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SECRECY NEWS
SECRECY NEWS
from the FAS Project on Government Secrecy
Volume 2008, Issue No. 79
August 7, 2008
Secrecy News Blog: http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/
Support Secrecy News
http://www.fas.org/sgp/donate.html
** CRS REPORTS ARE STILL OUT OF BOUNDS
** A LOOK AT THE SECRET SERVICE, AND MORE FROM CRS
** ISLAMIC FINANCE, AND MORE FROM CRS
** RETROACTIVE IMMUNITY, AND MORE FROM CRS
CRS REPORTS ARE STILL OUT OF BOUNDS
When a military judge ruled last month that Salim Ahmed Hamdan, a
former driver for Osama bin Laden, could be tried for war crimes, the
first footnote in his July 14 opinion was to a Congressional Research
Service report. (Hamdan was convicted yesterday for material support
of terrorism.)
But Military Judge Keith J. Allred, lacking an official source for the
CRS analysis by Jennifer K. Elsea (with which he ultimately differed),
provided a link instead to a copy of the document on the Federation of
American Scientists web site. The ruling is here (see footnote 1 on
page 3):
http://www.fas.org/sgp/jud/hamdan071408.pdf
By doing so, the Judge simultaneously highlighted the centrality of
such CRS analyses to public discourse and the strange fact that these
official documents are still not approved for direct release to the
public.
Perhaps he also implicitly affirmed that FAS and other public interest
publishers of CRS collections are helping to compensate for that
continuing policy defect by providing the online access to CRS reports
that Congress has denied.
A LOOK AT THE SECRET SERVICE, AND MORE FROM CRS
Noteworthy new reports from the Congressional Research Service that
have not been made readily available to the public include the
following.
"The U.S. Secret Service: An Examination and Analysis of Its Evolving
Missions," July 31, 2008:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/homesec/RL34603.pdf
"Terrorism and Security Issues Facing the Water Infrastructure Sector,"
updated July 28, 2008:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/terror/RL32189.pdf
"FY2009 National Defense Authorization Act: Selected Military Personnel
Policy Issues," July 21, 2008:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/natsec/RL34590.pdf
"Veterans Medical Care: FY2009 Appropriations," July 29, 2008:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/RL34598.pdf
"Annual Appropriations Acts: Consideration During Lame-Duck Sessions,"
July 25, 2008:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/RL34597.pdf
ISLAMIC FINANCE, AND MORE FROM CRS
Other new and updated reports from the Congressional Research Service
obtained by Secrecy News include these.
"Islamic Finance: Overview and Policy Concerns," July 29, 2008:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/RS22931.pdf
"Presidential Advisers' Testimony Before Congressional Committees: An
Overview," updated July 16, 2008:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/RL31351.pdf
"China's Foreign Policy: What Does It Mean for U.S. Global Interests?,"
July 18, 2008:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/row/RL34588.pdf
"Navy DDG-1000 Destroyer Program: Background, Oversight Issues, and
Options for Congress," updated July 15, 2008:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/weapons/RL32109.pdf
"A Parliamentary-Style Question Period: Proposals and Issues for
Congress," July 29, 2008:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/RL34599.pdf
RETROACTIVE IMMUNITY, AND MORE FROM CRS
Additional reports from the Congressional Research Service that are
newly available online include these:
"Department of Defense Fuel Costs in Iraq," July 23, 2008:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/natsec/RS22923.pdf
"The Global Nuclear Detection Architecture: Issues for Congress," July
16, 2008:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/nuke/RL34574.pdf
"Foreign Science and Engineering Presence in U.S. Institutions and the
Labor Force," updated July 23, 2008:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/97-746.pdf
"Intelligence Reform at the Department of Energy: Policy Issues and
Organizational Alternatives," July 28, 2008:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/intel/RL34595.pdf
"Retroactive Immunity Provided by the FISA Amendments Act of 2008,"
July 25, 2008:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/intel/RL34600.pdf
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rag Readers:
ACLU's court case moves slowly through the
system. FAS reporter likens it to the court case
in Dicken's story, Bleak House.
SECRECY NEWS
from the FAS Project on Government Secrecy
Volume 2008, Issue No. 78
August 6, 2008
Secrecy News Blog: http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/
Support Secrecy News
http://www.fas.org/sgp/donate.html
** DISABLED INTEL SATELLITE RESTORED TO OPERATION BY NRO
** NRC PROPOSES TO INCREASE OPENNESS ON SECURITY INFO
** ACLU SEEKS TO INTERVENE IN FISA COURT PROCEEDINGS
DISABLED INTEL SATELLITE RESTORED TO OPERATION BY NRO
A U.S. intelligence satellite that had ceased to function was recently
restored to operation by engineers from the National Reconnaissance
Office and its industry affiliates, the NRO said.
The episode was first publicly described last month in a glossy
two-page NRO brochure, which simply said: "Technical experts from both
the NRO and industry recently performed extraordinary engineering on
the ground that returned a non-operating satellite to full operation."
See "National Reconnaissance Office Accomplishments," July 2008:
http://www.fas.org/irp/nro/accomplish.pdf
Secrecy News asked NRO spokesman Rick Oborn to elaborate on the
statement in the promotional brochure. ("I didn't know anyone actually
read that," he said.)
He said the action occurred around "one and a half or two months ago,"
after the satellite in question had been "non-responsive for a while."
It was a "very interesting and pretty extraordinary" turn of events and
"much to everybody's semi-surprise," satellite operation was restored.
What kind of satellite was it? "I can't tell you that," he said.
When was it launched? "That would reveal too much."
How long was the satellite non-operational? "I don't think I'm going
to tell you." And he didn't.
Mr. Oborn said that NRO had prepared a classified account of the matter
which was circulated in the intelligence community and to Congress.
The story shows, he said, that "we've got some really smart people
doing the job."
NRC PROPOSES TO INCREASE OPENNESS ON SECURITY INFO
Rather unexpectedly, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission is asking for
public comment on whether and how it should disclose more information
to the public on the security of nuclear power plants and other
facilities.
"We view nuclear regulation as the public's business and believe it
should be transacted as openly and candidly as possible," said NRC
Executive Director of Operations Bill Borchardt.
Among other things, the NRC wants to know what currently undisclosed
information members of the public would like to have released: "What
specific details would increase your level of satisfaction in our
regulatory oversight of licensed facilities?"
The NRC published a request for comment in the Federal Register on July
29, along with related background material.
http://www.fas.org/sgp/news/2008/07/nrc072908.html
It is practically a law of bureaucratic physics that government
agencies do not spontaneously seek to become more transparent and
accountable absent some significant change in personnel or other
triggering event.
According to David Lochbaum, a nuclear safety engineer with the Union
of Concerned Scientists, the triggering event in this case was
congressional outrage at the NRC's concealment of a major "nuclear
safety event" in 2006 at the Nuclear Fuel Services plant in Erwin,
Tennessee.
In that case, approximately 35 liters of highly enriched uranium
solution leaked and spilled, creating the possibility of a criticality
accident, i.e. an uncontrolled chain reaction. Yet "NRC failed to
notify the public or Congress for 13 months regarding this serious
incident," complained Rep. John Dingell in a July 3, 2007 letter to NRC
Chairman Dale E. Klein.
"We call on NRC to make every effort to withhold from public view only
those documents that contain security sensitive information, and
restore to the public all other documents that have been withheld....,"
Rep. Dingell wrote last year.
http://www.fas.org/sgp/othergov/nrc/dingell070307.pdf
The current NRC request for public comment on ways to increase
openness, Mr. Lochbaum told Secrecy News, "is the agency's bureaucratic
effort to extricate themselves from the hole they dug."
In 2003 congressional testimony, Mr. Lochbaum described the NRC's past
refusal to engage with outside experts and public interest
organizations on security policy.
"The net effect of the agency's actions is to exclude the public from
intervening on security issues in specific licensing cases and also to
exclude the public from participating, even in the limited capacity of
merely expressing concerns, in security policy discussions," Mr.
Lochbaum testified at that time.
http://www.ucsusa.org/assets/documents/jump.jsp?origID=pdf-1008
ACLU SEEKS TO INTERVENE IN FISA COURT PROCEEDINGS
The American Civil Liberties Union is petitioning the secretive Foreign
Intelligence Surveillance Court for leave to participate in future
proceedings regarding the constitutionality of government procedures
under the recent FISA Amendments Act, which expanded government
authority to conduct intelligence surveillance.
The government opposes the ACLU petition. Justice Department attorneys
wrote in a July 29 opposition motion that since the relevant procedures
are classified, "there is nothing that the ACLU could contribute to the
Court's resolution...."
The government's opposition is misplaced, the ACLU replied yesterday,
noting that it does not seek access to classified information, but only
wishes to address the constitutionality questions that are before the
Court.
"Because the FISA Amendments Act has such sweeping implications for the
rights of U.S. citizens and residents, any consideration of these issues
should be adversarial and as informed and transparent as possible," the
August 5 ACLU reply stated.
"This Court should not issue a secret opinion after hearing secret
arguments -- and from only one side," the ACLU reply said. (I am
mentioned in a footnote.)
In a separate proceeding, the ACLU is also challenging the
constitutionality of the FISA Amendments Act in federal district court.
See "ACLU Challenges Unconstitutional Spying Law":
http://www.aclu.org/safefree/nsaspying/faachallenge.html
The pleadings submitted to the FISA Court are also copied here:
http://www.fas.org/irp/agency/doj/fisa/index.html#aclu2008
While it isn't Jarndyce v. Jarndyce, the famously interminable lawsuit
in Dickens' Bleak House, the current ACLU proceeding before the FISA
Court is, strangely enough, Jaffer v. Jaffer.
The lead attorney on the ACLU petition is the estimable Jameel Jaffer,
director of the ACLU's National Security Program. Among the Justice
Department attorneys opposing the ACLU petition is Jamil N. Jaffer,
Counsel to the Assistant Attorney General.
_______________________________________________
Secrecy News is written by Steven Aftergood and published by the
Federation of American Scientists.
The Secrecy News Blog is at:
http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/
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_______________________
Steven Aftergood
Project on Government Secrecy
Federation of American Scientists
web: www.fas.org/sgp/index.html
email: saftergood@fas.org
voice: (202) 454-4691
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rag Readers
This weeks "Secrecy News" is chock full of
really important items. Especially, the behind
the scenes reporting on Dr. Ivins' possible
arrest and who the FBI based their so-called
evidence on:
http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2008/08/04/anthrax/index.html
"The Democracy Now segment I did this morning included Dr. Meryl Nass, an anthrax expert and physician (curriculum vitae is here) who knew Bruce Ivins, and is strongly skeptical of the claim that he is the anthrax attacker. Dr. Nass made several excellent points, and I will post the link to the segment once it is available."
Could the FBI just be looking for a scapegoat to pin
the anthrax mailings on. To me, the accusation seemed
bogus at best.
SECRECY NEWS
from the FAS Project on Government Secrecy
Volume 2008, Issue No. 77
August 4, 2008
Secrecy News Blog: http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/
Support Secrecy News
http://www.fas.org/sgp/donate.html
** ARMY ISSUES NEW REGULATIONS ON "BIOLOGICAL SURETY"
** GAO AND INTELLIGENCE OVERSIGHT
** NEW DETAILS ON NATIONAL CYBER SECURITY INITIATIVE
** DOJ NATIONAL SECURITY DIVISION OVERSIGHT INITIATIVE
** A BILL TO END COERCIVE INTERROGATIONS AND SECRET DETENTIONS
ARMY ISSUES NEW REGULATIONS ON "BIOLOGICAL SURETY"
U.S. Army personnel who act in an aggressive or threatening manner
towards other people would be denied access to toxic or lethal
biological agents under newly revised regulations that were issued by
the Army last week.
Other potentially disqualifying personality traits include: "arrogance,
inflexibility, suspiciousness, hostility,... and extreme moods or mood
swings," according to the new regulations.
See "Biological Surety," Army Regulation 50-1, 28 July 2008:
http://www.fas.org/irp/doddir/army/ar50-1.pdf
The late Fort Detrick scientist Dr. Bruce E. Ivins retained his
security clearance and his laboratory access through July 10, the
Washington Post reported today, despite allegations of erratic behavior
and the fact that he was under FBI suspicion in connection with the 2001
anthrax attacks. The credibility of some of those allegations regarding
Ivins' behavior, however, is itself open to question, writes Glenn
Greenwald in Salon today.
http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2008/08/04/anthrax/index.html
GAO AND INTELLIGENCE OVERSIGHT
The Government Accountability Office is among the most potent and
productive tools of government oversight available. Perhaps for that
reason, U.S. intelligence agencies have been reluctant to cooperate
with GAO investigations.
Sen. Daniel Akaka introduced legislation last year to reaffirm GAO
authority to investigate intelligence agency activities, and that
legislation was the subject of a Senate hearing in February. All of the
witnesses, including myself and then-GAO Comptroller General David M.
Walker, urged an increased role for GAO in intelligence oversight.
See the record of the February 29, 2008 hearing before the Senate
Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on
"Government-Wide Intelligence Community Management Reforms."
http://www.fas.org/irp/congress/2008_hr/gao-intel.html
As of March 2008, there were 1,000 GAO employees with Top Secret
security clearances out of 3,153 total staff. Of those, 73 held SCI
("sensitive compartmented information") clearances for access to
intelligence information, according to a GAO letter supplied for the
hearing record.
