Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports and Issue Briefs articles from December 2008

Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports and Issue Briefs archives from December 2008

Foreign investment and national security: economic considerations.(Congressional Research Service)
December 1, 2008... December 1, 2008 Summary The United States is the largest foreign direct investor in the world and also the largest recipient of foreign direct investment. This dual role means that globalization, or the spread of economic activity...

Status of forces agreement (SOFA): what is it, and how has it been utilized?(Congressional Research Service)
December 1, 2008... December 1, 2008 Summary The United States has been party to multilateral and bilateral agreements addressing the status of U.S. armed forces while present in a foreign country. These agreements, commonly referred to as Status of...

Financial turmoil: federal reserve policy responses.(Congressional Research Service)
December 1, 2008... December 4, 2008 Summary The Federal Reserve (Fed) has been central in the response to the current financial turmoil that began in August 2007. It has sharply increased reserves to the banking system through open market operations...

The Department of Defense role in foreign assistance: background, major issues, and options for Congress.(Congressional Research Service)
December 1, 2008... December 9, 2008 Summary The Department of Defense (DOD) has long played a role in U.S. efforts to assist foreign populations, militaries, and governments. The use of DOD to provide foreign assistance stems in general from the...

Introduction.(The Department of Defense Role in Foreign Assistance: Background, Major Issues, and Options for Congress)
December 1, 2008... Among the foreign policy questions that the 111th Congress will face is one that has surfaced repeatedly for over 60 years and has resurfaced during the previous Congress: what is the appropriate role for the Department of Defense (DOD) in...

Overview: DOD's evolving response to perceived needs.(The Department of Defense Role in Foreign Assistance: Background, Major Issues, and Options for Congress)
December 1, 2008... DOD's perception of the appropriate non-combat role for the U.S. military has evolved over time. During the years in which the United States' primary national security threats were posed by other States, there were differing perspectives...

Major issues and options for Congress.(The Department of Defense Role in Foreign Assistance: Background, Major Issues, and Options for Congress)
December 1, 2008... What Are the Effects of DOD Activities on U.S. Foreign Relations and Foreign Policy Goals? DOD is involved in a broad range of foreign assistance activities. U.S. military personnel deploy as first responders to foreign disasters and...

Appendix A. Disaster relief and humanitarian assistance, including civic action.(The Department of Defense Role in Foreign Assistance: Background, Major Issues, and Options for Congress)
December 1, 2008... DOD Roles and Responsibility Disaster relief and humanitarian assistance have long been considered traditional, albeit secondary, DOD roles. DOD is one of the three principal U.S. government departments that provides disaster and other...

Appendix B. DOD global health program.(The Department of Defense Role in Foreign Assistance: Background, Major Issues, and Options for Congress)
December 1, 2008... DOD Role and Responsibilities DOD is engaged in a number of efforts to improve global health. Information in this section reflects publicly available information, which is limited. Among the many U.S. government global health programs,...

Appendix C. Department of Defense Humanitarian Mine Action Program.(The Department of Defense Role in Foreign Assistance: Background, Major Issues, and Options for Congress)
December 1, 2008... The Department of State, USAID, and DOD participate in the DOD Humanitarian Mine Action (HMA) Program, through which the United States trains personnel of other nations to deactivate land mines and other explosive remnants of war. (134) The...

Appendix D. Foreign Military Sales and financing program.(The Department of Defense Role in Foreign Assistance: Background, Major Issues, and Options for Congress)
December 1, 2008... DOD Role and Responsibilities The U.S. Foreign Military Sales Program (FMS) is the principal vehicle through which the U.S. government makes sales of weapons and associated equipment and training to friendly foreign nations. (144) Most...

Appendix E. International Military Education and Training Program.(The Department of Defense Role in Foreign Assistance: Background, Major Issues, and Options for Congress)
December 1, 2008... DOD Role and Responsibilities The International Military Education and Training Program (IMET) falls under the policy authority of the State Department, is funded through the annual Foreign Operations Appropriations legislation, and is...

Appendix F. Counternarcotics.(The Department of Defense Role in Foreign Assistance: Background, Major Issues, and Options for Congress)
December 1, 2008... DOD Roles and Responsibilities DOD has multiple roles and responsibilities in the area of counternarcotics (CN). It is the single lead federal agency for the detection and monitoring of aerial and maritime movement of illegal drugs...

Appendix G. Foreign anti-terrorism and counterterrorism train and equip assistance and education programs.(The Department of Defense Role in Foreign Assistance: Background, Major Issues, and Options for Congress)
December 1, 2008... DOD Role and Responsibilities DOD and the Department of State both devote financial and personnel resources to assisting foreign governments' anti-terrorism and counterterrorism activities. (171) The foreign counterterrorism assistance...

