo's subway system on March 20, marks the first clearly non-state terrorist use of chemical weapons. The agent was highly diluted andmfatalities were relatively few (10), though the number of injured was substantial (5,000+, with 600 hospitalized). This incident clearly indicates the potential political effectiveness of chemical weapons against an unprotected civilian population. Once a population has been sensitized by an incident like this, even the threat of CW can become significantly disruptive. Some have credited fear of another attack with contributing to the cautiousness of the Japanese police investigation
A UN Rapid Reaction Force: This report, completed in June 1995, discusses the content and context of the January 1995 proposal by then-United Nations Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali that U.N. Member States consider the creation of a special rapid reaction force to perform U.N. peacekeeping operations. It contains brief background information on similar proposals and a description of the current U.N. "standby forces" system. It reviews the concerns and issues raised by the Boutros-Ghali proposal, including political acceptability, financing, and the problems of force design and operation. It concludes with an analysis of the strategic, budgetary, political and military implications for the United States. This report will not be updated.
National Emergency Powers: This report the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601-1651) that eliminated or modified some statutory grants of emergency authority, required the President to declare formally the existence of a national emergency and to specify what statutory authority, activated by the declaration, would be used, and provided Congress a means to countermand the President's declaration and the activated authority being sought.
Strategic Arms Reduction Treaties (START I and II): Verification and Compliance Issues: The U.S. and Russia signed START II on January 3, 1993. START II relies on the START I verification regime, with a few additional inspections. When the Senate approved START II's ratification on January 26, 1996, it included several conditions and declarations relating to verification and compliance in the resolution of ratification. The Russian Duma resumed its consideration of START II in February 1996; some members met with Secretary of Defense Perry to discuss the treaty in October 1996.
NATO: Article V and Collective Defense: Article V of the North Atlantic Treaty does not guarantee the use of force to assist an ally under attack. Nonetheless, the U.S. pledge to assist an ally under attack has been the core of the alliance. Despite growing political functions, the NATO views collective defense, and not collective security, as its core function.
NATO: Congress Addresses Expansion of the Alliance: No Description Available.
National Missile Defense: Status of the Debate: No Description Available.
Kosovo: Lessons Learned from Operation: No Description Available.
Kosovo Conflict Chronology: September 1998 - March 1999: No Description Available.
Defense Research: A Primer on the Department of Defense’s Research, Development, Test and Evaluation (RDT&E) Program: This report describes the basic elements and issues of the Department of Defense's (DOD) Research, Development, Test and Evaluation (RDT&E) Program. It defines basic activities supported by the program, presents budget trends, discusses the management of program, and describes the infrastructure in which the program is implemented. This report is for staff new to the area of defense research and for senior staff interested in historical trends.
Instances of Use of United States Forces Abroad, 1798-1993: This report lists 234 instances in which the United States has used its armed forces abroad in situations of conflict or potential conflict or for other than normal peacetime purposes. It brings up to date a 1989 list that was compiled in part from various older lists and is intended primarily to provide a rough sketch survey of past U.S. military ventures abroad. A detailed description and analysis are not undertaken here.
EURATOM and the United States: Renewing the Agreement for Nuclear Cooperation: The European Atomic Energy Community (EURATOM) is a regional organization established in 1958 to "create conditions necessary for the establishment and growth of nuclear industries." The United States promoted its establishment to benefit sales of U.S. nuclear power reactors and related equipment. fuels and technology in Europe. The agreement for nuclear cooperation between the United States and EURATOM expired at the end of 1995. On November 29 President Clinton submitted to Congress a new agreement. reached after several years of difficult negotiation.
Bosnia: Civil Implementation of the Peace Agreement: Since Dayton Peace Accords, the civilian side of peace implementation has been challenged by the scope of the tasks, and by the lack of commitment demonstrated by the Bosnian parties to various aspects of the peace agreement. In addition, issues such as International Framework for peace implementation, formation of governmental institution, election, civil police task force and displaced persons are discussed in this report.
Long Beach: Proposed Lease by China Ocean Shipping Co. (COSCO) at Former Naval Base: No Description Available.
Appropriations for FY1999: Military Construction: Appropriations are one part of a complex federal budget process that includes budget resolutions, appropriations (regular, supplemental, and continuing) bills, rescissions, and budget reconciliation bills. This report is a guide to one of the 13 regular appropriations bills that Congress passes each year. It is designed to supplement the information provided by the House and Senate Appropriations Subcommittees on Legislative Branch Appropriations.
Instances of Use of United States Armed Forces Abroad, 1798-1999: No Description Available.
Appropriations for FY2000: Military Construction: Appropriations are one part of a complex federal budget process that includes budget resolutions, appropriations (regular, supplemental, and continuing) bills, rescissions, and budget reconciliation bills. This report is a guide to one of the 13 regular appropriations bills that Congress passes each year. It is designed to supplement the information provided by the House and Senate Appropriations Subcommittees on Military Construction Appropriations.