A bill adopted last week in the House, called the "Government
Accountability Office Improvement Act" (HR 6388) did not explicitly
address intelligence oversight by GAO.
NEW DETAILS ON NATIONAL CYBER SECURITY INITIATIVE
Almost everything about the Comprehensive National Cyber Security
Initiative (CNCI), established by National Security Presidential
Directive 54 and Homeland Security Presidential Directive 23, is
classified.
But following a classified March 2008 hearing on the subject, Senators
Joe Lieberman and Susan Collins of the Senate Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs Committee teased out a few unclassified details
about the effort.
"The response includes information on the National Cyber Security
Center, how privacy will be protected under the CNCI, how success of
the initiative will be measured, and how the Department views the
private sector's role in the initiative," the Senators noted in a news
release. "The Department chose to redact information relating to
contracting at the National Cyber Security Division (NCSD). The
senators have asked DHS explain their reasons for the redactions."
http://www.fas.org/sgp/news/2008/07/cybersec.html
See also "DHS stays mum on new 'Cyber Security' center" by Stephanie
Condon, CNET News, July 31:
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-10004266-38.html
And see, relatedly, the record of a May 21, 2008 hearing before the
House Homeland Security Committee on "Implications of Cyber
Vulnerabilities on the Resilience and Security of the Electric Grid."
http://www.fas.org/irp/congress/2008_hr/cyber-grid.pdf
DOJ NATIONAL SECURITY DIVISION OVERSIGHT INITIATIVE
The Department of Justice National Security Division (NSD) "has
dramatically broadened the scope of its national security oversight
role," according to a Department news release.
"The National Security Division plays a vital role in ensuring that
national security investigations are conducted properly and with
respect for the civil liberties and privacy interests of Americans,"
said Matt Olsen, Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Office of
Intelligence. "Our enhanced oversight efforts over the past year
represent a solid foundation from which we will continue to build as we
work with the FBI and other intelligence agencies to achieve this goal."
http://www.fas.org/irp/news/2008/07/nsd073108.html
The news release is silent on the results, if any, of the new oversight
reviews performed by NSD personnel.
But Division spokesman Dean Boyd told Secrecy News generally that
"These reviews were designed to identify compliance issues and they
have served that purpose. Where they have identified issues, the
reviews have helped provide the factual basis to take appropriate
follow-up action."
A BILL TO END COERCIVE INTERROGATIONS AND SECRET DETENTIONS
A bill introduced by Sen. Dianne Feinstein and several Senate
colleagues last week would "end coercive interrogations and secret
detentions by the Central Intelligence Agency."
"These practices have brought shame to our Nation, have harmed our
ability to fight the war on terror, and, I believe, violate U.S. law
and international treaty obligations," Sen. Feinstein said.
"Our Nation has paid an enormous price because of these interrogations.
They cast shadow and doubt over our ideals and our system of justice.
Our enemies have used our practices to recruit more extremists. Our key
global partnerships, crucial to winning the war on terror, have been
strained," she said.
"Look at two of our closest allies in the world. The British Parliament
no longer trusts U.S. assurances that we will not torture detainees. The
Canadian Government recently added the United States to its list of
nations that conduct torture."
"This is not the country that we want to be," Sen. Feinstein said.
The bill is co-sponsored by Senators Rockefeller, Whitehouse, Hagel,
Feingold, and Wyden.
http://www.fas.org/irp/congress/2008_cr/s3437.html
_______________________________________________
Secrecy News is written by Steven Aftergood and published by the
Federation of American Scientists.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rag Readers:
Finally, the Senate (i.e., someone) is delving into
the Executive Orders. Most of the recent are very
scary and promote the President to king or dictator.
As Bush, Jr. once said, a dictatorship is a much
more efficient way to govern.
I personally will be watching to see whether the
newly elected president will revise, reverse, rescind
at least 50% of the Executive Orders. How about
you?
SECRECY NEWS
from the FAS Project on Government Secrecy
Volume 2008, Issue No. 76
August 1, 2008
Secrecy News Blog: http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/
Support Secrecy News
http://www.fas.org/sgp/donate.html
** SENATE BILL WOULD BAR SECRET CHANGES TO EXECUTIVE ORDERS
** A NEW EXECUTIVE ORDER ON INTELLIGENCE ACTIVITIES
SENATE BILL WOULD BAR SECRET CHANGES TO EXECUTIVE ORDERS
The President would no longer be able to secretly modify or revoke a
published executive order if a new bill introduced in the Senate
yesterday becomes law.
The bill, sponsored by Sen. Russ Feingold and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse,
responds to a Justice Department Office of Legal Counsel opinion that
was revealed last year by Senator Whitehouse on the Senate floor.
According to that unreleased opinion, "There is no constitutional
requirement for a President to issue a new Executive order whenever he
wishes to depart from the terms of a previous Executive order. Rather
than violate an Executive order, the President has instead modified or
waived it."
What this means is that any published executive order may or may not
actually be in effect. It may or may not correspond to the legal
framework that governs the executive branch. The public has no way of
knowing.
"No one disputes that a President can withdraw or revise an Executive
Order at any time," said Senator Feingold yesterday. "That is every
President's prerogative. But abrogating a published Executive order
without any public notice works a secret change in the law."
"Worse," he said, "because the published Order stays on the books, it
actively misleads Congress and the public as to what the law is."
To remedy that problem, the new bill requires notification of any
change.
"If the President revokes, modifies, waives, or suspends a published
Executive Order or similar directive, notice of this change in the law
must be placed in the Federal Register within 30 days. The notice must
specify the Order or the provision that has been affected; whether the
change is a revocation, a modification, a waiver, or a suspension; and
the nature and circumstances of the change."
"The bill does not require the publication of classified information
about intelligence sources and methods or similar information. The
basic fact that the published law is no longer in effect, however,
cannot be classified," Sen. Feingold said.
"On rare occasions, national security can justify elected officials
keeping some information secret," he said, "but it can never justify
lying to the American people about what the law is. Maintaining two
different sets of laws, one public and one secret, is just
that--deceiving the American people about what law applies to the
government's conduct."
See Sen. Feingold's July 31 introduction of the Executive Order
Integrity Act of 2008 (S. 3405) here:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/congress/2008/secretlaw.html
At an April 30 hearing of Sen. Feingold Senate Judiciary subcommittee,
I testified on the various categories of secret law, including the
problem of "reversible executive orders." That testimony is available
here:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/congress/2008/043008aftergood.pdf
A NEW EXECUTIVE ORDER ON INTELLIGENCE ACTIVITIES
Following a lengthy interagency review process, the White House
yesterday unveiled its amendments to Executive Order 12333, the
foundational document on "United States Intelligence Activities" that
was originally issued by President Reagan in 1981.
http://www.fas.org/irp/offdocs/eo/eo-13470.htm
The new executive order reflects institutional changes that have
occurred in recent years. In particular, it reinforces the authority
of the Director of National Intelligence to oversee, coordinate and
direct the activities of the sixteen-member intelligence community.
The ACLU found reason to criticize the revised order, which it said
weakened protections against domestic spying. Members of Congress
objected because they said they were not adequately consulted. To me,
the changes seemed unexpectedly minor and in some cases positive.
The new executive order affirms, for example, that "The United States
Government has a solemn obligation... to protect fully the legal rights
of all United States persons, including freedoms, civil liberties, and
privacy rights guaranteed by Federal law." Such a statement, in a
presidential order that is intended to direct a rule-driven
bureaucracy, is not nothing.
The old Reagan order did not even mention the words "civil liberties"
or "privacy." (Nor did it mention the term "covert action," which the
new order uses instead of the old euphemism "special activities.")
To criticize (or praise) the provisions of the new executive order is
to presume its status as a controlling document and a definitive source
on intelligence policy. But a more troubling question is how much the
order actually matters.
At a White House press briefing yesterday, one unnamed reporter asked:
"What do you have to say to folks that say, essentially, it's nice that
you have this stuff in the executive order, but it doesn't necessarily
mean anything when a President gets it into his mind that he needs or
wants to do something that some people would find outside of those
bounds?"
A "senior administration official" replied: "I think what we would say
to that is that the executive order reaffirms the nation's longstanding
commitment to protecting civil liberties. It maintains all of the
protections that are in place to do so. It requires that all procedures
have to be approved by the Attorney General."
http://www.fas.org/irp/news/2008/07/eo-briefing.html
But the question seems to be better than the answer, particularly since
the Bush Administration's so-called Terrorist Surveillance Program may
have violated the terms of this very executive order on intelligence
activities.
"The administration's warrantless wiretapping program not only violated
the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act; it was inconsistent with
several provisions of Executive Order 12333, the longstanding executive
order governing electronic surveillance and other intelligence
activities," said Sen. Russ Feingold, who was briefed on the program as
a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee.
"Apparently, the administration believed its actions constituted a
tacit amendment of that Executive Order. And who knows how many other
Executive Orders have been secretly revoked or amended by the conduct
of this Administration," he said.
The new Feingold/Whitehouse bill described above that prohibits secret
modifications or waivers of published executive orders would close this
loophole. In so doing, it would also bolster the integrity and
credibility of intelligence directives like Executive Order 12333.
_______________________________________________
Secrecy News is written by Steven Aftergood and published by the
Federation of American Scientists.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rag Readers:
I was especially interested in the manual on
code markings. Sometimes I have been around
people pretending to be an "insider." To balance
that off, I have been around people who were
in fact insiders. Knowing what a code marking
implied separated the wanna-bes from the
real mccoy. See "Authorized Classification and
Control Markings Register," Director of National
Intelligence Special Security Center, 12 May 2008:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/othergov/intel/register.pdf
SECRECY NEWS
from the FAS Project on Government Secrecy
Volume 2008, Issue No. 73
July 25, 2008
Secrecy News Blog: http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/
Support Secrecy News
http://www.fas.org/sgp/donate.html
** THE COSTS OF MAJOR U.S. WARS
** CHINA NAVAL MODERNIZATION, AND MORE FROM CRS
** AUTHORIZED CLASSIFICATION MARKINGS IN U.S. INTELLIGENCE
THE COSTS OF MAJOR U.S. WARS
U.S. military spending on the war in Iraq has nearly matched the cost
of the war in Vietnam, according to a new Congressional Research
Service analysis of the financial costs of wars throughout U.S.
history. And total post-9/11 U.S. military spending has exceeded the
cost of Vietnam by a considerable margin.
The ongoing war in Iraq has incurred an estimated $648 billion to date,
and total post-9/11 military spending including the Iraq War,
Afghanistan and other terrorism-related military expenditures has
reached $859 billion, the CRS reported.
The Vietnam War (1965-1975) cost an estimated $686 billion in 2008
dollars, the CRS said.
The total cost of the American Revolution (1775-1783) was $101 million,
or about $1.8 billion in 2008 dollars.
The cost of World War II (1941-1945) was about $4.1 trillion in 2008
dollars, and consumed a massive 35.8% of gross domestic product. The
Iraq war represents 1% of GDP today.
These estimates include various caveats and limitations spelled out by
CRS.
"All estimates are of the costs of military operations only and do not
include costs of veterans benefits, interest paid for borrowing money
to finance wars, or assistance to allies," the CRS report indicated.
"Comparisons of costs of wars over a 230 year period... are inherently
problematic," the new report cautioned.
See "Costs of Major U.S. Wars," Congressional Research Service, July
24, 2008:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/natsec/RS22926.pdf
CHINA NAVAL MODERNIZATION, AND MORE FROM CRS
Some other noteworthy new reports from the Congressional Research
Service obtained by Secrecy News include the following.
"China Naval Modernization: Implications for U.S. Navy Capabilities --
Background and Issues for Congress," updated July 10, 2008:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/row/RL33153.pdf
"Satellite Surveillance: Domestic Issues," updated June 27, 2008:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/intel/RL34421.pdf
"Defense Contracting in Iraq: Issues and Options for Congress," updated
June 18, 2008:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/natsec/RL33834.pdf
"U.S. Civilian Space Policy Priorities: Reflections 50 Years After
Sputnik," updated June 20, 2008:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/space/RL34263.pdf
AUTHORIZED CLASSIFICATION MARKINGS IN U.S. INTELLIGENCE
Classification and dissemination control markings that may be used in
the U.S. intelligence community are listed in an official register that
has recently been approved for release by the Office of the Director of
National Intelligence.
The document includes authorized abbreviations and some non-U.S.
dissemination control markings, along with citations to statutory or
other authority and brief guidance as to proper use. The lightly
redacted document does not include certain unpublished access controls
or code word designations.
See "Authorized Classification and Control Markings Register," Director
of National Intelligence Special Security Center, 12 May 2008:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/othergov/intel/register.pdf
_______________________________________________
Secrecy News is written by Steven Aftergood and published by the
Federation of American Scientists.
