Following is an article which will appear in our Winter issue of our National Security Law Report, published by the ABA Standing Committee on Law and National Security.

National Security Law Resources on the Internet

by Michael N. Schmitt

The following short article was prepared several months ago at the request of the editor, who heard a presentation by Lt. Col. Schmitt to the Oceans and International Law Advisory Committee of the U.S. Naval War College in February 1997. Both because of our limited space and because Internet resources are expanding rapidly, it should be viewed as an introduction rather than a comprehensive guide to the topic. Readers who are aware of other web sites of particular relevance to national security law are invited to bring them to the attention of the Standing Committee for possible mention in future issues. -Ed.

Long considered the province of the socially challenged, the Internet has finally come of age as an indispensable research tool, particularly when dealing with national security issues. Today, failure to "surf the net" when conducting research is at best inefficient; more often it risks missing valuable source material. In an attempt to help alleviate such failings, this article surveys useful sites that novices might find useful in their first forays onto the Internet. Beware, though, that control of material placed on the Internet is de minimus: material can be dated, mistakes are made in loading text, the Internet is often a forum for the less than objective, and, in extreme cases, some miscreants create sites that "spoof" or mimic legitimate organizations. Therefore, a keen sensitivity to caveat emptor is obligatory.

The best place to start is with "host" sites, i.e., those which compile and sort substantive sites into specific topic areas, and provide instant access to them at the click of a mouse. One comprehensive example is the "Social Science Information Gateway" (SOSIG). It is organized into broad categories (government, military science, law, etc.) that can be explored by region (World, Europe, UK). The worldwide military science grouping, for instance, contains nearly 100 sites ranging from Jane's to NATO. A particular benefit of SOSIG is a short description of each site prepared by librarians or recognized practitioners that allows one to cull the wheat from the chaff before actually entering individual sites. A second profitable starting point is National Security Links, a site with sources as diverse as the text of the Quadrennial Defense Review and Canada's Lester B. Pearson International Peacekeeping Training Centre. It is particularly rich in military links.

Probably the best single source for the international law aspects of national security is the University of Western Australia's site, Public International Law (PIL). Its United Nations section contains links to the UN homepage, which has full text search capability for Security Council and General Assembly resolutions, information on peacekeeping operations, and press releases. PIL's treaty section offers links to virtually all treaty data bases in the field. Especially useful are the Fletcher School's searchable text files of multilateral treaties and a site setting out the current status of treaties deposited with the UN. PIL also connects to a user friendly list of treaty links maintained by the House of Representatives, as well as a number of European and Australian treaty databases. The "war and peace" section is a PIL highlight. It hosts an extensive array of sites, organized into subsections for Chemical/Biological Warfare, Specific Conflicts, NATO, Terrorism, and War Crimes, and a catch-all subsection which includes the first rate International Committee of the Red Cross site. Finally, PIL's international law section has several on-line guides to Internet research, news sources (e.g., the Washington Post and the Economist Archive), and access to government organizations, whereas the general law section has numerous links to legal search engines (programs to search legal resources generally). For additional help in international law, consult the American Society of International Law's superb on-line guide to electronic resources.

The premier host site for government material, "The US Government on the Internet," was developed by the Naval War College Library's Reference Branch. It offers everything from links to the various branches and individual agencies, to access to government search engines and full text files of documents such as the Supreme Court Reports. As might be expected, its compilation of military sites is unexcelled. The Government Printing Office's Access Database also gathers an impressive collection of government databases, including the US Code, select Supreme Court Reports, the Budget, Congressional bills and calendars, the Congressional Record and Comptroller General Opinions.

Equally impressive is Congress' site, "Thomas" (thomas.loc.gov); it makes available bills, public laws, the Congressional Record, committee information, historical documents, and connects to sites maintained by the House, Senate, Library of Congress, GAO, and Congressional Budget Office. Additionally, most House committees, including the Committees on International Relations and National Security, have their own sites. These typically include such material as hearing transcripts, committee reports and bills, and activity surveys. The Executive Branch is similarly well-represented on the Internet. For example, the White House site contains two useful subsites, "The Virtual Library," which posts publicly released documents (e.g., White House documents and executive orders), and "The Briefing Room," containing press releases and links to economic and social statistics. Additionally, the National Security Council has web site, as does the State Department. The latter is especially useful as a source for US policy positions; it also provides on-line versions of both Dispatch and Treaties in Force.

For those interested in intelligence, the CIA web siteis a find. Among other resources, it has on-line versions of The World Factbook and the Handbook of International Economic Statistics, as well as CIA maps. Likewise, the National Security Agency and Defense Intelligence Agency also maintain sites. Within government, the Department of Defense has the greatest Internet presence. The Joint Chiefs site is most noteworthy for its Joint Electronic Library. JEL contains joint publications, select service publications, and an extensive collection of individual research reports. Expectedly, each of the services possesses a site Air Force; Army; Navy; and United States Marine Corps;as do the various war colleges National Defense University and Air University. The latter often offer full text files of their publications and handy links to other organizations involved in national security. Perhaps most importantly, federal government agencies, federal contractors and universities engaged in federally funded research can access the Defense Technical Information Center's holdings, including thousands of technical reports, R & D summaries, and independent research results by and about the Department of Defense. Finally, a number of noteworthy organizations outside the US government support web sites relevant to national security. They include NATO, the UN, Rand, Brookings, The Heritage Foundation, The Stimson Center, UVA's Center for National Security Law, The ABA Standing Committee on Law and National Security, Duke Law School's Center on Law, Ethics and National Security, the US Institute of Peace,and The Canadian Forces College.

Surely countless valuable sites have been excluded in this brief survey; the above simply represent those one former cyberphobe has found beneficial. Hopefully, however, armed with this small sampling even novices should be able to profitably search the net for national security law resources.

Lieutenant Colonel Schmitt is an Air Force JAG officer currently assigned as Professor of International Law, United States Naval War College.

Prof. Robert F. Turner
Center for National Security Law
University of Virginia School of Law
580 Massie Road
Charlottesville, VA 22903-1789
(804) 924-4083
FAX (804) 924-7362
CNSL Web Page: http://www.virginia.edu/~cnsl//