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Navy Ship Names: Background for Congress

Description: This report discusses the process of naming Navy ships, which have traditionally been chosen and announced by the Secretary of the Navy. Congress in recent years has proposed, and sometimes passed, legislation regarding the naming of specific ships.
Date: December 23, 2010
Creator: O'Rourke, Ronald
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Navy Shipboard Lasers for Surface, Air, and Missile Defense: Background and Issues for Congress

Description: This report focuses on potential Navy shipboard lasers for countering surface, air, and ballistic missile threats. It does not discuss the use of lasers on Navy aircraft or submarines, or the use of lasers by other military services. This report is based on unclassified information from Navy, RAND, and industry briefings on shipboard lasers provided to CRS and the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) in the summer of 2010, as well as unclassified open-domain information.
Date: December 23, 2010
Creator: O'Rourke, Ronald
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Navy SSBN(X) Ballistic Missile Submarine Program: Background and Issues for Congress

Description: This report discusses the Navy's plan to develop and design a class of 12 next-generation ballistic missile submarines, or SSBN(X)s, as replacements for the 14 Ohio class SSBNs currently in operation. The report explores certain related issues for Congress, including the affordability of the project and its potential impact on other Navy shipbuilding programs, alternatives to the program, and which shipyard or shipyards will build the proposed ships.
Date: December 23, 2010
Creator: O'Rourke, Ronald
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The New START Treaty: Central Limits and Key Provisions

Description: This report provides an overview of the New Strategic Arms Reductions Treaty (START), including a comparison to the original START Treaty, the belief of the Obama Administration and outside analysts that New START will enhance U.S. national security, and the criticisms of those who say that New START is a distraction from more important items on the nonproliferation agenda.
Date: December 23, 2010
Creator: Woolf, Amy F.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Navy Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) Program: Background, Issues, and Options for Congress

Description: The Navy is procuring a new type of surface combatant called the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS). The Navy wants to procure a total of 55 LCSs. This report details the 2007 restructuring of the LCS program, as well as various financial information relating to the program. The issue for Congress is whether to approve, reject, or modify the Navy's plans for the LCS program. The LCS program raises potential oversight issues for Congress relating to various aspects of the program, all of which are explo… more
Date: December 22, 2010
Creator: O'Rourke, Ronald
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Organized Crime in the United States: Trends and Issues for Congress

Description: This report provides a background on organized crime in the United States as well as the tools that Congress has afforded for the federal government to combat it. It outlines the trends in federal efforts to investigate and prosecute organized crime. The report then discusses the evolving nature of organized crime, including the domestic impact of organized crime, prominent organized crime groups, and their illegal activities affecting the United States. It concludes with a discussion of issues… more
Date: December 22, 2010
Creator: Finklea, Kristin M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Afghanistan Casualties: Military Forces and Civilians

Description: This report collects statistics from a variety of sources on casualties sustained during Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF), which began on October 7, 2001, and is ongoing. OEF actions take place primarily in Afghanistan, but OEF casualties also include American casualties in other countries, listed within this report.
Date: December 20, 2010
Creator: Chesser, Susan G.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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"Don't Ask, Don't Tell": Military Policy and the Law on Same-Sex Behavior

Description: This report describes the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" military policy, which holds that the presence in the armed forces of persons who demonstrate a propensity or intent to engage in same-sex acts would create an unacceptable risk to the high standards of morale, good order and discipline, and unit cohesion which are the essence of military capability. Under this policy, but not the law, service members are not to be asked about nor allowed to discuss their "same-sex orientation." This report also… more
Date: December 20, 2010
Creator: Burrelli, David F.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Navy Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) Program: Background, Issues, and Options for Congress

Description: This report provides background information and potential issues for Congress on the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS), a relatively inexpensive Navy surface combatant equipped with modular "plug-and-fight" mission packages. The Navy's proposed FY2012 budget requests funding for the procurement of four LCSs. Current issues for Congress concerning the LCS program include changes or potential changes to the composition of LCS mission modules announced by the Navy in January 2011, the combat survivabilit… more
Date: December 16, 2010
Creator: O'Rourke, Ronald
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Somalia: Current Conditions and Prospects for a Lasting Peace

Description: This report discusses the political climate of Somalia, which has undergone extreme unrest for years. The report focuses on events since October 2002, including the formation of the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) in 2007 and the TFG's cooperation with the Re-Liberation of Somalia (ARS) in 2008. The report also discusses the U.S. relationship with Somalia under the Obama Administration, including U.S. economic assistance given to Somalia and U.S. efforts to contain Somalian terrorist grou… more
Date: December 16, 2010
Creator: Dagne, Ted
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Chemical Facility Security: Reauthorization, Policy Issues, and Options for Congress