The Secrecy News Blog is at:
http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/
To SUBSCRIBE to Secrecy News, go to:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/news/secrecy/subscribe.html
To UNSUBSCRIBE, go to
http://www.fas.org/sgp/news/secrecy/unsubscribe.html
OR email your request to saftergood@fas.org
Secrecy News is archived at:
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_______________________
Steven Aftergood
Project on Government Secrecy
Federation of American Scientists
web: www.fas.org/sgp/index.html
email: saftergood@fas.org
voice: (202) 454-4691
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SECRECY NEWS
from the FAS Project on Government Secrecy
Volume 2008, Issue No. 72
July 23, 2008
Secrecy News Blog: http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/
Support Secrecy News
http://www.fas.org/sgp/donate.html
** BILL GERTZ EXPLAINS IMPORTANCE OF CONFIDENTIAL SOURCES
** AN OFFICE OF TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT ARCHIVE
** GAO ON INFORMATION SHARING
** AIRCRAFT RECOVERY OPERATIONS
BILL GERTZ EXPLAINS IMPORTANCE OF CONFIDENTIAL SOURCES
In advance of his obligatory appearance in a California court on July
24 regarding possible violations of grand jury secrecy, Washington
Times reporter Bill Gertz filed a sworn declaration describing the
importance of confidential government sources and their role in his
work "related to the growing threat from the People's Republic of
China."
"Confidential sources provide information necessary to the reporter's
function of keeping the public informed of events of national
interest," he explained. "Without the information provided by
confidential sources, these events -- or important aspects of these
events -- would remain shielded from public and congressional scrutiny
and oversight."
"In my experience U.S. government employees are willing to provide
sensitive government information only to those reporters and
journalists whom they trust," Mr. Gertz wrote. "A reporter who is
forced to disclose the identity of a U.S. government employee who had
confidentially provided information for a news story would irreparably
damage his and others' ability to cover similar stories in the future."
"From a broader perspective, if compelled disclosure of the identities
of confidential sources becomes commonplace, it would have a very
damaging chilling effect on potential sources throughout government at
all levels, in the business community, and across a wide spectrum of
public and private organizations whose operations and activities affect
the American public."
A copy of Mr. Gertz's July 22 declaration is available here:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/jud/gertz072208.pdf
But Tai Mak, one of the defendants in the criminal case reported in the
2006 story by Mr. Gertz that led to his pending subpoena, said the court
should aggressively pursue its investigation of the apparent violation
of grand jury secrecy.
Tai Mak, who has pleaded guilty to export control violations, urged the
court not to quash the subpoena against Mr. Gertz.
"The improper leak of Grand Jury material puts extremely important
constitutional and other substantial rights at stake," the Tai Mak
brief stated. "It is necessary and appropriate that the parties, the
Court, and the public, be apprised of all the facts and circumstances
that are relevant to the protection of those rights."
http://www.fas.org/sgp/jud/gertz072008-taimak.pdf
AN OFFICE OF TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT ARCHIVE
The Federation of American Scientists is offering a new online
collection of resources pertaining to the Office of Technology
Assessment (OTA), the congressional advisory organization that produced
an enduring body of science policy literature before it was terminated
by Congress in 1995.
"The OTA was an invaluable resource that informed Congress about an
incredibly broad range of science and technology issues," said Henry
Kelly, President of the Federation of American Scientists and a former
OTA staff member. "Numerous reports, on subjects such as
transportation, energy, health care, and information technology remain
relevant more than 10 years after OTA issued its final report."
The new archive includes all of the official OTA publications, which
have also been published online by Princeton University's Woodrow
Wilson School (www.princeton.edu/~ota), as well as various previously
unreleased documents and memoranda, interviews, and related materials.
http://www.fas.org/ota/
GAO ON INFORMATION SHARING
The complexities and limited successes of government efforts to improve
the sharing of terrorism-related information were examined in a new
report from the Government Accountability Office published today.
See "Information Sharing Environment: Definition of the Results to Be
Achieved in Improving Terrorism-Related Information Sharing Is Needed
to Guide Implementation and Assess Progress," June 2008:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/gao/gao-08-492.pdf
The report was summarized in GAO testimony presented today to the
Senate Homeland Security Committee:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/gao/gao-08-637t.pdf
Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA), Rep. Tom Davis (R-VA) and the House Oversight
Committee, introduced and marked up two bills to limit the use of
dissemination controls on unclassified information and to reduce
overclassification. The bills, drafted in comparative secrecy with
limited external review, had not been publicly released at the middle
of the day. Statements by Rep. Waxman describing the intended purpose
of the bills are here:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/congress/2008/waxman-hr6575.pdf
http://www.fas.org/sgp/congress/2008/waxman-hr6576.pdf
AIRCRAFT RECOVERY OPERATIONS
A new U.S. Army field manual presents guidance on Army aircraft
recovery operations.
"Aircraft recovery missions include the assessment, repair, and
retrieval, if possible, of aircraft forced down due to component
malfunction, accident, or combat-related damage that prevents the
continued safe flight or operation of the aircraft," the manual
explains.
"The aircraft recovery mission is complete upon the return of all
personnel and either: The return of the aircraft through self-recovery
or dedicated recovery utilizing aerial or surface recovery methods and
techniques; [or] the selective cannibalization and destruction or
abandonment of the aircraft."
See "Aircraft Recovery Operations," U.S. Army Field Manual 3-04.513,
July 2008:
http://www.fas.org/irp/doddir/army/fm3-04-513.pdf
A U.S. Air Force B-52 bomber crashed near Guam on July 21.
http://blog.wired.com/defense/2008/07/b-52-crashes-of.html
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rag Readers:
How do you feel about naming the CIA interrogator
of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed "using legal,
non-coercive means"?
SECRECY NEWS
from the FAS Project on Government Secrecy
Volume 2008, Issue No. 71
July 21, 2008
Secrecy News Blog: http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/
Support Secrecy News
http://www.fas.org/sgp/donate.html
** INTEL OFFICIAL BLASTS NYT DISCLOSURE OF CIA INTERROGATOR'S NAME
** PROTECTING "CRITICAL PROGRAM INFORMATION" WITHIN DOD
INTEL OFFICIAL BLASTS NYT DISCLOSURE OF CIA INTERROGATOR'S NAME
When the New York Times published the name of a Central Intelligence
Agency interrogator last month, it potentially placed him in jeopardy
for no valid reason, wrote Joel Brenner, the ODNI National
Counterintelligence Executive, in a letter to the New York Times Public
Editor that was distributed by the ODNI last week.
"Journalists face difficult decisions every day about the prudence of
publishing private information," Mr. Brenner wrote. "But in this case
the decision to out the individual had nothing to do with the media's
responsibility to inform the public about important government policies
or actions."
http://www.fas.org/irp/news/2008/07/odni071808.html
In a ground-breaking story by reporter Scott Shane on June 22, the
Times described how a CIA interrogator had successfully managed the
interrogation of 9/11 conspirator Khalid Sheikh Mohammed using legal,
non-coercive means. But over the objections of the CIA and the
interrogator himself, the Times chose to disclose his name.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/22/washington/22ksm.html
An editor's note accompanying the story noted that the interrogator had
never worked under cover and asserted that publication of his name "was
necessary for the credibility and completeness of the article."
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/22/washington/web22ksmnote.html
In a July 6 article, the New York Times public editor, Clark Hoyt,
investigated the decision to publish the name and concurred with it.
To withhold such information, he wrote, "especially in this age of
increasing government secrecy, would leave news organizations hobbled
when trying to tell the public about some of the government's most
important and controversial actions."
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/06/opinion/06pubed.html
That's "nonsense," responded Joel Brenner, the ODNI official.
Disclosure of the individual's name "had nothing to do with the media's
responsibility to inform the public about important government policies
or actions," he wrote. "The Times was going to tell the public about
these interrogations whether the interrogator's name was used or not."
According to Clark Hoyt, Times executive editor Bill Keller said that
he had discounted a request from CIA director Michael Hayden to
withhold the name because the CIA could not cite a specific threat to
the interrogator. "I had this impression that he [Hayden] was doing it
out of respect for [the interrogator]'s and his family's concerns more
than a concern the C.I.A. had."
Mr. Brenner wrote that the Times "trivialized the risk to the man by
putting him to the impossible burden of showing with near certainty
that he would be harmed. This was morally confused."
One might also argue against Mr. Keller that the concerns of the
interrogator and his family were entitled to more consideration than
those of the CIA, not less, since it was his privacy and his security
that were at stake. But that was not the Times' view, nor that of most
other reporters and columnists who have commented on the subject.
The Times has previously been criticized not only for disclosing
classified information but also for withholding it from publication.
Although Times reporters learned of the Bush Administration's
warrantless electronic surveillance program in 2004, it was not
reported in the newspaper until December 2005. In effect, critics
said, the Times helped the Administration for more than a year to
conceal the classified program despite its probable illegality.
U.S. intelligence officials, meanwhile, are poorly positioned to offer
rational criticism of press disclosure practices since their own
secrecy practices are so manifestly irrational.
For example, although the 2007 budget for the National Intelligence
Program was officially declassified and published last year ($43.5
billion), the Office of the Director of National Intelligence said last
month that the 2006 budget figure will remain classified.
http://www.fas.org/sgp/news/2008/06/odni060408.pdf
PROTECTING "CRITICAL PROGRAM INFORMATION" WITHIN DOD
The Department of Defense last week issued new guidelines for
protecting "critical program information" (CPI), a term that refers to
the most sensitive technology information in DoD research, development
and acquisition programs.
CPI consists of those program elements "that, if compromised, could
cause significant degradation in mission effectiveness; shorten the
expected combat-effective life of the system; reduce technological
advantage; significantly alter program direction; or enable an
adversary to defeat, counter, copy, or reverse engineer the technology
or capability."
CPI "includes technology that would reduce the US technological
advantage if it came under foreign control."
"It is DoD policy... to provide uncompromised and secure military
systems to the warfighter by performing comprehensive protection of
CPI."
The new CPI instruction, issued by James. R. Clapper, Jr., the Under
Secretary of Defense for Intelligence, updates and expands upon a prior
directive from 1997.
Among the interesting changes adopted in the new instruction is an
increased role for security oversight by the DoD Inspector General, who
is called upon to "develop a uniform system of periodic inspections" to
ensure compliance with CPI protection requirements, and to "publish an
annual report of significant findings, recommendations, and best
practices."
Though it is not specifically addressed in the new instruction, the use
of agency inspectors general to conduct oversight of classification and
declassification activity is the single most promising near-term option
for augmenting oversight of the government secrecy system. Increased IG
oversight of CPI may serve as a useful precedent for validating the IG's
capacity to perform that function and advancing its classification
oversight role.
See "Critical Program Information (CPI) Protection Within the
Department of Defense," DoD Instruction 5200.39, July 16, 2008:
http://www.fas.org/irp/doddir/dod/i5200_39.pdf
_______________________________________________
Secrecy News is written by Steven Aftergood and published by the
Federation of American Scientists.
The Secrecy News Blog is at:
http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/
To SUBSCRIBE to Secrecy News, go to:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/news/secrecy/subscribe.html
To UNSUBSCRIBE, go to
http://www.fas.org/sgp/news/secrecy/unsubscribe.html
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Secrecy News is archived at:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/news/secrecy/index.html
_______________________
Steven Aftergood
Project on Government Secrecy
Federation of American Scientists
web: www.fas.org/sgp/index.html
email: saftergood@fas.org
voice: (202) 454-4691
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rag Readers:
Congress may not be willing to impeach Bush, but they
are willing to hold him hostage: Congress Threatens to
Veto the Intelligence Bill.
If you have any influence with young Americans, they
should be encouraged to study one of the sciences.
America is lagging behind the rest of the world.
A far different situation than when I was young and eager
to educate myself.
And, finally, see:
The Department of Homeland Security's Privacy Office will hold a public
workshop on government data mining and its impact on personal privacy
on July 24-25:
http://www.dhs.gov/xinfoshare/committees/editorial_0699.shtm
Wouldn't you love to be able to attend this workshop?
SECRECY NEWS
from the FAS Project on Government Secrecy
Volume 2008, Issue No. 69
July 16, 2008
Secrecy News Blog: http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/
Support Secrecy News
http://www.fas.org/sgp/donate.html
** WHITE HOUSE THREATENS VETO OF INTELLIGENCE BILL
** SCIENCE EDUCATION IS LAGGING, BUSINESS GROUPS SAY
** THE U.S. SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY WORKFORCE, AND MORE FROM CRS
** VARIOUS RESOURCES
WHITE HOUSE THREATENS VETO OF INTELLIGENCE BILL
The White House expressed strong opposition to the Fiscal Year 2009
Intelligence Authorization Act that is pending before the House of
Representatives today, in part because it includes provisions for
increased disclosure of classified information to the congressional
intelligence oversight committees.
One of the provisions, the White House complained, "would withhold 75
percent of requested funding for covert action programs until the
Administration provides much greater access to highly sensitive
national security information to all members of the congressional
intelligence committees."
"Such a provision is inconsistent with the statute that expressly
authorizes limited notice to Congress in exceptional cases and would
undermine the fundamental compact between the Congress and the
President on reporting highly sensitive intelligence matters -- an
arrangement that for decades has balanced congressional oversight
responsibility with the need to protect intelligence information," the
White House said.
The President's advisors would recommend a veto if "any" of the
objectionable provisions were adopted, today's statement said.
