The Risk Governance of Nanotechnology: Recommendations for Managing a Global Issue

Read the 6-7 July 2006 conference report: “The Risk Governance of Nanotechnology: Recommendations for Managing a Global Issue” (link to PDF) held at the Swiss Re Centre for Global Dialogue last summer.

This meeting is the highest profile meeting to include consideration of longer-term risks in nanotech.

Excerpt from the report (link to PDF) :

"Military offence applications are particularly concerning because, unlike nuclear arms, verification difficulties mean there is no clear point at which opponents reach stability in the process of escalation and proliferation. Existing arms treaties may not apply to nanotechnology-based weapons, and there are important intellectual property, commercial confidentiality, and national security issues involved in addressing this challenge…"

Defense Nanotechnology Research and Development Program

The potential role of nanotechnology for defense and military applications was assessed in unclassified format in a recent report issued by the Director, Defense Research and Engineering.

See "Defense Nanotechnology Research and Development Program," April 27, 2007

The Water Wars of 2050

The Water Wars of 2050

Although wars are often justified under the banners of lofty tenets, they are just as often fought over resources. And as the Associated Press reports today, it's not unthinkable that as global warming changes the resource status quo, conflicts will erupt between peoples competing for those resources.

A few highlights from the article:

"One of the biggest likely areas of conflict is going to be over water," said [retired General Charles] Wald, former deputy commander of U.S. European Command. He pointed to the Middle East and Africa.

The military report's co-author, former Army Chief of Staff Gen. Gordon R. Sullivan, also pointed to sea-level rise floods as potentially destabilizing South Asia countries of Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Indonesia and Vietnam.

Lack of water and food in places already the most volatile will make those regions even more unstable with global warming and "foster the conditions for internal conflicts, extremism and movement toward increased authoritarianism and radical ideologies," states the 63-page military report, issued by the CNA Corp., an Alexandria, Va.-based national security think tank.
Mother Nature's potential WMD sort of raises the bar of imminent threat, doesn't it?

Source:

http://www.defensetech.org/archives/003435.html

THE FUTURE OF AUSTRALIAN AIR AND SPACE POWER

THE FUTURE OF AUSTRALIAN AIR AND SPACE POWER

Continuing to develop the capability of our people will be the single most important factor in shaping the future of Australia’s air and space power, the Chief of Air Force Air Marshal Geoff Shepherd said today.

AIRMSHL Shepherd launched the air power doctrine during the Chief of Air Force Conference in Melbourne, attended by heads of Air Forces from across the world, air power professionals and industry leaders.

Air Force’s doctrine describes the principles that underpin the RAAF’s current and future structure and operations. It is complemented by joint, Navy and Army doctrine.
“This doctrine takes a fresh view of our air power in 21st century operations, and has a strong emphasis on working with others through joint, allied, coalition and inter-agency frameworks,” AIRMSHL Shepherd said.

The doctrine covers warlike operations and non-warlike operations, and covers Air Force’s part in assisting other Australian agencies with national security operations.

“Developing our people’s professional mastery of air power is a principal message of the air power doctrine series. The doctrine reflects the complexity of applying air power in modern operations and the importance of our people’s skills in conducting these operations.”

The doctrine also explains the important role that space-based systems play in our operations. The doctrine is presented in boxed set of three thematically aligned volumes, reflecting the enduring ties that bind our future, present and past.

· The Future Air and Space Operating Concept, or FASOC;
· The Air Power Manual - Edition Five; and
· The Australian Experience of Air Power

The doctrine will be publicly available on the Air Power Development Centre website. (www.raaf.gov.au/airpower)

Media contact:
Defence Media Liaison (02) 6265 3343 or 0408 498 664

Australia Updates NCW Roadmap

The Australian Department of Defence has released the first update of its Network Centric Warfare (NCW) Roadmap, a blueprint for achieving a fully network-enabled defense force by 2020.