Description: The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has statutory authority to regulate chemical facilities for security purposes. This report provides a brief overview of the existing statutory authority and the regulation implementing this authority. It describes several policy issues raised in previous debates regarding chemical facility security and identifies policy options that might resolve components of these issues. Finally, legislation introduced in the 111th Congress is discussed.
Date: December 10, 2010
Creator: Shea, Dana A.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Navy Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) Program: Background, Issues, and Options for Congress

Description: The Navy is procuring a new type of surface combatant called the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS). The Navy wants to procure a total of 55 LCSs. This report details the 2007 restructuring of the LCS program, as well as various financial information relating to the program. The issue for Congress is whether to approve, reject, or modify the Navy's plans for the LCS program. The LCS program raises potential oversight issues for Congress relating to various aspects of the program, all of which are explo… more
Date: December 9, 2010
Creator: O'Rourke, Ronald
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Navy Shipboard Lasers for Surface, Air, and Missile Defense: Background and Issues for Congress

Description: This report focuses on potential Navy shipboard lasers for countering surface, air, and ballistic missile threats. Department of Defense (DOD) development work on high-energy military lasers, which has been underway for decades, has reached the point where lasers capable of countering certain surface and air targets at ranges of about a mile could be made ready for installation on Navy surface ships over the next few years.
Date: December 9, 2010
Creator: O'Rourke, Ronald
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Stuxnet Computer Worm: Harbinger of an Emerging Warfare Capability

Description: In September 2010, media reports emerged about a new form of cyber attack that appeared to target Iran, although the actual target, if any, is unknown. This report discusses this cyber attack, a malicious software program known as Stuxnet, which infected computer systems that were used to control the functioning of a nuclear power plant. Once inside the system, Stuxnet had the ability to degrade or destroy the software on which it operated. Although early reports focused on the impact on facili… more
Date: December 9, 2010
Creator: Kerr, Paul K.; Rollins, John & Theohary, Catherine A.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Afghanistan Casualties: Military Forces and Civilians

Description: This report collects statistics from a variety of sources on casualties sustained during Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF), which began on October 7, 2001. OEF actions took place primarily in Afghanistan; however, OEF casualties also includes American casualties in Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Guantanamo Bay (Cuba), Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Jordan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, the Philippines, Seychelles, Sudan, Tajikistan, Turkey, and Yemen.
Date: December 8, 2010
Creator: Chesser, Susan G.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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American Jihadist Terrorism: Combating a Complex Threat

Description: This report describes homegrown violent jihadists and the plots and attacks that have occurred since 9/11. "Homegrown" and "domestic" are terms that describe terrorist activity or plots perpetrated within the United States or abroad by American citizens, legal permanent residents, or visitors radicalized largely within the United States. The report also discusses the radicalization process and the forces driving violent extremist activity. It analyzes post-9/11 domestic jihadist terrorism and d… more
Date: December 7, 2010
Creator: Bjelopera, Jerome P.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty: Background and Current Developments

Description: This report discusses the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), which bans all nuclear explosion and was in 1996 adopted by the U.N. General Assembly but rejected by the U.S. Senate in 1997. This report discusses the Obama Administration's stated goal of pursuing U.S. ratification of the CTBT, although the Administration has mainly focused on securing Senate consent to ratification of the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START). This report also discusses other nuclear weapons-r… more
Date: December 7, 2010
Creator: Medalia, Jonathan
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Criminal Prohibitions on the Publication of Classified Defense Information

Description: The recent online publication of classified defense documents by the organization WikiLeaks and subsequent reporting by the New York Times and other news media have focused attention on whether such publication violates U.S. criminal law. The Justice Department and Department of Defense are investigating the circumstances to determine whether any prosecutions will be undertaken in connection with the disclosure. This report identifies some criminal statutes that may apply and also discusses the… more
Date: December 6, 2010
Creator: Elsea, Jennifer K.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act: Overview and Issues

Description: This report discusses the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA), under which members of the uniformed services and U.S. citizens who live abroad are eligible to register and vote absentee in federal elections. The report discusses recent improvements to UOCAVA, necessary as the result of controversy surrounding ballots received in Florida from absentee voters in the 2000 presidential election. The report also discusses related legislation, such as the National Defense Aut… more
Date: December 6, 2010
Creator: Coleman, Kevin J.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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