Appendix H. Foreign military capacity building Section 1206 authority.(The Department of Defense Role in Foreign Assistance: Background, Major Issues, and Options for Congress)
December 1, 2008... DOD Role and Responsibility In the FY2006-FY2008 annual DOD authorization bills, Congress provided DOD with authority to train and equip foreign military forces to perform counterterrorism, as well as military and stability operations....

Appendix I. Global Peace Operations Initiative train and equip program.(The Department of Defense Role in Foreign Assistance: Background, Major Issues, and Options for Congress)
December 1, 2008... DOD Role and Responsibilities The State Department launched its Global Peace Operations Initiative (GPOI) in mid-2004 to train and equip foreign military and security forces to participate in international peacekeeping operations....

Appendix J. The Department of Defense in nonproliferation: the cooperative threat reduction program.(The Department of Defense Role in Foreign Assistance: Background, Major Issues, and Options for Congress)
December 1, 2008... DOD Role and Responsibilities DOD is one of the three principal U.S. agencies that carries out threat reduction and nonproliferation programs. DOD is responsible for the central program that secures and eliminates weapons: the...

Appendix K. DOD in Iraq and Afghanistan Economic Reconstruction and State-Building.(The Department of Defense Role in Foreign Assistance: Background, Major Issues, and Options for Congress)
December 1, 2008... DOD Roles and Responsibilities In Iraq and Afghanistan, DOD has assumed economic reconstruction and state-building responsibilities not usually associated with its military obligations. Civilian agencies--in particular, the Department of...

Appendix L. Foreign security assistance initiatives for Afghanistan and Iraq.(The Department of Defense Role in Foreign Assistance: Background, Major Issues, and Options for Congress)
December 1, 2008... In Afghanistan and Iraq today, based on decisions by the Administration and authorities granted by Congress, DOD plays the lead U.S. government role in providing training assistance to Iraqi and Afghan security forces, including police and...

Long-range ballistic missile defense in Europe.(Congressional Research Service)
December 1, 2008... December 8, 2008 Summary Successive administrations have urged the creation of an anti-missile system to protect against long-range ballistic missile threats from rogue states. The Bush Administration believes that North Korea and...

Iraq: regional perspectives and U.S. policy.(Congressional Research Service)
December 1, 2008... December 1, 2008 Summary Iraq's neighbors have influenced events in Iraq since the fall of the Saddam Hussein regime in 2003, and developments in Iraq have had political, economic, and security implications for Iraq's neighbors and...

The federal budget: current and upcoming.(Congressional Research Service)
December 1, 2008... December 10, 2008 Summary The federal budget implements Congress's "power of the purse" by expressing funding priorities through outlay allocations and revenue collections. Over the past decade, federal spending has accounted for...

Terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India, and implications for U.S. interests.(Congressional Research Service)
December 1, 2008... December 19, 2008 Summary On the evening of November 26, 2008, a number of well-trained militants came ashore from the Arabian Sea on small boats and attacked numerous high-profile targets in Mumbai, India, with automatic weapons...

Thailand: background and U.S. relations.(Congressional Research Service)
December 1, 2008... December 19, 2008 Summary U.S.-Thailand relations are of interest to Congress because of Thailand's status as a long-time military ally and a significant trade and economic partner. However, ties have been complicated by deep...

Climate change: federal laws and policies related to greenhouse gas reductions.(Congressional Research Service)
December 1, 2008... December 8, 2008 Summary Climate change is viewed as a global issue, but proposed responses generally require action at the national level. In 1992, the United States ratified the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate...

Iraq: post-Saddam governance and security.(Congressional Research Service)
December 1, 2008... December 17, 2008 Summary The Bush Administration has claimed substantial success in significantly reducing violence in Iraq as a result of the "troop surge" announced by President Bush on January 10, 2007 ("New Way Forward"). With...

Policy in the 1990s emphasized containment.(Iraq: Post-Saddam Governance and Security)
December 1, 2008... Prior to the January 16, 1991, launch of Operation Desert Storm to reverse Iraq's August 1990 invasion of Kuwait, President George H.W. Bush called on the Iraqi people to overthrow Saddam. That Administration decided not to try to do so...

Post-September 11, 2001: regime change and war.(Iraq: Post-Saddam Governance and Security)
December 1, 2008... Several senior Bush Administration officials had long been advocates of a regime change policy toward Iraq, but the difficulty of that strategy led the Bush Administration initially to continue its predecessor's containment policy. (11) Some...

