After more than a decade of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) drone use, a May 1 CATO Institute report recommends either discontinuing the program or curbing drone use to ensure Americans’ privacy. “Drones have led to only 0.5 percent of apprehensions at a cost of $32,000 per arrest,” wrote David J. Bier and Matthew Feeney […]
Defense
Defectors Tote Psychological Uncertainty, Heavy Baggage
The defector is a common character in any tale of spy-craft. Whether a defector is a conscientious objector or a traitor, however, is a matter of perspective. Among the definitions of a defector, there are several common factors. Essentially, a defector is an individual who sells or gives away proprietary information to an adversary – […]
Human Rights Abuses Overshadow N. Korea’s Overtures
Amid the euphoria surrounding the North/South Korea summit last week, North Korea’s human rights record must remain front and center during any negotiations or talks, says David Maxwell, a fellow at the Institute for Corean-American Studies. Speaking on The John Batchelor Show, Maxwell noted the roughly 250,000 prisoners who populate the rogue nation’s gulags and […]
National Debt is Biggest Security Threat to U.S.
Congress recently fired a shot across the bow of the Pentagon. The Defense Department was warned that it better take advantage of the two-year budget boost in defense spending because lean years are coming. The U.S. now has to grapple with a $21 trillion national debt. Budget deficits are returning to the $1 trillion annual […]
North Korea Nuclear Test Site Collapsed
The South China Morning Post reported April 25 that the mountain site where North Korea has conducted five nuclear tests has collapsed. The Punggye-ri nuclear test site, which includes Mount Mantap, is about 400 miles northeast of Pyongyang. “One group of researchers found that the most recent blast tore open a hole in the mountain, […]