Governance

Transparency International just released its annual ranking of corruption around the world, and once again, Somalia is ranked as most corrupt. But the fact that Somalia has a non-functioning government makes me wonder how it could even be on the list to begin with.

As the administration works to formulate a new strategy for Afghanistan, popular and elite support appears to be dropping off and a string of attacks makes the stakes all too clear.

The Chinese equivalent of Secretary of Defense, General Xu Caihou was here at CSIS this morning. His speech laid out a forward looking defense process the Chinese had just completed, the equivalent of our Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR).

After the 9/11 attacks, Americans were willing to give up nearly any (privacy) rights our forefathers had laid down centuries before to ensure that such a catastrophic event would not occur on US soil ever again. With that in mind, the government established the Patriot Act which permitted certain agencies to access information on individuals within the country that include telecommunication, financial and credit records.

Technology looks to become a significant part of our lives more and more each day. So much so that both the Department of Homeland Security as well as the FBI are looking to implement new technologies to help thwart terrorist activities and capture fugitive criminals.