Post-Saddam transition and governance.(Iraq: Post-Saddam Governance and Security)
December 1, 2008... According to statements by the Administration, U.S. goals are for a unified, democratic, and federal Iraq that can sustain, govern, and defend itself and is an ally in the global war on terrorism. Administration officials have, for the most...

Security challenges and responses.(Iraq: Post-Saddam Governance and Security)
December 1, 2008... Since the fall of Saddam Hussein, the United States has employed a multi-faceted approach to securing Iraq. In late 2006, the effort was determined by the Administration to be faltering as violence and U.S. casualties escalated. In announcing...

Iraq Study Group report, legislative proposals, and options for the Obama Administration.(Iraq: Post-Saddam Governance and Security)
December 1, 2008... In formulating the "troop surge" strategy announced on January 10, 2007, President Bush said he weighed the December 6, 2006, report of the Iraq Study Group, as well as input from several other reviews, including one directed by the Joint...

Monetary policy and the federal reserve: current policy and conditions.(Congressional Research Service)
December 1, 2008... December 16, 2008 Summary The Federal Reserve defines monetary policy as the actions it undertakes to influence the availability and cost of money and credit to help promote a stable price level and maximum sustainable economic...

Fifth summit of the Americas in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, April 2009: background, agenda, and expectations.(Congressional Research Service)
December 1, 2008... December 17, 2008 Summary The fifth Summit of the Americas in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago scheduled to be held on April 17-19, 2009 will be the first hemispheric forum for President-elect Barack Obama to engage with leaders...

Lebanon: background and U.S. relations.(Congressional Research Service)
December 1, 2008... December 16, 2008 Summary Lebanon is a religiously diverse, democratic state transitioning toward independence after a ruinous civil war and the Syrian and Israeli occupations that followed. The United States and Lebanon have...

Chrysler Corporation Loan Guarantee Act of 1979: background, provisions, and cost.(Congressional Research Service)
December 1, 2008... December 17, 2008 Summary The American automobile industry has serious financial problems. Corporate executives from the Big Three (General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler) have testified before Congress about their need for federal...

A U.S.-centric chronology of the international Climate Change negotiations.(Congressional Research Service)
December 1, 2008... December 23, 2008 Summary Under the "Bali Action Plan," countries around the globe are endeavoring to reach agreement by the end of 2009 on effective, feasible, and fair actions beyond 2012 to address risks of climate change driven...

Singapore: background and U.S. relations.(Congressional Research Service)
December 1, 2008... December 18, 2008 Summary A former colonial island trading and military outpost of the far-flung British Empire, the tiny Republic of Singapore has transformed itself into a modern Asian nation and a major player in the global...

Senate confirmation process: a brief overview.(Congressional Research Service)
December 1, 2008... December 1, 2008 The role of the Senate in the confirmation process is defined in the Constitution. Article II, Section 2 provides that the President "shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint...

Oman: reform, security, and U.S. policy.(Congressional Research Service)
December 1, 2008... December 4, 2008 Summary The Sultanate of Oman is a long-time U.S. ally in the Persian Gulf; it has allowed U.S. access to its military facilities for virtually every U.S. military operation in and around the Gulf since 1980. Partly...

Iraq: U.S. casualties.(Congressional Research Service)
December 1, 2008... December 29, 2008 The following casualty data was compiled by the Department of Defense (DOD), as tallied from the agency's press releases. Table 1 provides statistics on fatalities during Operation Iraqi Freedom, which began on March...

U.S. trade deficit and the impact of rising oil prices.(Congressional Research Service)
December 1, 2008... December 12, 2008 Summary Petroleum prices rose sharply in the first half of 2008, at one time reaching more than $140 per barrel of crude oil. Since July, however, petroleum prices and import volumes have fallen at a historically...

Iran's nuclear program: Tehran's compliance with international obligations.(Congressional Research Service)
December 1, 2008... December 4, 2008 Summary In 2002, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) began investigating allegations that Iran had conducted clandestine nuclear activities; the agency ultimately reported that some of these activities had...

Organizing the U.S. government for national security: overview of the interagency reform debates.(Congressional Research Service)
December 1, 2008... December 16, 2008 Summary A growing community of interest, including Members of Congress, senior officials in the executive branch, and think-tank analysts, is calling for a reexamination of how well the U.S. government, including...

Nuclear arms control: the strategic offensive reductions treaty.(Congressional Research Service)
December 1, 2008... December 30, 2008 Summary On May 24, 2002, President Bush and Russia's President Putin signed the Strategic Offensive Reductions Treaty (known as the Moscow Treaty) that will reduce strategic nuclear weapons to between 1,700 and...

