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The Northern Triangle countries of Central America consisting of El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras have the highest homicide rates in the world and are characterized by corruption, drug trafficking, and impunity. It is likely the 50,000 unaccompanied alien children attempting to cross into the U.S. in 2014 will increase in 2016. The U.S. Congress appropriated $750 million for the region. Based upon past experience with the umbrella program for the region, the Central America Regional Security Initiative, it appears the perilous situation in the region is unlikely to improve. Approaching the problems of the region from a political perspective, this article draws upon the experience of Nicaragua, where the security sector is integrated, and recommends the consideration of the intelligence fusion center concept, proven by the 78 currently functioning in the U.S., to encourage the integration of the security sector under democratic control in the three countries.

The Sustainable Governance Indicators (SGI) address one of the central social-policy questions facing the highly developed states of the OECD and the European Union at the outset of the 21st century: How can we achieve sustainable policy outcomes and ensure that political decision-making target long-term objectives? Its ]intention is .to highlight examples of successes and governance innovations, and to initiate international learning processes, acting in accordance with founder Reinhard Mohn's guiding principle of "learning from the world." Many countries belonging to the OECD and the EU now apply the SGI to their own performance management, thus breathing life into Reinhard Mohn's central idea. Lead author of the section on Portugal was Thomas Bruneau of the Naval Postgraduate School.

The article of record as published may be found at http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01402390.2015.1065486 ; The United States has returned to Iraq, this time to combat the Islamic State. President Barack Obama's strategy to 'degrade, and ultimately destroy the terrorist group' faces serious problems due to political obstacles in obtaining Congressional Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF) and more importantly because of neglect of the crucial role of private contractors. Although the narrative has changed, and there is no public mention of contractors, they remain central to all that the Department of Defense does in the US and abroad. Suggestions are offered on how their performance can be improved to support President Obama's strategy. ; Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited.

The article of record as published may be located at http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09592318.2014.982880 ; The main emphasis in US security assistance is 'building partner capacity'. To understand prospects for building capacity implies knowledge of the security sector, including the armed forces and also national police and intelligence agencies. The scholarly sub-discipline that should be useful for analysis of a nation's use of armed forces is civil-military relations as it ostensibly directs attention to when and how civilians choose to utilize their nation's armed forces. The goal in this article is to further refine the field of civil-military relations by focusing attention on two main concepts - democratic civilian control and strategy - and discussing their relevance in the context of building partner capacity.

The main emphasis in U.S. security assistance is "building partner capacity". To understand prospects for building capacity implies knowledge of the security sector, including the armed forces and also national police and intelligence agencies. The scholarly sub-discipline that should be useful for analysis of a nation's use of armed forces is civil-military relations as it ostensibly directs attention to when and how civilians choose to utilize their nation's armed forces. The goal in this paper is to further refine the field of civil-military relations by focusing attention on two main concepts - democratic civilian control and strategy - and discussing their relevance in the context of building partner capacity.

The revelations of Booz Allen Hamilton contractor Edward Snowden regarding the activities of the National Security Agency (NSA) at home and abroad have focused more attention on the issue of reforming intelligence in the U.S. than at any time since the last major reforms of the 1970s. Whereas in the 1970s the focus was mainly on the Central Intelligence Agency and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, this time it is the NSA, which, due to a high level of secrecy, was until recently commonly known as "No Such Agency". Snowden's revelations have received both praise, with appeals in the U.S. and abroad f or him to be granted amnesty, or even be awarded the Nobel Peace prize, and condemnation with him being characterized as a traitor and spy. In order for the reader to understand the general issue of reform of U.S. intelligence, I will first call attention to three key characteristics of the intelligence process in any democracy, and then analyze reform in terms of the institutions and processes that would be central to any reform.