See "Statement of Administration Policy on Intelligence Authorization
Act for FY 2009," July 16:
http://www.fas.org/irp/news/2008/07/wh071608.pdf
SCIENCE EDUCATION IS LAGGING, BUSINESS GROUPS SAY
Not enough American students are studying science, engineering and
mathematics, a consortium of business organizations warned this week,
posing a threat to the nation's economic vitality and security.
"U.S. scientific and technological superiority is beginning to atrophy
even as other nations are developing their own human capital," they
said.
Among their recommendations the business executives called for
increased funding in basic research, reform of immigration policies to
attract and retain foreign students, and improvements in public
education in the sciences leading to a doubling of bachelor's degrees
in science, technology, engineering and mathematics by 2015.
They also noted the need for an expedited security clearance process.
"Delays in processing security clearances continue to discourage U.S.
citizens from filling vital technical positions that require
clearances," they wrote.
See "Tapping America's Potential," July 15:
http://www.tap2015.org/index.php
Ideally, scientific education would do more than produce qualified
industrial workers. To the extent that it encourages critical thinking
and reality testing, scientific training can also promote and strengthen
democratic values.
THE U.S. SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY WORKFORCE, AND MORE FROM CRS
Noteworthy new and updated reports from the Congressional Research
Service, most of which have not been made readily available to the
public, include the following.
"The U.S. Science and Technology Workforce," June 20, 2008:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/RL34539.pdf
"Nuclear Cooperation Agreement with Russia: Statutory Procedures for
Congressional Consideration," June 20, 2008:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/nuke/RL34541.pdf
"The Global Nuclear Detection Architecture: Issues for Congress," July
7, 2008:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/nuke/RL34564.pdf
"Protection of Classified Information by Congress: Practices and
Proposals," updated May 27, 2008:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/secrecy/RS20748.pdf
"Presidential Appointments to Full-time Positions in Executive
Departments During the 109th Congress, 2005-2006," June 10, 2008:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/RL34527.pdf
"The Interagency Security Committee and Security Standards for Federal
Buildings," updated November 23, 2007:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/homesec/RS22121.pdf
"Earthquakes: Risk, Monitoring, Notification, and Research," updated
June 19, 2008:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/RL33861.pdf
VARIOUS RESOURCES
The Program Manager of the DNI's Information Sharing Environment is
tasked with improving the sharing of terrorism-related information
between the federal government and state, local and tribal governments,
while preventing public access to that same information. The latest
Annual Report to Congress on the Information Sharing Environment was
transmitted earlier this month and is available here:
http://www.fas.org/irp/agency/ise/2008report.pdf
Civil-military operations are the subject of a new doctrinal
publication from the Joint Chiefs of Staff. See Joint Publication
3-57, "Civil-Military Operations," July 8, 2008:
http://www.fas.org/irp/doddir/dod/jp3_57.pdf
The Department of Homeland Security's Privacy Office will hold a public
workshop on government data mining and its impact on personal privacy on
July 24-25:
http://www.dhs.gov/xinfoshare/committees/editorial_0699.shtm
President Nixon's Daily Diary -- which is actually something like an
appointment calendar, not a written record of intimate confidences --
has recently been released and published on the web site of the Nixon
presidential library:
http://nixonlibrary.gov/virtuallibrary/documents/dailydiary.php
_______________________________________________
Secrecy News is written by Steven Aftergood and published by the
Federation of American Scientists.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rag Readers:
More problems with classification of documents because
of an executive order.
And, paradoxically, "the text of the new Agreement between the
U.S. and the Czech Republic has not been made available on any publicly
accessible U.S. government web site, though the State Department issued
a July 10 Fact Sheet about it. But it was published in the Czech
Republic and a copy is available here:
http://www.fas.org/irp/news/2008/07/radar.pdf "
Another freedom of Americans disappears, and nobody except
Secrecy News is aware of it. Such subtle and almost hidden
changes to our freedom and access to information that is rightfully
our.
SECRECY NEWS
from the FAS Project on Government Secrecy
Volume 2008, Issue No. 68
July 14, 2008
Secrecy News Blog: http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/
Support Secrecy News
http://www.fas.org/sgp/donate.html
** FOREIGN RELATIONS SERIES STILL FAILS TO MEET LEGAL DEADLINE
** CONTROLLED UNCLASSIFIED INFO MAY BE CLASSIFIED, US-CZECH DOC SAYS
** COMPUTING AT LOS ALAMOS IN THE 1940S AND 1950S
FOREIGN RELATIONS SERIES STILL FAILS TO MEET LEGAL DEADLINE
The "Foreign Relations of the United States" (FRUS) series, which is
the official documentary history of U.S. foreign policy, remains
unlikely to meet the legal requirement that it be published no later
than 30 years after the events that it describes, an official advisory
committee has told the Secretary of State.
"Despite many and repeated assurances that this problem would be
addressed by 2010, the committee is now very skeptical that the Office
of the Historian will succeed in meeting the 30-year requirement for
the Foreign Relations series at any time within the next decade," the
State Department Advisory Committee on Historical Diplomatic
Documentation wrote in its new annual report.
Compliance with the 30 year deadline is not optional; it is a binding
legal requirement. "The Secretary of State shall ensure that the FRUS
series shall be published not more than 30 years after the events
recorded," according to a statute enacted in 1991.
But instead of advancing towards that goal, FRUS seems to be retreating
further and further away from it. The FRUS series' sparse publication
record in 2007 "was a considerable disappointment, and does not bring
with it much encouragement for the future," the committee wrote in its
report to the Secretary of State.
"Last year the committee reported that 'it is reasonable' to be
optimistic that the series would be in compliance with the law by the
end of 2010," the committee noted. "We no longer have any reason to be
optimistic, and are frankly very pessimistic."
The annual report, dated May 19, 2008, will appear in the September
2008 issue of Perspectives on History, a publication of the American
Historical Association (www.historians.org). An advance copy is
available here:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/advisory/state/hac2007.pdf
"The committee must really be concerned for the report to be so
explicit and emphatic," one former State Department official told
Secrecy News.
In a delicate allusion to reports of morale problems in the Office of
the Historian and the ensuing resignations of professional staff, the
Advisory Committee strongly recommended that State Department Human
Resources personnel "conduct mandatory exit interviews to determine the
principal reasons behind the departure of skilled researchers."
The committee also expressed dismay at plans to provide reduced
coverage of U.S. policy during the Reagan Administration.
"The committee is concerned that despite a collection of 8.5 million
classified pages in the Reagan Library, compared with the Nixon years'
2.5 million pages, the Office plans substantially fewer volumes of the
FRUS series."
"The publication of the Foreign Relations series stands as a symbol of
commitment to openness and accountability," the Advisory Committee
report affirmed.
Regrettably, with its persistent violation of mandatory publication
requirements and its diminishing productivity, the Foreign Relations
series may indeed be a fitting symbol of the current state of openness
and accountability.
CONTROLLED UNCLASSIFIED INFO MAY BE CLASSIFIED, US-CZECH DOC SAYS
Government agencies may redesignate "controlled unclassified
information" (CUI) as classified information in order to prevent its
disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act, according to an
agreement signed last week between the United States and the Czech
Republic.
The July 8 agreement on establishment of a U.S. missile defense radar
in the Czech Republic devotes an entire section (Article XII) to
"controlled unclassified information," which is defined as
"unclassified information to which access or distribution limitations
have been applied in accordance with applicable national laws."
The new agreement surprisingly presents national security
classification as an option when facing involuntary disclosure of CUI
under the Freedom of Information Act:
"Each Party shall take all lawful steps, which may include national
classification, to keep controlled unclassified information free from
further disclosure (including requests under any applicable domestic
legislation)..., unless the originating Party consents to such
disclosure."
While there is an exemption from the Freedom of Information Act for
"properly classified" information, there is no such exemption for CUI.
(According to a May 7 White House policy statement, "CUI markings may
inform but do not control the decision of whether to disclose or
release the information to the public, such as in response to a request
made pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act.")
Classification of CUI -- which by definition is information that does
not meet the standards for classification -- in order to evade the
requirements of the FOIA would be a violation of official
classification policy, as set forth in the president's executive order.
Coincidentally or by design, the text of the new Agreement between the
U.S. and the Czech Republic has not been made available on any publicly
accessible U.S. government web site, though the State Department issued
a July 10 Fact Sheet about it. But it was published in the Czech
Republic and a copy is available here:
http://www.fas.org/irp/news/2008/07/radar.pdf
COMPUTING AT LOS ALAMOS IN THE 1940S AND 1950S
Last week, in response to a request from Secrecy News for a copy of a
thirty year old history of computer development at Los Alamos in the
1940s and 1950s, a reference librarian at Los Alamos National
Laboratory apologetically explained that she could not release the
requested document.
"We are sorry but due to a mandate from NNSA to the Laboratory and
Research Library policies, we are unable to provide technical reports
until further notice," the librarian wrote. You want information from
the Library? Don't be silly!
Fortunately, a copy of the document, which was not otherwise available
online, was obtained independently and it has been added to our Los
Alamos document collection.
Among other curiosities, the report describes work on an early
chess-playing program for the MANIAC computer in the 1950s:
"Because of the slow speed of MANIAC (about 10,000 instructions per
second) we had to restrict play to a 6 by 6 board, removing the bishops
and their pawns. Even then, moves averaged about 10 minutes for a
two-move look-ahead strategy."
See "Computing at LASL in the 1940s and 1950s" by Roger B. Lazarus, et
al, report number LA-6943-H, May 1978:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/othergov/doe/lanl/docs1/LA-6943-H.pdf
_______________________________________________
Secrecy News is written by Steven Aftergood and published by the
Federation of American Scientists.
The Secrecy News Blog is at:
http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/
To SUBSCRIBE to Secrecy News, go to:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/news/secrecy/subscribe.html
To UNSUBSCRIBE, go to
http://www.fas.org/sgp/news/secrecy/unsubscribe.html
OR email your request to saftergood@fas.org
Secrecy News is archived at:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/news/secrecy/index.html
_______________________
Steven Aftergood
Project on Government Secrecy
Federation of American Scientists
web: www.fas.org/sgp/index.html
email: saftergood@fas.org
voice: (202) 454-4691
--------------------------------------------------------------------------- SECRECY NEWS
from the FAS Project on Government Secrecy
Volume 2008, Issue No. 67
July 11, 2008
Secrecy News Blog: http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/
Support Secrecy News
http://www.fas.org/sgp/donate.html
** DOD HAS MORE THAN A THOUSAND CHINESE LINGUISTS
** INTELLIGENCE IS SECURE AT HOOVER BUILDING, FBI SAYS
** IRANIAN NUCLEAR SCIENCE: AN OPEN SOURCE BIBLIOGRAPHY
DOD HAS MORE THAN A THOUSAND CHINESE LINGUISTS
There are more than a thousand members of the U.S. military who are
qualified Chinese linguists, a Defense Department official told the
Senate Armed Services Committee last year.
"I have been told that information regarding the number of DOD
intelligence analysts who speak Mandarin and/or Cantonese is
classified," said James J. Shinn, Assistant Secretary of Defense for
Asian and Pacific Security Affairs, who was confirmed in December 2007.
"At the unclassified level, I can tell you that there are over 5,800
military personnel (officers and enlisted) with at least a basic
capability in Mandarin and/or Cantonese. Of those, over 1,000 are
considered proficient in Mandarin."
"I would like to see these numbers grow by increasing our investment in
Chinese language skills for both civilians and military personnel," Dr.
Shinn said.
"The U.S. Department of Defense has a fairly sophisticated
understanding of China's growing military capabilities, but we lack
insight into China's intent because China's military buildup is
occurring in the absence of transparency," he said. "Without greater
transparency, the United States and other Asian nations cannot fully
determine the degree and type of risk that China's buildup poses."
According to his official biography, Dr. Shinn himself "once spoke good
Japanese, passable French, and functional German, but no more."
His remarks appeared in an exceptionally rich new volume of
"Nominations Before the Senate Armed Services Committee, First Session,
110th Congress," Senate Armed Services Committee (at p. 1247):
http://www.fas.org/irp/congress/2007_hr/sasc.pdf
Rep. Rush Holt, the chairman of the House Appropriations Committee
Panel on Intelligence Oversight, said in a statement released today
that his Panel "is once again recommending a robust investment in
foreign language training."
"We must do more to ensure that our education systems -- civilian and
military -- place a greater emphasis on language and culture skills and
on producing the teachers who can transmit those language and cultural
skills to others," he wrote.
More generally, "The funding recommendations that the Panel will
forward to the Defense Subcommittee are classified, but I can tell you
that these recommendations include an increase to the National
Intelligence Program and the Military Intelligence Program from the
fiscal year 2008 levels and a significant reduction from the
President's request," Rep. Holt stated.
http://www.fas.org/irp/congress/2008_cr/holt071108.html
INTELLIGENCE IS SECURE AT HOOVER BUILDING, FBI SAYS
All intelligence and other sensitive information at the FBI's J. Edgar
Hoover Building is properly safeguarded, the FBI says.
A June 23 Senate Appropriations Committee report, cited by Secrecy News
on July 7, had stated: "The Hoover Building does not meet the
Interagency Security Committee's criteria for a secure Federal facility
capable of handling intelligence and other sensitive information."
