Intelligence Oversight
National Security Oversight: Still a Man’s World
Katina Slavkova | December 5, 2019
Women’s representation has made significant gains in politics. Women are major contenders for the Presidency and are increasingly winning office at the national, state, and local levels. Women comprising a quarter of Congress may be small in an absolute sense, but it is truly historic. Yet within the legislative branch, that influence is not felt
In Search of Good Intelligence Oversight
Katina Slavkova | January 9, 2019
After a moment of pomp and circumstance to accompany the swearing-in of the new Congress, the 116th Congress quickly pivoted to the less glamorous work of legislating. The most immediate concern for Democrats, who now control the House of Representatives, is to end a partial government shutdown that has dragged on for
National Security Confirmations: Politics Beyond the Water’s Edge
Katina Slavkova | April 4, 2018
March 2018 marked a curious milestone for national security that may portend some unexpected clashes ahead for President Trump and congressional overseers. New personnel selections have dredged up divisive political memories; while the choice of Mr. Bolton (for National Security Advisor) may draw more commentary, Gina Haspel (for CIA Director) will draw the oversight that
At the Water’s Edge: Is House Intelligence Oversight As Good As It Gets?
Katina Slavkova | December 18, 2017
There is a common adage in national security and foreign policy debates that “partisan politics stop at the water’s edge.” This famous statement was first coined by the influential chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Sen. Arthur Vandenberg (R-MI) who, at the outset of the Cold War, overcame his political
Looking Towards 2017: National Security in Focus
GAI | December 1, 2016
With the election over and cabinet hopefuls parading to Trump Tower, political prognosticators are looking towards 2017. What will the incoming presidential administration and unified Republican government mean for policy and politics? The congressional experts at GAI are weighing in with a series of deeper dives on different subject areas. Below are the contributions for
Fight Club: Who is in charge here?
Last December, the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) conducted a drone strike in Yemen that appears to have gone horribly wrong by mistakenly targeting a wedding convoy and killing scores of civilians. By early January of this year, U.S. officials had launched an internal investigation of the strike and in April, The New York Times
“Tell me how this ends” This is what former CENTCOM Commander and CIA Director David Petraeus had posited to journalist Rick Atkinson back in early 2003 when he was still a commanding officer of the 101st Airborne Division and in preparation to invade Iraq. While General Petraeus had made this comment with respect to the A little less than a year ago, President Obama delivered a major national security policy address at the National Defense University. The speech outlined specific proposals for revising important pieces of several thorny national security issues such as the closing of the Guantanamo Bay Prison and a long-overdue review of the broad counterterrorism authorities vested
“Tell Me How This Ends”
Drone Games