Nuclear weapon in U.S. national security policy: past, present, and prospects.(Congressional Research Service)
December 1, 2008... December 30, 2008 The Bush Administration has outlined a strategy of "tailored deterrence" to define the role that nuclear weapons play in U.S. national security policy. There has been little discussion of this concept, either in...

Covert action: legislative background and possible policy questions.(Congressional Research Service)
December 1, 2008... December 1, 2008 Summary Published reports have suggested that in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the Pentagon has expanded its counter-terrorism intelligence activities as part of what the Bush Administration terms the...

A low carbon fuel standard: state and federal legislation and regulations.(Congressional Research Service)
December 1, 2008... December 23, 2008 Summary On January 18, 2007, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger issued an executive order directing the California Environmental Protection Agency to establish a Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS). The...

Job loss and infrastructure job creation during the recession.(Congressional Research Service)
December 1, 2008... December 23, 2008 Summary After the long economic expansion that characterized much of the current decade, the nation entered its eleventh postwar recession in December 2007. The unemployment rate rose from 5.0% in that month to...

Immigration legislation and issues in the 110th Congress.(Congressional Research Service)
December 1, 2008... December 10, 2008 Summary Comprehensive immigration reform was the subject of much discussion at the start of the 110th Congress. In the spring of 2007, the Senate considered several broad immigration reform measures aimed at...

Ocean piracy and its impact on insurance.(Congressional Research Service)
December 1, 2008... December 3, 2008 Summary Many Members of Congress are concerned about the sharp rise in pirate attacks in the strategic waterways in the Gulf of Aden off the East coast of Africa. The hijacking of a Saudi Arabia-owned oil tanker,...

Strategic arms control after START: issues and option.(Congressional Research Service)
December 1, 2008... December 23, 2008 Summary The United States and Soviet Union signed the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty in 1991; it entered into force in December 1994 and is due to expire in December 2009. The United States and Russia have held...

Membership of the 111th Congress: a profile.(Congressional Research Service)
December 1, 2008... December 31, 2008 Summary This report presents a profile of the membership of the 111th Congress. Statistical information is included on selected characteristics of Members, including data on party affiliation, average age and...

Counting electoral votes: an overview of procedures at the joint session, including objections by members of Congress.(Congressional Research Service)
December 1, 2008... December 8, 2008 Summary The Constitution and federal law establish a detailed timetable following the presidential election during which time the members of the electoral college convene in the 50 state capitals and in the District...

Iran: U.S. concerns and policy responses.(Congressional Research Service)
December 1, 2008... December 31, 2008 Summary The Bush Administration has characterized Iran as a "profound threat to U.S. national security interests," a perception generated primarily by Iran's nuclear program and its military assistance to armed...

Regime structure, stability, and elections.(Iran: U.S. Concerns and Policy Responses)
December 1, 2008... About a decade after founding the Islamic republic, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini died on June 3, 1989. The regime he established, consisting of some elected and some appointed positions, has appeared relatively stable, but faces chronic but...

Human rights and dissent.(Iran: U.S. Concerns and Policy Responses)
December 1, 2008... The regime appears to have a relatively firm grip on power, in part because it vigorously suppresses dissent. However, Iranian opinion is hard to gauge and even seemingly low level unrest has the potential to spiral into a potential threat to...

Iran's strategic capabilities and weapons of mass destruction programs.(Iran: U.S. Concerns and Policy Responses)
December 1, 2008... The Bush Administration's "National Security Strategy" document released March 16, 2006 said the United States "may face no greater challenge from a single country than from Iran." The perception is based largely on Iran's growing weapons of...

Foreign policy and support for terrorist groups.(Iran: U.S. Concerns and Policy Responses)
December 1, 2008... Iran's foreign policy is a product of the ideology of Iran's Islamic revolution, blended with longstanding national interests, and is intended largely to overturn the "status quo" in the Middle East that Iran believes favors the United...

U.S. policy responses, options, and legislation.(Iran: U.S. Concerns and Policy Responses)
December 1, 2008... The February 11, 1979 fall of the Shah of Iran, a key U.S. ally, opened the long and deep rift in U.S.-Iranian relations. On November 4, 1979, radical "students" seized the U.S. Embassy in Tehran and held its diplomats hostage until minutes...

Conclusion.(Iran: U.S. Concerns and Policy Responses)
December 1, 2008... Mistrust between the United States and Iran's Islamic regime has run deep for over two decades. Many experts say that all factions in Iran are united on major national security issues and that U.S.-Iran relations might not improve unless or...