That statement is basically true, an FBI spokesman wrote in response to
an inquiry from Eric Umansky of ProPublica (www.propublica.org), the new
investigative journalism organization.
But he said it doesn't mean that FBI intelligence information is not
secure.
"The Interagency Security Committee (ISC) criteria deal only with
physical security of federal facilities. The J. Edgar Hoover Building,
which is a GSA-owned federal building, does not meet the ISC (physical
security) criteria, in terms of standoff distance and other blast
mitigation measures. These criteria do not have anything to do with
information security or handling intelligence or sensitive
information," wrote FBI Assistant Director Patrick G. Findlay to Mr.
Umansky.
"From an information security standpoint, FBI information is secure,"
Mr. Findlay wrote. "All intelligence and sensitive information are
properly safeguarded and classified information is properly contained,
to include being processed and/or discussed in accredited SCIF
(Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility) space."
Despite the Senate Committee's peculiar reference to "handling
intelligence and other sensitive information," the Committee was only
discussing building security at the FBI and not information security, a
Committee spokeswoman told Mr. Umansky.
http://www.propublica.org/article/fbi-hq-is-secure-for-classified-intel-711/
IRANIAN NUCLEAR SCIENCE: AN OPEN SOURCE BIBLIOGRAPHY
A newly updated bibliography of published Iranian nuclear science and
engineering research documents that country's substantial commitment to
the field.
"The Iranian nuclear program appears to be entering a more mature stage
of research and development," said Mark Gorwitz, an independent
researcher who compiled the bibliography.
In addition to previously cited research on nuclear reactor safety,
isotope separation and related topics, the new bibliography also covers
Iranian publications on nuclear waste treatment, shock waves, carbon
fibers and carbon composites.
See "Iranian Nuclear Science Bibliography: Open Literature References"
by Mark Gorwitz, July 2008:
http://www.fas.org/nuke/guide/iran/nuke/biblio.pdf
_______________________________________________
Secrecy News is written by Steven Aftergood and published by the
Federation of American Scientists.
The Secrecy News Blog is at:
http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/
To SUBSCRIBE to Secrecy News, go to:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/news/secrecy/subscribe.html
To UNSUBSCRIBE, go to
http://www.fas.org/sgp/news/secrecy/unsubscribe.html
OR email your request to saftergood@fas.org
Secrecy News is archived at:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/news/secrecy/index.html
_______________________
Steven Aftergood
Project on Government Secrecy
Federation of American Scientists
web: www.fas.org/sgp/index.html
email: saftergood@fas.org
voice: (202) 454-4691
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rag Readers:
Legal observers are focused on all the secrecy being implemented
by all levels of administration in the government. One notable
article:
The Chilling of Speech, Association, and the Press in Post-9/11
America" (multiple papers and conference presentations), American
University Law Review, June 2008:
http://www.wcl.american.edu/journal/lawrev/57/57-5.cfm
says it all (use link to access the article).
SECRECY NEWS
from the FAS Project on Government Secrecy
Volume 2008, Issue No. 66
July 9, 2008
Secrecy News Blog: http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/
Support Secrecy News
http://www.fas.org/sgp/donate.html
** INTELLIGENCE ABUSES AND THE FISA AMENDMENTS ACT
** DOD RENOUNCES SECURITY RESTRICTIONS ON UNCLASSIFIED RESEARCH
** RENDITION, ORDINARY AND EXTRAORDINARY
** SECRECY IN THE LAW REVIEWS
INTELLIGENCE ABUSES AND THE FISA AMENDMENTS ACT
"The history of the Intelligence Community is replete with instances of
abuse of civil liberties," observed Lt. Gen. James R. Clapper last year
in the course of his confirmation as Under Secretary of Defense for
Intelligence.
That is not news, of course, though it is useful to have it
acknowledged by the Pentagon's senior intelligence policy official.
Also useful is Gen. Clapper's proposed remedy:
"The requisite elements of a program to prevent such abuse are: (1)
clearly articulated and widely publicized policies; (2) training, both
basic and refresher; and (3) a mechanism to verify compliance
independently," he wrote in reply to a question from Sen. Carl Levin.
By these standards, the pending amendment to the Foreign Intelligence
Surveillance Act that is being considered by the Senate today leaves
much to be desired.
Far from being "clearly articulated," the legislation leaves even
experts uncertain as to what its provisions mean. And by granting
retroactive immunity to telephone companies for unspecified illegal
acts that they may have committed, the legislation compromises the most
important mechanism for independent verification of legal compliance,
namely the judicial process.
"Does the new FISA bill authorize wholesale interception of all
communications to and from the US," asked James X. Dempsey of the
Center for Democracy and Technology, "or does it only authorize the
interception of the communications of particular individuals?"
Incredibly, the answer is not reliably known. "Both national security
and civil liberties interests weigh in favor of clarity on this
question," Mr. Dempsey wrote last month.
http://blog.cdt.org/2008/06/25/does-targeting-authorize-the-vacuum-cleaner/
Meanwhile, the congressional grant of immunity to telephone companies
that are being sued for suspected acts of illegal surveillance under
the President's warrantless surveillance program "is a naked intrusion
into ongoing litigation," said Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) on the
Senate floor yesterday.
http://www.fas.org/irp/congress/2008_cr/fisa070808.html
"I am aware of no precedent for the Congress of the United States
stepping into ongoing litigation, choosing a winner and a loser,
allowing no alternative remedy," he said.
"I believe it will be determined by a court that ultimately this
section of the legislation is unconstitutional, in violation of the
separation of powers, because we may not, as a Congress, take away the
access of the people of this country to constitutional determinations
heard by the courts of this country."
"If I were a litigant, I would challenge the constitutionality of the
immunity provisions of this statute, and I would expect a good chance
of winning," Sen. Whitehouse said.
DOD RENOUNCES SECURITY RESTRICTIONS ON UNCLASSIFIED RESEARCH
Department of Defense agencies have been directed not to impose any
security-related access restrictions on unclassified fundamental
research.
"The products of fundamental research are to remain unrestricted to the
maximum extent possible," wrote John J. Young Jr., the Under Secretary
of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics in a June 26, 2008
memorandum to the military services and defense agencies.
http://www.fas.org/sgp/othergov/dod/atl062608.pdf
The new DoD policy responds to concerns about an increase in post-9/11
restrictions on disclosure of unclassified DoD-funded research in
academia and industry. The new policy reaffirms a 1985 presidential
directive (NSDD-189) which stated that national security classification
is the only mechanism that may be used to limit disclosure of scientific
research when there are valid national security concerns, but that
unclassified research may not be restricted for security reasons.
"DoD will not restrict disclosure of the results of contracted
fundamental research... unless the research is classified for reasons
of national security, or as otherwise required by statute, regulation,
or Executive Order," Mr. Young wrote.
"The performance of fundamental research... should not be managed in a
way that it becomes subject to restrictions on the involvement of
foreign researchers or publication restrictions."
The new policy memorandum was first reported in "Pentagon:
'Fundamental' Research Best Left Unclassified" by Sebastian Sprenger,
InsideDefense.com, July 7:
http://defensenewsstand.com/insider.asp?issue=07072008sp
"Since the September 11 terrorist attacks, many research institutions
have reported more restrictions on participation in government
contracts and research grants, as well as more limits on publishing,"
wrote Jacques S. Gansler, a former Under Secretary of Defense, and
Alice P. Gast, a former vice president at MIT, in the July 11 issue of
Chronicle of Higher Education.
The writers, who chaired a National Research Council committee on
"Science and Security in a Post-9/11 World," also noted with concern
the rise of a "growing number of research projects that are categorized
as 'sensitive but unclassified,' a designation that limits the
scientific community's right to publish the research results and
restricts participation of foreign-born scientists."
RENDITION, ORDINARY AND EXTRAORDINARY
"Rendition" refers to the transfer of a detained person to another
jurisdiction for trial. For most purposes it is the same thing as
extradition.
"Extraordinary rendition," however, leaves out the trial. It means the
transfer of a prisoner elsewhere for purposes of interrogation and, too
often, torture.
"Putting 'extraordinary' in front of rendition changes the meaning
fundamentally," wrote constitutional scholar Louis Fisher in a
comprehensive new law review article on the subject.
"Rendition operates within the rule of law; extraordinary rendition
falls outside. Rendition brings suspects to federal or state court;
extraordinary rendition does not."
See "Extraordinary Rendition: The Price of Secrecy" by Louis Fisher,
American University Law Review, volume 57, number 5, June 2008:
http://www.wcl.american.edu/journal/lawrev/57/fisher.pdf?rd=1
There are intermediate cases. When Israeli agents kidnapped the Nazi
war criminal Adolf Eichmann from Argentina in 1960, it was an act of
abduction rather rendition. Yet Eichmann was taken to trial with full
legal process.
"Because there was no extradition treaty between Israel and Argentina,
the U.N. Security Council asked Israel to pay reparations to Argentina,
and Israel complied," Fisher recalled.
SECRECY IN THE LAW REVIEWS
There has been a surge of publication of papers on official secrecy,
national security classification and freedom of information in law
reviews and other professional legal journals. Not all are equally
original in their analysis or compelling in their conclusions, but they
typically provide a scholarly perspective on matters of secrecy policy,
and they often include valuable source citations.
Some of the more interesting new law review articles that have come to
our attention are these:
"Congressional Access to National Security Information" by Louis
Fisher, Harvard Journal on Legislation, Volume 45, No. 1, Winter 2008:
http://www.law.harvard.edu/students/orgs/jol/vol45_1/fisher.pdf
"Classified Information Leaks and Free Speech" by Heidi Kitrosser,
University of Illinois Law Review, 2008, Issue 3:
http://home.law.uiuc.edu/lrev/publications/2000s/2008/2008_3/Kitrosser.pdf
"The Chilling of Speech, Association, and the Press in Post-9/11
America" (multiple papers and conference presentations), American
University Law Review, June 2008:
http://www.wcl.american.edu/journal/lawrev/57/57-5.cfm
"Government Lawyers and Confidentiality Norms" By Kathleen Clark,
Washington University Law Review, 2008:
http://lawreview.wustl.edu/inprint/85/5/Clark.pdf
"Our Very Privileged Executive: Why the Judiciary Can (and Should) Fix
the State Secrets Privilege" by D. A. Jeremy Telman, Temple Law Review,
2007:
http://www.temple.edu/law/tlawrev/content/issues/80.2/80.2_telman.pdf
"'Nothing Is So Oppressive as a Secret': Recommendations for Reforming
the State Secrets Privilege" by Emily Simpson, Temple Law Review, 2007:
http://www.temple.edu/law/tlawrev/content/issues/80.2/80.2_simpson.pdf
"Secrecy and Access in an Innovation Intensive Economy: Reordering
Information Privileges in Environmental, Health, and Safety Law," by
Mary L. Lyndon, University of Colorado Law Review, Volume 78, Issue 2,
Spring 2007 (not online).
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rag Readers:
Want to know how much the wars in the Middle East
are costing American taxpayers? Be sure to read:
"The Cost of Iraq, Afghanistan, and Other Global War on Terror
Operations Since 9/11," updated June 23, 2008."
Approximately $69 billion? Just $700 million than was
thought?
SECRECY NEWS
from the FAS Project on Government Secrecy
Volume 2008, Issue No. 63
June 27, 2008
Secrecy News Blog: http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/
Support Secrecy News
http://www.fas.org/sgp/donate.html
** IRAN'S ECONOMY, AND MORE FROM CRS
** WHITE HOUSE REPORT ON U.S. ARMED FORCES
** 42 YEARS OF FOIA
** 100 YEARS SINCE TUNGUSKA
IRAN'S ECONOMY, AND MORE FROM CRS
Noteworthy new and updated reports from the Congressional Research
Service that have not been made readily available to the public include
the following.
"The Cost of Iraq, Afghanistan, and Other Global War on Terror
Operations Since 9/11," updated June 23, 2008:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/natsec/RL33110.pdf
"Conventional Warheads For Long-Range Ballistic Missiles: Background
and Issues for Congress," updated May 16, 2008:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/nuke/RL33067.pdf
"Iran's Economy," updated June 12, 2008:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/mideast/RL34525.pdf
"The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act: Comparison of the Senate
Amendment to H.R. 3773 and the House Amendment to the Senate Amendment
to H.R. 3773," June 12, 2008:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/intel/RL34533.pdf
"Awards of Attorneys' Fees by Federal Courts and Federal Agencies,"
updated June 20, 2008:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/94-970.pdf
WHITE HOUSE REPORT ON U.S. ARMED FORCES
President Bush described the status of U.S. armed forces deployed in
combat operations around the world in a brief report to Congress this
month that was required by the War Powers Act.
"It is not possible to know at this time the precise scope or the
duration of the deployment of U.S. Armed Forces necessary to counter
the terrorist threat to the United States," he wrote.
See "A Supplemental Consolidated Report Consistent with the War Powers
Act," June 17, 2008:
http://www.fas.org/irp/congress/2008_rpt/warpowers.html
42 YEARS OF FOIA
July 4 will mark the 42nd anniversary of the Freedom of Information
Act, Sen. Patrick Leahy noted in a statement on pending reforms to the
Act.
