SECRECY NEWS
from the FAS Project on Government Secrecy
Volume 2007, Issue No. 81
August 8, 2007

Secrecy News Blog: http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/

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PALAU RATIFIES THE COMPREHENSIVE TEST BAN TREATY

On August 1, the Pacific island nation of Palau became the 139th country to ratify the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty that would ban all nuclear explosions.

Among states that possess nuclear weapons, only France, Russia and the United Kingdom have ratified the Treaty. To enter into force, the CTBT Organization explained in an August 7 news release, the Treaty must be ratified by ten other countries including the United States, China, Iran, Israel, India, Pakistan and North Korea, none of which has shown any eagerness to proceed.

The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library last week released declassified recordings of President Kennedy discussing the debate over a nuclear test ban in 1963. See the Library news release here:

Detailed background on the history and status of the nuclear test ban debate is available from the Congressional Research Service in "Nuclear Weapons: Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty," updated July 12, 2007:

NEW MILITARY REGS ON INFORMATION ASSURANCE, COMSEC

A newly updated U.S. Army regulation on information assurance defines standards and procedures for protecting classified and unclassified information in automated information systems. See "Information Assurance," AR 25-2, August 3, 2007:

Meanwhile, a new U.S. Navy Instruction establishes policy on monitoring of Navy communications for internal security purposes. See "Communications Security (COMSEC) Monitoring of Navy Telecommunications and Automated Information Systems (AIS)," OPNAV Instruction 2201.3A, August 2, 2007:

CRS REPORTS ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS

Recent reports of the Congressional Research Service on various foreign affairs topics include the following, obtained by Secrecy News. CRS does not makes its reports directly available to the public.

"Iraq: Oil and Gas Legislation, Revenue Sharing, and U.S. Policy," updated July 25, 2007:

"Gangs in Central America," updated August 2, 2007:

"Afro-Latinos in Latin America and Considerations for U.S. Policy," updated July 13, 2007:

"Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America: An Overview and Selected Issues," August 2, 2007:

"Israeli-Arab Negotiations: Background, Conflicts, and U.S. Policy," updated July 9, 2007:

"Turkey's 2007 Elections: Crisis of Identity and Power," updated July 11, 2007:

"The Kaesong North-South Korean Industrial Complex," July 19, 2007:

"The Proposed South Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (KORUS FTA)," updated July 18, 2007:

"Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia: Political Developments and Implications for U.S. Interests," updated July 31, 2007:

"Cyprus: Status of U.N. Negotiations and Related Issues," updated July 20, 2007:

"Pakistan-U.S. Relations," updated July 23, 2007:

"Cambodia: Background and U.S. Relations," updated July 18, 2007:

"China-U.S. Trade Issues," updated July 20, 2007:

"China Naval Modernization: Implications for U.S. Navy Capabilities -- Background and Issues for Congress," updated July 20, 2007:

"China/Taiwan: Evolution of the 'One China' Policy -- Key Statements from Washington, Beijing, and Taipei," updated July 9, 2007:

"U.S. Clothing and Textile Trade with China and the World: Trends Since the End of Quotas," July 10, 2007:

"U.S.-Peru Economic Relations and the U.S.-Peru Trade Promotion Agreement," July 27, 2007:

"The United Kingdom: Issues for the United States," updated July 16, 2007:

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Secrecy News is written by Steven Aftergood and published by the Federation of American Scientists.

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