BATTLESPACE BOOK CLUB
19 Feb 09. NATO: Economic Data. NATO published (19 Feb 09) its annual Financial and Economic Data Relating to NATO Defence. Defence expenditure as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP) is shown on page 3, with estimates for 2008 included for the first time.
Comment: Iceland, with no conventional Armed Forces, is not included in NATO’s economic information. (Source: DNA DEFENCE NEWS ANALYSIS, Issue 09/09, 23 Feb 09)
05 Mar 09. Intelligence and Security: Annual Report. The Intelligence and Security Committee published (5 Mar 09) its Annual Report for 2007/08. The Report details the work of the Committee for the period from December 2007 to November 2008, examining
the activities of The Agencies (Government Communications HQ, The Security Service and The Secret Intelligence Service).
Comment: Despite the amount of text which has been deleted and replaced with asterisks, there is plenty of material in the Report to interest the intelligence community. The Report is published as Command 7542, for £14:35, and the Government Response as Command 7543, for £5:50. (Source: DNA DEFENCE NEWS ANALYSIS, Issue 09/11, 09 Mar 09)