"Now in its fourth decade [should be: fifth decade], the Freedom of
Information Act remains an indispensable tool for shedding light on bad
policies and Government abuses," he said. "But there is still much more
to be done to ensure that FOIA remains an effective tool for keeping
our democracy open and free."
http://www.fas.org/sgp/congress/2008/foia42.html
100 YEARS SINCE TUNGUSKA
Monday, June 30 marks the 100th anniversary of the Tunguska incident in
1908, in which a meteor or comet fragment entered the atmosphere over
Tunguska in Siberia producing an enormous explosion.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tunguska_event
"We know that a rather massive body flew into the atmosphere of our
planet," said Boris Shustov of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
"It measured 40 to 60 meters in diameter. Clearly, it did not consist
of iron, otherwise it would have certainly reached the earth. The body
decelerated in the atmosphere, the deceleration being very abrupt, so
the whole energy of this body flying with a velocity of more than 20
meters per second was released, which resulted in a mid-air explosion,
very similar to a thermonuclear blast," he told Tass news agency
yesterday.
"The yield of the explosion totaled 10 to 15 megatons, which matches
the yields of the largest hydrogen bomb ever tested on the planet. The
explosion felled some 80 million trees [but] it is generally assumed
that the blast did not kill any people," he added.
"The Tunguska phenomenon showed that the asteroid-comet danger is quite
real. It happened not in the era of dinosaurs, but in our recent
history. Russia was definitely lucky; had the body flown up to the
Earth several hours later, it would have hit St.Petersburg. The
consequences would have been horrendous," he said.
"Impacts such as the Tunguska incident are thought to occur about once
in one hundred years based on the density of impact craters on the
Moon," according to a White Paper on Planetary Defense attached to the
1994 U.S. Air Force report Spacecast 2020.
http://www.fas.org/spp/military/docops/usaf/2020/app-r.htm
A 2007 NASA summary report to Congress on planetary defense is here:
http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/171331main_NEO_report_march07.pdf
A longer account is here:
http://www.b612foundation.org/papers/NASA-finalrpt.pdf
_______________________________________________
Secrecy News is written by Steven Aftergood and published by the
Federation of American Scientists.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rag Readers:
Two issues regarding how and whether our government
operates in secret are in the forefront of FAS news.
Please note where our AZ government representative
stands on this issue (see below for details):
"What is this about? It is about answering the fundamental question: Do
we support the rule of law or the rule of men? To me, this is our
defining question as a nation and may be the defining question that
confronts every generation, as it has throughout our history."
http://www.fas.org/irp/congress/2008_cr/fisa062408.html
Sen. Dodd and Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI) announced their intention to
filibuster the FISA Amendment bill.
Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ) spoke in favor of the bill, including the
provisions on shielding telephone companies from legal liability for
their actions.
"Those who are opposed to the President's efforts to monitor al-Qaida's
communications after 9/11 should take their argument to the President,
not to the private companies that patriotically complied with
government requests to help this country," he said.
http://www.fas.org/irp/congress/2008_cr/fisa062408b.html
If only it was all about monitoring terrorists using the phone, but the
bill can easily misused (and has) to monitor U.S. citizens "perceived"
to be "possible" terrorists. The problem is that when an error is
committed there is no recourse for remedy.
SECRECY NEWS
from the FAS Project on Government Secrecy
Volume 2008, Issue No. 62
June 25, 2008
Secrecy News Blog: http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/
Support Secrecy News
http://www.fas.org/sgp/donate.html
** HOUSE APPROVES FACA AMENDMENTS IN RESPONSE TO "ABUSES"
** MISSILE DEFENSE IN EUROPE NEEDS TESTING, PENTAGON SAYS
** FISA AMENDMENTS AND THE RULE OF LAW
HOUSE APPROVES FACA AMENDMENTS IN RESPONSE TO "ABUSES"
The House of Representatives yesterday passed a bill amending the
Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) to strengthen the public
disclosure provisions of that open government law. The bill was
introduced by Rep. William Lacy Clay (D-MO) and Rep. Henry Waxman
(D-CA) in April.
"In recent years, FACA has been undermined by the practices of the Bush
administration," said Rep. Waxman. "This bill is our response to these
abuses."
"This bill says that White House task forces can no longer operate in
total secrecy. They must disclose whom they meet with and what
recommendations they receive from special interests," he said.
In particular, "This bill says that task forces like the Vice
President's energy task force must come out from the shadows," Rep.
Waxman said. See:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/congress/2008/faca-amend.html
MISSILE DEFENSE IN EUROPE NEEDS TESTING, PENTAGON SAYS
A proposed U.S. missile defense system in Europe that is intended to
defend against a postulated Iranian missile threat cannot reasonably
proceed without time-consuming testing and validation, according to a
newly disclosed internal assessment performed for the Department of
Defense last year.
The U.S. Missile Defense Agency envisions deployment of Ground-Based
Interceptors in Poland and an X-band radar in the Czech Republic, a
proposal that has elicited significant political opposition from
Russia, and some in Poland and the Czech Republic.
"These European assets are planned to provide defenses against
long-range Iranian threats to the United States as well as against
intermediate-range Iranian threats to Europe."
But "the effectiveness of the European [missile defense] assets cannot
be assumed," said the Pentagon's Director of Operational Test and
Evaluation.
"A robust test program is necessary to assess the operational
effectiveness of these European [missile defense] assets."
See "European GMD Mission Test Concept," October 1, 2007:
http://www.fas.org/man/eprint/euro-gmd.pdf
This unclassified Pentagon report was not readily available to the
public until a copy was obtained by the Associated Press. Desmond
Butler of AP reported on the Pentagon document as well as the emerging
consensus in Congress that system testing will in fact be required.
See "Testing Could Delay Missile Defense Plans" by Desmond Butler,
Associated Press, June 23, 2008:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/feedarticle/7603200
Related background may be found in "Long-Range Ballistic Missile
Defense in Europe" from the Congressional Research Service:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/weapons/RL34051.pdf
Richard L. Garwin provided a critical assessment of the Iranian missile
program and U.S. missile defense capabilities in "Evaluating Iran's
Missile Threat," Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, May/June 2008:
http://thebulletin.metapress.com/content/a7v4162714u42202/fulltext.pdf
FISA AMENDMENTS AND THE RULE OF LAW
In a speech on the Senate floor yesterday, Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-CT)
said the current debate over amending the Foreign Intelligence
Surveillance Act (FISA) is not simply one more dispute over
intelligence policy. Rather, he said, it calls into question basic
issues of democratic governance and the rule of law.
He presented the case against the pending FISA amendments, particularly
the provisions that would immunize telephone companies against lawsuits
regarding their participation in domestic surveillance.
"Did the telecoms break the law? I don't know. I can't say so. But pass
immunity, and we will never know," Sen. Dodd said.
The President's warrantless surveillance program, he said, is of a
piece with other Administration departures from established legal norms
including its policies on coercive interrogation and extraordinary
rendition, as well as its pervasive secrecy.
"What is this about? It is about answering the fundamental question: Do
we support the rule of law or the rule of men? To me, this is our
defining question as a nation and may be the defining question that
confronts every generation, as it has throughout our history."
http://www.fas.org/irp/congress/2008_cr/fisa062408.html
Sen. Dodd and Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI) announced their intention to
filibuster the FISA Amendment bill.
Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ) spoke in favor of the bill, including the
provisions on shielding telephone companies from legal liability for
their actions.
"Those who are opposed to the President's efforts to monitor al-Qaida's
communications after 9/11 should take their argument to the President,
not to the private companies that patriotically complied with
government requests to help this country," he said.
http://www.fas.org/irp/congress/2008_cr/fisa062408b.html
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dear Rag Readers:
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is
looking for public comment on revisions to the
National Infrastructure Protection Plan (NIPP).
This is the framework for "defending essential
infrastructure, ranging from agriculture to
transportation, against attack or natural disaster."
Here's your chance to help out your government.
SECRECY NEWS
from the FAS Project on Government Secrecy
Volume 2008, Issue No. 61
June 23, 2008
Secrecy News Blog: http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/
Support Secrecy News
http://www.fas.org/sgp/donate.html
** COURT NARROWS SCOPE OF APPEAL IN AIPAC CASE
** SCIENCE AND THE 2008 ELECTION
** DHS INVITES PUBLIC COMMENT ON INFRASTRUCTURE PROTECTION
COURT NARROWS SCOPE OF APPEAL IN AIPAC CASE
A federal appeals court handling the case of two former employees of
the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) who are charged
with unlawful handling of classified information last week granted a
defense motion to limit the scope of a pending prosecution appeal.
In March, a lower court had issued a sealed 278-page court order
identifying what classified information may be disclosed, summarized or
withheld at the forthcoming trial of the AIPAC defendants. The
government appealed the order in advance of the trial, as it is
entitled to do. But at the same time it also attempted to appeal
several other prior court orders that it regarded as unfavorable
including two 2006 orders that defined the government's burden of proof
and another court opinion that limited the use of secret, non-public
evidence.
Defense attorneys objected to the reopening of prior court rulings, and
the appeals court concurred with them in a June 20 decision. A
government brief on the surviving portion of the appeal will be due on
July 25.
Selected case files from the lower court and the appeals court
proceedings can be found here:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/jud/aipac/index.html
The AIPAC case is a subject of broad interest because it is the first
time that Americans who are engaged in protected First Amendment
activities have been prosecuted for the unauthorized receipt and
transmission of classified information, which is a relatively common
transaction among national security reporters and advocacy
organizations. (Secrecy News has frequently sought access to
information on topics or programs that we knew to be classified, and
has occasionally gained such access.)
"This is not a typical espionage case," defense attorneys told the
appeals court in an April 29 motion. "Everyone who spoke with
[defendants Steven Rosen and Keith Weissman] did so voluntarily, knew
that Rosen and Weissman were not government officials, and knew that
they did not have security clearances. Rosen and Weissman did not
receive money or material goods from foreign governments or others in
exchange for information; they did not speak in code; they did not
conduct their meetings in secret; they are not charged with serving as
agents of a foreign government, let alone with being spies; they did
not receive or pass on classified documents; they did not pay any
bribes to or threaten government officials."
Prosecutors put it differently: "This is an Espionage Act prosecution
involving two defendants who conspired to and did obtain classified
information from their government sources and then passed that
information to a foreign government, members of the news media, and
others not entitled to receive it."
But if it was a conspiracy, the government has handled it in a peculiar
way, the defense said in its April 29 motion:
"Highlighting the curious underpinnings of this prosecution, the
high-level government officials with whom Rosen and Weissman regularly
met and who, according to the Indictment, illegally disclosed
classified NDI [national defense information], have not -- with but one
exception -- been charged criminally. Indeed, one of the disclosing
officials has since received, not charges or reprimands, but a series
of promotions to one of the highest, most sensitive positions in the
government."
The "one exception" is former Pentagon official Lawrence A. Franklin,
who has been sentenced to a 12 year prison term.
The highly promoted official is David Satterfield, who has been
elevated in position three times since the AIPAC case became public in
August 2004 -- first to Principal Deputy in State's Mideast Bureau,
then to Deputy Chief of Mission with the rank of Ambassador in Iraq --
among the most sensitive diplomatic assignments in the world-- and most
recently to Principal Adviser to the Secretary of State on Iraq.
The defense attorneys' argument is not that Mr. Satterfield did
something wrong. Rather, they contend, the government's response to
the facts of the case has been erratic, inconsistent and unpredictable.
Which is to say, it has been unjust.
SCIENCE AND THE 2008 ELECTION
The Federation of American Scientists and other science-related
organizations are urging their members and others to ask candidates
about science and technology policy in the 2008 congressional
elections.
From energy production to climate change and innovation, participants
are encouraged to question incumbents and challengers about their
agenda for meeting pressing science and technology challenges such as
energy production, climate change, science education and health
science.
The non-partisan initiative, which does not endorse or oppose
individual candidates, is called Innovation 2008.
http://sharp.sefora.org/innovation2008/
DHS INVITES PUBLIC COMMENT ON INFRASTRUCTURE PROTECTION
In a noteworthy contrast with the secrecy that prevails in much of
government and often within its own ranks, the Department of Homeland
Security (DHS) is soliciting public comment on revisions to the
National Infrastructure Protection Plan (NIPP), which is the framework
for defending essential infrastructure, ranging from agriculture to
transportation, against attack or natural disaster.
http://www.fas.org/sgp/news/2008/06/fr060608.html
The request for comment places DHS in the rather unfamiliar posture --
for a national security agency -- of actively seeking to engage public
interest and to invite public feedback on a matter of broad public
policy.
"We're hoping to get inputs from across the country," said Larry L. May
of the DHS NIPP Program Management Office in an interview today, "and
from everyone concerned with critical infrastructure protection."
Some of the NIPP policies that are under review are trivial, such as
changes in terminology. But others are profound, such as the relative
emphasis in the Plan on "protection rather than resiliency." Where
"protection" seeks to anticipate, deter and defend against particular
threats that are intrinsically uncertain, "resilience" focuses on
capabilities needed for rapid response and recovery from a broad range
of hazards. They imply vastly different strategies, including public
information disclosure strategies.
Are there significant numbers of Americans who care enough about such
issues to express their views to DHS? Apparently so.
Mr. May said that the last time DHS conducted a review of the NIPP in
2006, some 10,000 comments were submitted.