The United States and the Use of Force in the Post-Cold War World: Toward Self-Deterrence?: Early in the post-Cold War era, the willingness of the United States to use military force was tested by Iraq's 1990 invasion of Kuwait. U.S. actions and those of allied nations suggested that the international community had the will and ability to respond to serious aggressions and some other threats to international order. The United States appeared to be showing the way toward a post-Cold War international system whose demonstrated ability to respond to such threats was expected to deter at least some of them.
Key Foreign and Defense Policy Issues in the 104th Congress: The new post-Cold War world and the role of the United States will be shaped by action on a wide variety of foreign policy and defense issues. The 104th Congress will debate many of these issues and help determine the outcome as it considers the National Security Act proposed by House Republicans in the Contract with America and takes up bills on foreign policy and defense agencies, programs, and budgets.
The Convention on Nuclear Safety - A Fact Sheet: Until the catastrophic accident with the former Soviet Union's Chernobyl nuclear power plant showed that radioactivity from a major nuclear accident could reach neighboring nations, nuclear safety was held to be an exclusively sovereign responsibility of each nation. Now it is recognized that a nuclear accident in one state can release radioactivity dangerous to another. As a result, many now view international cooperation as one way to help to assure safe operation of each nation's civil nuclear power stations.
Iraq Crisis: U.S. and Allied Forces: No Description Available.
Defense Research: DOD's Research, Development, Test and Evaluation Program: The Administration has requested $34.4 billion for the Department of Defense (DOD) Research, Development, Test and Evaluation (RDT&E) program for FY2000. This is almost $3 billion below what was available for RDT&E in FY1999. In addition, the 6-year budget would maintain RDT&E between $34 billion and $35 billion over the next 6 years. In constant dollars, RDT&E spending will decline.
NATO Enlargement and Russia: No Description Available.
Defense Research: A Primer on the Department of Defense's Research, Development, Test and Evaluation (RDT and E) Program: This report describes the basic elements and issues of the Department of Defense's (DOD) Research, Development, Test and Evaluation (RDT&E) Program. It defines basic activities supported by the program, presents budget trends, discusses the management of program, and describes the infrastructure in which the program is implemented. This report is for staff new to the area of defense research and for senior staff interested in historical trends.
Women in the Armed Forces: Women have become an integral part of the armed forces, but they are excluded from most combat jobs. Several issues remain. One is whether to reduce, maintain, or expand the number of women in the services as the total forces are being reduced. A second question is to what extent women should continue to be excluded from some combat positions by policy. Would national security be jeopardized or enhanced by increasing reliance on women in the armed forces? Should women have equal opportunities and responsibilities in national defense? Or do role and physical differences between the sexes, the protection of future generations, and other social norms require limiting the assignments of women in the armed forces? Opinion in the United States is deeply divided on the fundamental issues involved.
Women in the Armed Forces: Women have become an integral part of the armed forces, but they are excluded from most combat jobs. Several issues remain. One is whether to reduce, maintain, or expand the number of women in the services as the total forces are being reduced. A second question is to what extent women should continue to be excluded from some combat positions by policy. Would national security be jeopardized or enhanced by increasing reliance on women in the armed forces? Should women have equal opportunities and responsibilities in national defense? Or do role and physical differences between the sexes, the protection of future generations, and other social norms require limiting the assignments of women in the armed forces? Opinion in the United States is deeply divided on the fundamental issues involved.
Defense Research: A Primer on the Department of Defense's Research, Development, Test and Evaluation (RDT and E) Program: This report describes the basic elements and issues of the Department of Defense's (DOD) Research, Development, Test and Evaluation (RDT&E) Program. It defines basic activities supported by the program, presents budget trends, discusses the management of program, and describes the infrastructure in which the program is implemented. This report is for staff new to the area of defense research and for senior staff interested in historical trends.
Japanese Participation in United Nations Peacekeeping Operations: Japan is positioned to deploy its troops overseas for the first time since World War II. Under a controversial peacekeeping operations (PKO) bill passed by the Japanese Diet (parliament) on June 15, 1992, Japan is allowed to dispatch Self-Defense Forces (SDF) soldiers abroad for noncombat service with United Nations peacekeeping forces (PKF). [1] The politically sensitive PKO legislation comes two years after Japan was stung by international criticism for its failure to send troops to the Persian Gulf, even just for noncombat support. The day after the passage of the bill, Prime Minister Kiichi Miyazawa pledged an early dispatch of SDF personnel to Cambodia.
Nuclear Arms Control and Nuclear Threat Reduction: Issues and Agenda: Since the end of the Cold War, the United States and Russia have added many issues to their bilateral arms control agenda. And multilateral arms control negotiations have received a higher priority in U.S. policy than they did during the Cold War.