Afghanistan: post-war governance, security and U.S. policy.(Congressional Research Service)
December 1, 2008... December 23, 2008 Summary U.S. and outside assessments of the effort to stabilize Afghanistan are increasingly negative, to the point where some U.S. officials say they are not sure the effort is "winning." These assessments...

Background to recent developments.(Afghanistan: Post-War Governance, Security and U.S. Policy)
December 1, 2008... Prior to the founding of a monarchy in 1747 by Ahmad Shah Durrani, Afghanistan was territory inhabited by tribes and tribal confederations linked to neighboring nations, not a distinct entity. King Amanullah Khan (1919-1929) launched attacks...

Post-war nations building.(Afghanistan: Post-War Governance, Security and U.S. Policy)
December 1, 2008... With Afghanistan in devastation after more than 20 years of warfare, the fall of the Taliban paved the way for the success of a long-stalled U.N. effort to form a broad-based Afghan government and for a U.S.-led coalition to begin building...

Post-war security operations and force capacity building.(Afghanistan: Post-War Governance, Security and U.S. Policy)
December 1, 2008... The top security priority of the Administration has been to prevent the Taliban and its allies from challenging the Afghan government as that government builds capacity to defend itself. The security efforts are part of the "nation-building"...

Regional context.(Afghanistan: Post-War Governance, Security and U.S. Policy)
December 1, 2008... Although most of Afghanistan's neighbors believe that the fall of the Taliban has stabilized the region, some experts believe that some neighboring governments are attempting to manipulate Afghanistan's factions to their advantage, even...

U.S. and international aid to Afghanistan and developments issues.(Afghanistan: Post-War Governance, Security and U.S. Policy)
December 1, 2008... Many experts believe that financial assistance and accelerating reconstruction would do more to improve the security situation--and to eliminate narcotics trafficking--than intensified anti-Taliban combat. Afghanistan's economy and society...

Residual issues from past conflicts.(Afghanistan: Post-War Governance, Security and U.S. Policy)
December 1, 2008... A few issues remain unresolved from Afghanistan's many years of conflict, such as Stinger retrieval and mine eradication. Stinger Retrieval Beginning in late 1985 following internal debate, the Reagan Administration provided about...

The global financial crisis: the role of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).(Congressional Research Service)
December 1, 2008... December 1, 2008 Summary This report discusses two potential roles the International Monetary Fund (IMF) may have in helping to resolve the current global financial crisis: (1) immediate crisis control through balance of payments...

Israel and the Palestinians: prospects for a two-state solution.(Congressional Research Service)
December 1, 2008... December 10, 2008 One year after the formal renewal of direct talks at the November 2007 Annapolis Conference, Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) have been unable to come to terms on a final-status peace agreement,...

Sino-Japanese relations: issues for U.S. policy.(Congressional Research Service)
December 1, 2008... December 19, 2008 SUMMARY After a period of diplomatic rancor earlier this decade, Japan and China have demonstrably improved their bilateral relationship. The emerging detente includes breakthrough agreements on territorial...

Congressional commissions: overview structure, and legislative considerations.(Congressional Research Service)
December 1, 2008... Summary Congressional advisory commissions are formal groups established to provide independent advice; make recommendations for changes in public policy; study or investigate a particular problem, issue, or event; or perform a duty....

U.S.-Iraq withdrawal/status of forces agreement: issues for congressional oversight.(Congressional Research Service)
December 1, 2008... December 12, 2008 Summary The U.S. has been involved in military operations in Iraq since March of 2003. The legal framework under which the U.S. has operated includes H.J.Res. 114 (P.L. 107-243), multiple Security Council...

U.S. motor vehicle industry: federal financial assistance and restructuring.(Congressional Research Service)
December 1, 2008... December 3, 2008 Summary The three domestically owned U.S. manufacturers of cars and light trucks are requesting federal financial assistance in the form of "bridge loans" to assure their ability to continue in business. The...

Immigration-related worksite enforcement: performance measures.(Congressional Research Service)
December 1, 2008... December 2, 2008 Summary Over the past few years, the media have been filled with reports about worksite enforcement operations, commonly referred to as immigration raids. These operations represent the public face of efforts by the...

Financial market turmoil and U.S. macroeconomic performance.(Congressional Research Service)
December 1, 2008... December 3, 2008 Summary A large and relatively unimpeded flow of credit through healthy financial markets is a salient attribute of the U.S. economy and any well functioning modern economy. Banks and other financial institutions...

Assistance to North Korea.(Congressional Research Service)
December 1, 2008... December 24, 2008 Summary Since 1995, the United States has provided North Korea with over $1.2 billion in assistance, about 60% of which has paid for food aid and about 40% for energy assistance. U.S. aid fell significantly in the...