Why does DHS care what the public thinks? Basically, Mr. May said,
"all of us are in this together, if you will."
Additional information on the NIPP, including the most recent 2006
iteration, may be found here:
http://www.dhs.gov/nip
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Rag Readers:
It isn't just the Executive Branch of government that censors critics.
"Secrecy News was removed from the distribution list for the U.S. State
Department history publication "Foreign Relations of the United States"
(FRUS) after we reported on errors in several FRUS volumes on March 24
and 26, 2008." Aftergood has made a written appeal to be reinstated.
SECRECY NEWS
from the FAS Project on Government Secrecy
Volume 2008, Issue No. 58
June 12, 2008
Secrecy News Blog: http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/
Support Secrecy News
http://www.fas.org/sgp/donate.html
** SECRECY NEWS PURGED FROM STATE DEPT HISTORY MAILING LIST
** A NEW DNI DIRECTIVE ON THE NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE COUNCIL
** TUBERCULOSIS AND MORE FROM CRS
SECRECY NEWS PURGED FROM STATE DEPT HISTORY MAILING LIST
Secrecy News was removed from the distribution list for the U.S. State
Department history publication "Foreign Relations of the United States"
(FRUS) after we reported on errors in several FRUS volumes on March 24
and 26, 2008.
http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/2008/03/four_frus_volumes.html
http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/2008/03/more_frus_errors.html
A spokesman for the State Department Historian's Office confirmed that
officials had ordered the removal of Secrecy News from the FRUS mailing
list in response to our critical coverage.
In an email message to the series editor yesterday, I asked the
Historian's Office (HO) to reconsider its action. To do so would serve
the best interests of FRUS, I suggested.
"I know that a sizable fraction of my Secrecy News mailing list (which
now exceeds 13,500 self-selected subscribers) has an interest in FRUS
publications. Many of those subscribers are unlikely to be part of
other existing networks of academics and historians through which news
of FRUS is disseminated," I wrote.
"I would also willingly publish any criticism of my own writing that HO
personnel or HAC [Historical Advisory Committee] members felt was
warranted," I added.
The request to reinstate Secrecy News on the FRUS mailing list awaits a
decision by the State Department Historian, Dr. Marc J. Susser.
A NEW DNI DIRECTIVE ON THE NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE COUNCIL
The Director of National Intelligence this week issued a new
Intelligence Community Directive that defines the structure and mission
of the National Intelligence Council (NIC).
"The NIC consists of the senior-most intelligence analysts supporting
the DNI in carrying out responsibilities as head of the IC and as the
principal adviser to the President, the NSC, and the HSC for
intelligence matters related to national security," the directive
explains.
"The NIC produces coordinated assessments of the IC's views on critical
national security issues. The NIC's flagship product is the National
Intelligence Estimate, which provides the authoritative written
judgments of the IC on national security issues for the United States
Government."
See Intelligence Community Directive ICD-207, "National Intelligence
Council," June 9, 2008:
http://www.fas.org/irp/dni/icd/icd-207.pdf
The most recent unclassified product of the NIC that has been publicly
disclosed is "Disruptive Civil Technologies: Six Technologies With
Potential Impacts on US Interests Out to 2025," Conference Report,
April 2008:
http://www.fas.org/irp/nic/disruptive.pdf
TUBERCULOSIS AND MORE FROM CRS
Some new reports from the Congressional Research Service obtained by
Secrecy News that have not been made readily available to the public
include the following.
"Tsunami Detection and Warnings for the United States," May 28, 2008:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/RL34506.pdf
"Nanotechnology: A Policy Primer," May 20, 2008:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/RL34511.pdf
"Nanotechnology and U.S. Competitiveness: Issues and Options," May 15,
2008:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/RL34493.pdf
"The Army's M-4 Carbine: Background and Issues for Congress," May 30,
2008:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/weapons/RS22888.pdf
"Tuberculosis: International Efforts and Issues for Congress," updated
May 1, 2008:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/RL34246.pdf
"Russia's Economic Performance and Policies and Their Implications for
the United States," May 30, 2008:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/row/RL34512.pdf
_______________________________________________
Secrecy News is written by Steven Aftergood and published by the
Federation of American Scientists.
The Secrecy News Blog is at:
http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/
To SUBSCRIBE to Secrecy News, go to:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/news/secrecy/subscribe.html
To UNSUBSCRIBE, go to
http://www.fas.org/sgp/news/secrecy/unsubscribe.html
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Secrecy News is archived at:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/news/secrecy/index.html
_______________________
Steven Aftergood
Project on Government Secrecy
Federation of American Scientists
web: www.fas.org/sgp/index.html
email: saftergood@fas.org
voice: (202) 454-4691
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rag Readers:
One has to wonder where the "hands off policy"
having to do with investigative research poking
around things Chinese is coming from?
SECRECY NEWS
from the FAS Project on Government Secrecy
Volume 2008, Issue No. 57
June 11, 2008
Secrecy News Blog: http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/
Support Secrecy News
http://www.fas.org/sgp/donate.html
** REPORTER BILL GERTZ SUBPOENAED TO TESTIFY ON SOURCES
** THE WILLARD REPORT ON UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURES (1982)
** REFORM OF THE STATE SECRETS PRIVILEGE
REPORTER BILL GERTZ SUBPOENAED TO TESTIFY ON SOURCES
Washington Times reporter Bill Gertz was subpoenaed by a federal court
last month to testify regarding his sources for a 2006 story relating
to alleged Chinese espionage.
While Mr. Gertz has been a prolific reporter of classified information
for two decades and has even republished classified documents in his
books, his current legal entanglement arises not from national security
secrecy but from grand jury secrecy.
A court found that Mr. Gertz had disclosed secret grand jury
information pertaining to the trial of Chi Mak and others who were
accused and later convicted of illegal exports of defense technology to
China.
"During the course of proceedings in this case, Washington Times
reporter Bill Gertz authored a May 16, 2006 article that revealed
secret information before a grand jury," wrote Judge Cormac J. Carney
in a May 1, 2008 Order.
Judge Carney noted that the Government had conducted a year-long
investigation of the matter and interviewed "over 500 persons of
interest" without being able to identify the source of the grand jury
leak.
"Accordingly, the Court finds it necessary to subpoena Mr. Gertz to
testify regarding the identity of the source that provided him with the
grand jury information," the Judge wrote.
http://www.fas.org/sgp/jud/gertz050108.pdf
In a robustly argued response on June 5, attorneys for Mr. Gertz urged
the Court to withdraw the subpoena.
Mr. Gertz's story, they said, had not actually revealed "matters
occurring before the Grand Jury." Rather, he had reported on the
intentions of prosecutors and relied on non-Grand Jury sources,
including public statements by prosecutors. In support of their
position, they cited a ruling in U.S.A. v. Rosen (the "AIPAC" case) in
which the Court had declined to find a violation of grand jury secrecy
under somewhat similar circumstances.
"There is simply no evidence contained in the record proving, or even
tending to prove, that actual Grand Jury information was disclosed to
Mr. Gertz."
Along with other factual and legal arguments, Mr. Gertz's attorneys
also asserted a First Amendment privilege on his behalf. The subpoena,
including the command for Mr. Gertz to testify, "is unreasonable and
oppressive," they concluded.
http://www.fas.org/sgp/jud/gertz060508.pdf
Mr. Gertz had been ordered to appear in court in Santa Ana, California
on Friday, June 13, but that date has been postponed.
The subpoena of Mr. Gertz as well as his attorneys' response were both
first reported by Josh Gerstein in the New York Sun on May 30 and June
6.
Mr. Gertz is represented by attorneys Siobhan Cullen, Allen Farber, and
Charles Leeper of Drinker, Biddle & Reath. That law firm is probably
famous for other things, but it is best known to Secrecy News for
representing the plaintiffs in the 1953 Reynolds case that established
the state secrets privilege in the U.S. Supreme Court, and also for
attempting to re-open the case fifty years later on grounds that a
fraud had been committed upon the Court.
THE WILLARD REPORT ON UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURES (1982)
"Leak investigations do not focus on the receiving journalist for a
variety of reasons," according to a 1982 government report on
unauthorized disclosures of classified information.
One of those reasons is that "journalists are unlikely to divulge their
sources in response to a subpoena for documents or testimony before a
grand jury, and contempt sanctions against journalists in other types
of cases have not been effective."
In other words, according to this analysis, the traditional refusal of
journalists to cooperate with leak investigations protects them in the
long run by discouraging government officials from undertaking further
investigations.
The 1982 report, known as the "Willard Report" after its chairman,
Richard K. Willard, is a minor classic of cold war secrecy. Though
frequently cited in the literature, it has not been available online
until now (thanks to S).
See "Report of the Interdepartmental Group on Unauthorized Disclosures
of Classified Information" (the "Willard" Report), March 31, 1982:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/library/willard.pdf
REFORM OF THE STATE SECRETS PRIVILEGE
"In too many cases, claims of state secrets have succeeded in keeping
important cases out of court entirely or preventing courts from
considering evidence vital to the outcome of a case," said Rep. John
Conyers, Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, at a January 29
hearing on "Reform of the State Secrets Privilege". The record of that
hearing has just been published.
http://www.fas.org/sgp/congress/2008/statesecref.html
In one recent case, a federal judge did what others have often failed
to do in state secrets cases, which is to critically examine the basis
for the assertion of the state secrets privilege.
Judge Sidney I. Schenkier of the Northern District of Illinois
conducted hearings as well as in camera review of documents that the
government insisted were protected by the state secrets privilege. In
an April 16, 2008 ruling in the case of M. Afikur Rahman v. Michael
Chertoff, he rejected some of the government's privilege claims and
affirmed others.
http://www.fas.org/sgp/jud/statesec/rahman041608.pdf
The 1953 Reynolds case that established the Supreme Court precedent on
the state secrets privilege was examined most recently by writer Barry
Siegel in the new book "Claim of Privilege: A Mysterious Plane Crash, A
Landmark Supreme Court Case, and the Rise of State Secrets" (Harper
Collins, June 2008):
http://barry-siegel.com/ClaimOfPrivilege.html
_______________________________________________
Secrecy News is written by Steven Aftergood and published by the
Federation of American Scientists.
The Secrecy News Blog is at:
http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/
To SUBSCRIBE to Secrecy News, go to:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/news/secrecy/subscribe.html
To UNSUBSCRIBE, go to
http://www.fas.org/sgp/news/secrecy/unsubscribe.html
OR email your request to saftergood@fas.org
Secrecy News is archived at:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/news/secrecy/index.html
_______________________
Steven Aftergood
Project on Government Secrecy
Federation of American Scientists
web: www.fas.org/sgp/index.html
email: saftergood@fas.org
voice: (202) 454-4691
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
SECRECY NEWS
from the FAS Project on Government Secrecy
Volume 2008, Issue No. 56
June 9, 2008
Secrecy News Blog: http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/
Support Secrecy News
http://www.fas.org/sgp/donate.html
** DIA REPORTS ON LOSS OF JOSE PADILLA INTERROGATION VIDEO
** HOUSE BILL EMBRACES CONTROLLED UNCLASSIFIED INFO
** PRESIDENTIAL DIRECTIVE ORDERS SHARING OF BIOMETRIC DATA
DIA REPORTS ON LOSS OF JOSE PADILLA INTERROGATION VIDEO
In a report to the National Archives released last week, the Defense
Intelligence Agency (DIA) said it could not locate a recording of the
final interrogation of Jose Padilla, the American citizen who was
designated an enemy combatant and later convicted of conspiracy to
commit murder.
The missing Padilla interrogation video was first reported in February
2007 by Michael Isikoff and Mark Hosenball in Newsweek. Their story
triggered a legal inquiry by the National Archives, which advised DIA
that the disposal of such a record is "not authorized."
DIA reported back to the National Archives in December 2007 in a terse
four-paragraph letter concerning the loss.
Unlike the case of the CIA's reported destruction of videotaped
interrogations of al Qaeda suspects, DIA did not say that the Padilla
tape was deliberately destroyed, only that it could not be found.
A government official with some knowledge of the events told Secrecy
News that he "heard" the Padilla DVD had been transferred from DIA to
CIA, which may have destroyed it. But there is no independent evidence
of that, and it may not be true.
What is true is that DIA and the National Archives failed to establish
exactly how the loss of the Padilla interrogation recording actually
occurred.
An agency that unlawfully or accidentally destroys a record is required
by regulation (36 C.F.R. 1228.104) to provide "a statement of the exact
circumstances surrounding the alienation, defacing, or destruction of
the records."
But in its report, DIA did not explain "the exact circumstances" of the
loss and the National Archives did not press the matter.
The exchange of correspondence between DIA and the Archives regarding
the Padilla interrogation video was released to the Federation of
American Scientists last week under the Freedom of Information Act.
http://www.fas.org/sgp/othergov/intel/padilla.pdf
HOUSE BILL EMBRACES CONTROLLED UNCLASSIFIED INFO
Rep. Jane Harman (D-CA) and several colleagues last week introduced a
bill that endorses and builds upon the recent White House policy
statement on "controlled unclassified information" (CUI), which is
information that though not classified is subject to restricted access
(Secrecy News, May 28).
