Putting the Internet to Work in Security Assistance

摘要

Knowledge is power and the ability to stay informed in an increasingly information-based society becomes an imperative in security assistance. There are numerous ways in which the Internet can serve the security assistance community. The Internet can assist in office administration by helping staff estimate TDY travel expenses and make airline, train, hotel, and rental car reservations; access internet sources of news from the host country and government-sponsored radio and television news services; access web sites for printed newspapers and magazines as well as virtual ones; find out more about a particular country by accessing embassy home pages; and access specialized sites that can be of interest to the security assistance organization (e.g., NATO and European Union web sites). Internet sites written in non-latin languages and in languages with special diacritical marks can be read using language-specific fonts. The article also contains a fact sheet about the Defense Technology Security Administration (DTSA). The fact sheet discusses DTSA's mission; its functions; its five functional components; and its history, including the reasons for its creation, and how it has evolved since it was established in 1985. DTSA's mission is to develop and implement DoD policies on international transfers of defense-related goods, services, and technologies to ensure such transfers are consistent with national security interests. In performing this mission, DTSA seeks to promote efforts to prevent and counter the proliferation of nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons, and their means of delivery; control and limit the acquisition of defense-related goods, services, and technologies by any country or entity that could be detrimental to U.S. security interests; and support legitimate defense cooperation with U.S. allies and friends.