Nuclear Weapons Testing and Negotiation of a Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty: A nuclear test ban is the oldest item on the nuclear arms control agenda; Congress has debated the issue since the start of the nuclear age. Three treaties limit testing to underground only, with a maximum force equal to 150,000 tons of TNT.
Cruise Missile Inventories and NATO Attacks on Yugoslavia: Background Information: This short report provides background information on the Air Force’s Conventional Air-Launched Cruise Missile (CALCM) and the conventionally armed version of the Navy’s Tomahawk land-attack cruise missile (TLAM).
Critical Infrastructures: A Primer: The nation’s health, wealth, and security rely on the supply and distribution of certain goods and services. The array of physical assets, processes and organizations across which these goods and services move are called critical infrastructures. Computers and communications, themselves critical infrastructures, are increasingly tying these infrastructures together.
Kosovo and NATO: Selected Issues of International Law: No Description Available.
Kosovo: International Reactions to NATO Air Strikes: No Description Available.
Intelligence Implications of the Military Technical Revolution: The availability of precise, real-time intelligence has been an integral part of a military technical revolution being implemented by the Department of Defense for post-Cold War conflicts and peacekeeping operations. Providing this intelligence requires new types of equipment, analysis and organizational relationships within the U.S. intelligence community.
Regional Security Consultative Organizations in East Asia and Their Implications for the United States: In the uncertain security environment of the post-Cold War world, the Clinton Administration has expressed interest in proposals that would create forums for regional security consultations in East Asia.
Japan's Sea Shipment of Plutonium: Japan's sea shipment of a ton of plutonium from France to Japan on Nov. 7, 1992, faced strong public opposition, as did a previous one in 1984, from various public interest groups, independent analysts, and Members of Congress. The shipment arrived safely in Tokyo Jan. 4, 1993. Several more shipments at intervals of about 3 years are expected. While the plutonium is owned by Japanese utilities, it was produced from uranium enriched in the United States and supplied under a U.S.-Japan agreement for nuclear cooperation, revised in 1988. Although the agreement ties some strings to what Japan can do with nuclear imports from the United States, it also in effect gives to Japan a 30-year advance consent to ship plutonium subject to informing the United States.
South Korea: U.S. Defense Obligations: U.S. defense obligations to South Korea are contained in the U.S.-South Korean Mutual Defense Treaty, signed in 1953 and ratified in 1954. Under Article m of the treaty, the United States would "act to meet" an attack on South Korea "in accordance with its [U.S.] constitutional processes." At the time of ratification, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee did not define specifically the respective roles of the President and Congress in any decision to act militarily in accord with constitutional processes. The Committee stressed that Article did not set a requirement for an automatic American military response but that it did give the United States a wide range of possible actions
Desert Shield and Desert Storm Implications for Future U.S. Force Requirements: This preliminary assessment summarizes U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps performances during recent war, then relates it to past experience and potential threats in ways that might help decisionmakers determine the most suitable characteristics of U.S. armed forces for the rest of this decade.
Terrorism: U.S. Response to Bombings in Kenya and Tanzania: A New Policy Direction?: No Description Available.
Bosnia Stabilization Force (SFOR) and U.S. Policy: In December 1995, a NATO-led implementation force (IFOR) was deployed to Bosnia to enforce the military aspects of the Bosnian peace agreement. After fierce debate, the House and Senate passed separate resolutions in December 1995 expressing support for the U.S. troops in Bosnia, although not necessarily for the mission itself. Legislative efforts to bar funds for the deployment of U.S. troops to Bosnia were narrowly rejected. In the 105th Congress, similar efforts to bar a U.S. deployment after June 1998 were also rejected, although the FY 1998 defense authorization and appropriations laws contain reporting requirements that must be fulfilled before an extended deployment may take place. The defense appropriation measure requires the President to seek a supplemental appropriation for any deployment after June 1998.
Bosnian Muslim-Croat Federation: Key to Peace in Bosnia?: The Federation of Bosnia and Hercegovina was established in March 1994, with U.S. mediation. It aims to unite areas held by the largely Bosniak (Muslim) pre-war republic government with areas held by Croats. The Bosnian peace agreement, signed in Dayton in November 1995, recognized the Federation and the Bosnian Serb Republika Srpska as two largely autonomous entities within a weak, but sovereign Bosnia and Hercegovina union. Real political, economic and military integration of Bosniak and Croat-held areas has been slow to materialize. The United States has played a key role in setting up the Federation and in efforts to make it viable. The long term viability of the Federation is open to question, however, due to continued mistrust between the two sides and significant differences in their perceived interests.

Congressional Research Service Reports - 67 Matching Results

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