Although entitled "The Improving Public Access to Documents Act," it is
far from clear that the new bill would serve that purpose. Rather, it
would "require the Secretary of Homeland Security to develop and
administer policies, procedures, and programs to promote the
implementation of the Controlled Unclassified Information Framework."
http://www.fas.org/sgp/congress/2008/hr6193.html
While well-intentioned, the bill seems premature at best.
From Secrecy News' perspective, it is tactically unwise to lock into
statute an executive branch "framework" that still remains largely
undefined and that may be subject to significant modification in the
course of its projected five-year implementation period. The CUI
Office at the National Archives that is supposed to develop the
implementing regulations referenced in the bill does not even have its
own funding this year, and has also missed the funding cycle for next
year.
Among other questionable features (and some positive ones), the bill
regrettably endorses the executive branch view of the Freedom of
Information Act as the proper channel for public access to agency
information on homeland security and related topics.
Thus, the bill says, "The Department [of Homeland Security] should
start with the presumption that all homeland security information that
is not properly classified, or marked as controlled unclassified
information and otherwise exempt from disclosure, should be shared with
the public pursuant to section 552 of title 5, United States Code
(commonly referred to as the `Freedom of Information Act')."
This is not a "presumption" -- disclosure of non-exempt information
pursuant to FOIA is already required by law -- and it would not
"improve public access." To the contrary, by presenting disclosure
under FOIA as the primary alternative to classification or control, the
bill would place an impossible burden on the FOIA process, and would
diminish agency responsibility to unilaterally disclose homeland
security information that has not been formally requested.
A hearing on the new bill will be held before the House Homeland
Security Subcommittee on Intelligence on June 11.
PRESIDENTIAL DIRECTIVE ORDERS SHARING OF BIOMETRIC DATA
The White House last week issued a National Security Presidential
Directive (NSPD-59) to provide a framework for government agencies to
collect, maintain and share biometric data such as fingerprints and
other physiological or behavioral characteristics of suspected
terrorists.
"The ability to positively identify those individuals who may do harm
to Americans and the Nation is crucial to protecting the Nation," the
directive states.
"Many agencies already collect biographic and biometric information in
their identification and screening processes. With improvements in
biometric technologies, and in light of its demonstrated value as a
tool to protect national security, it is important to ensure agencies
use compatible methods and procedures in the collection, storage, use,
analysis, and sharing of biometric information."
"Through integrated processes and interoperable systems, agencies
shall, to the fullest extent permitted by law, make available to other
agencies all biometric and associated biographic and contextual
information associated with persons for whom there is an articulable
and reasonable basis for suspicion that they pose a threat to national
security."
"The Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy," who
hasn't been heard from much lately, "shall coordinate executive branch
biometric science and technology policy."
The new directive on "Biometrics for Identification and Screening to
Enhance National Security" was issued on June 5, 2008 as both National
Security Presidential Directive 59 and Homeland Security Presidential
Directive 24.
http://www.fas.org/irp/offdocs/nspd/nspd-59.html
_______________________________________________
Secrecy News is written by Steven Aftergood and published by the
Federation of American Scientists.
The Secrecy News Blog is at:
http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/
To SUBSCRIBE to Secrecy News, go to:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/news/secrecy/subscribe.html
To UNSUBSCRIBE, go to
http://www.fas.org/sgp/news/secrecy/unsubscribe.html
OR email your request to saftergood@fas.org
Secrecy News is archived at:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/news/secrecy/index.html
_______________________
Steven Aftergood
Project on Government Secrecy
Federation of American Scientists
web: www.fas.org/sgp/index.html
email: saftergood@fas.org
voice: (202) 454-4691
---------------------------------------------------------- Rag Readers:
Is it just me, or does it look like some parts of our
government have decided to actually do their job?
See below.
SECRECY NEWS
from the FAS Project on Government Secrecy
Volume 2008, Issue No. 54
June 4, 2008
Secrecy News Blog: http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/
Support Secrecy News
http://www.fas.org/sgp/donate.html
** OBAMA INTRODUCES NEW TRANSPARENCY LEGISLATION
** OPEN SOURCE CENTER VIEWS ANIMAL POX VIRUS RESEARCH
** DOD: DETAINEES ARE TO BE TREATED HUMANELY, NO EXCEPTIONS
OBAMA INTRODUCES NEW TRANSPARENCY LEGISLATION
On the same day that he became the presumptive Democratic nominee for
President, Sen. Barack Obama introduced new legislation to expand
public access to information about government spending.
The bill, known as "The Strengthening Transparency and Accountability
in Federal Spending Act of 2008," was crafted on a bi-partisan basis
with Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK).
Sen. John McCain, the Republican presidential candidate, is also an
original co-sponsor of the bill, as is Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE).
The new bill would build upon and improve previous efforts by Senators
Obama and Coburn to provide public access to federal grant and contract
information through the USASpending.gov web site. Among other things,
it would require copies of each federal contract and details of the
bidding process to be published online.
The provisions of the bill were outlined in a joint press release on
June 3.
http://www.fas.org/sgp/news/2008/06/obama-coburn.html
"People from every State in this great Nation sent us to Congress to
defend their rights and stand up for their interests," Sen. Obama said
in a prepared floor statement. "To do that we have to tear down the
barriers that separate citizens from the democratic process and to
shine a brighter light on the inner workings of Washington. This bill
helps to shine that light."
http://www.fas.org/sgp/congress/2008/s3077.html
While most government agencies have cooperated with the contracting
transparency requirements that were adopted in 2006, some intelligence
agencies have dragged their heels in opposition. The Defense
Intelligence Agency and the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency,
which used to disclose their unclassified contracts, actually withheld
such information from the USASpending.gov database in 2007 and 2008
(Secrecy News, Dec. 18, 2007).
OPEN SOURCE CENTER VIEWS ANIMAL POX VIRUS RESEARCH
Dozens of countries are conducting research involving animal pox
viruses, according to a descriptive survey performed for the U.S.
intelligence community's Open Source Center.
There are various potential public health and security concerns
associated with pox viruses (such as smallpox), the OSC report says in
a background discussion.
"Naturally occurring smallpox disease was eliminated worldwide in 1977.
Routine vaccination of US civilians against smallpox was discontinued in
1971, but allowed for travelers to endemic regions until the late 1970s.
In most other countries, vaccination of the general population ended by
1982. As a result of this halt in vaccination, most of the US
population could now become ill with smallpox disease should it be
reintroduced by accident or intentionally."
"In addition, humans are susceptible to several naturally occurring
viruses related to smallpox, one of which could become a serious
disease risk through natural evolution. Routine smallpox vaccination
previously protected against these viruses. Finally, there is concern
about the potential creation of a genetically engineered poxvirus that
might be markedly pathogenic for humans."
Like most finished intelligence products from the Open Source Center,
the report on animal pox viruses has not been approved for public
release. But a copy was obtained independently by Secrecy News.
See "Recent Worldwide Research on Animal Pox Viruses," MITRE
Corporation, January 2008:
http://www.fas.org/irp/dni/osc/pox.pdf
DOD: DETAINEES ARE TO BE TREATED HUMANELY, NO EXCEPTIONS
Not even a valid intelligence requirement can be used to justify cruel
treatment of a detained enemy combatant, according to Defense
Department doctrine on "detainee operations."
The Joint Chiefs of Staff last week issued a slightly revised version
of that DoD doctrine on detainees (the second revision this year).
The document reaffirms that all detainees must be treated humanely.
"Inhumane treatment of detainees is prohibited by the Uniform Code of
Military Justice, domestic and international law, and DOD policy.
There is no exception to this humane treatment requirement."
"Accordingly, the stress of combat operations, the need for
intelligence, or deep provocation by captured and/or detained personnel
does not justify deviation from this obligation."
See Joint Publication 3-63, "Detainee Operations," 30 May 2008:
http://www.fas.org/irp/doddir/dod/jp3_63.pdf
_______________________________________________
Secrecy News is written by Steven Aftergood and published by the
Federation of American Scientists.
The Secrecy News Blog is at:
http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/
To SUBSCRIBE to Secrecy News, go to:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/news/secrecy/subscribe.html
To UNSUBSCRIBE, go to
http://www.fas.org/sgp/news/secrecy/unsubscribe.html
OR email your request to saftergood@fas.org
Secrecy News is archived at:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/news/secrecy/index.html
--------------------------------------------------------------- Rag Readers:
Serious laps in nuclear weapons security?
Especially, at the base in North Dakota.
We have to guess that the scare of nuclear
material - not logged in - that showed up
a few months ago where it wasn't suppose
to be forced the Air Force to take action.
SECRECY NEWS
from the FAS Project on Government Secrecy
Volume 2008, Issue No. 53
June 3, 2008
Secrecy News Blog: http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/
Support Secrecy News
http://www.fas.org/sgp/donate.html
** FUSION CENTERS FACE "INSUFFICIENT" TERRORIST ACTIVITY
** AIR FORCE GRAPPLES WITH NUCLEAR WEAPONS SECURITY
** MORE ON U.S. SIGINT AND THE VIETNAM WAR
FUSION CENTERS FACE "INSUFFICIENT" TERRORIST ACTIVITY
Fusion centers are collaborative law enforcement and intelligence
organizations that were established all over the country after 9/11 to
share intelligence and counterterrorism information. But in the absence
of a widespread domestic terrorist threat, they have not consistently
demonstrated their value, according to a recent study.
"Fusion centers emerged almost spontaneously in response to a need by
state and local law enforcement for useful and usable intelligence
related to the evolving terrorist threat," observed Milton Nenneman, a
Sacramento police officer, in a master's thesis based on a survey of
California fusion centers.
But the terrorist threat has turned out to be "insufficient" to justify
or sustain the new fusion centers.
"There is, more often than not, insufficient purely 'terrorist'
activity to support a multi-jurisdictional and multi-governmental level
fusion center that exclusively processes terrorist activity," Lt.
Nenneman wrote.
As a result, "Fusion centers must consider analyzing or processing
other criminal activity, in addition to terrorist activity, in order to
maintain the skills and interest of the analysts, as well as the
participation and data collection of the emergency responder
community."
Basic questions regarding who the fusion centers are supposed to serve
and exactly what they are supposed to produce often lack satisfactory
answers, Lt. Nenneman reported.
While there is little consensus about the precise mission or function
of fusion centers, which vary widely, "the majority of fusion centers
operate exclusively in an analytical capacity rather than as having any
response or operational capacity."
"It would seem prudent to make a concerted effort to seek out the
emergency responder administrators and elected officials to given them
regular threat assessments and situational awareness briefings to
demonstrate the value and capability of the unit," he suggested.
See "An Examination of State and Local Fusion Centers and Data
Collection Methods" by Milton W. Nenneman, Naval Postgraduate School,
March 2008.
http://www.fas.org/irp/eprint/fusion.pdf
Related issues were examined by the Congressional Research Service in
"Fusion Centers: Issues and Options for Congress," updated January 18,
2008:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/intel/RL34070.pdf
See also "Homeland Security: Federal Efforts Are Helping to Alleviate
Some Challenges Encountered by State and Local Information Fusion
Centers," Government Accountability Office Report No. GAO-08-35,
October 2007:
http://www.fas.org/irp/gao/fusion.pdf
The Electronic Privacy Information Center recently won disclosure under
the Freedom of Information Act of records documenting federal efforts to
curtail public disclosure of fusion center information in the state of
Virginia.
http://epic.org/privacy/virginia_fusion/
AIR FORCE GRAPPLES WITH NUCLEAR WEAPONS SECURITY
The U.S. Air Force last week issued revised procedures for nuclear
weapons maintenance and accounting. Meanwhile, the Air Force continues
to suffer serious lapses in nuclear weapons security.
The new procedures include increased supervision and auditing
requirements for weapon storage, handling and transport.
"Nuclear weapons require special consideration because of their
political and military importance, destructive power, cost, and
potential consequences of an accident or unauthorized act," the Air
Force reiterated.
See Air Force Instruction 21-204, Supplement 1, "Nuclear Weapons
Maintenance Procedures," updated 28 May 2008:
http://www.fas.org/irp/doddir/usaf/afi21-204-sup1.pdf
Recurring defects in nuclear weapons security were identified in a
recent inspection at Minot Air Force Base, Air Force Times reported
last week. Security "broke down on multiple levels during simulated
attacks across the base, including against nuclear weapons storage
areas," the paper said, citing an undisclosed inspection report from
the Defense Threat Reduction Agency.
See "5th Bomb Wing flunks nuclear inspection" by Michael Hoffman, Air
Force Times, May 30:
http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2008/05/airforce_minot_failure_053008w/
MORE ON U.S. SIGINT AND THE VIETNAM WAR
The National Security Agency has released some additional declassified
passages from its major historical study "Spartans in Darkness:
American SIGINT and the Indochina War, 1945-1975."
The large bulk of the 500-page report was declassified last December
(Secrecy News, Jan. 7). But in response to a mandatory declassification
review appeal from researcher Michael Ravnitzky, further
declassifications on 90 pages were released last month, including
disclosures authorized by "other government agencies."
Most of the new disclosures appear to be insignificant, not to say
tiresome. For example, several previously redacted references to the
term "COMINT" (i.e., "communications intelligence") have been approved
for release. Numerous allusions to the French war in Indochina have
been okayed too. And several mentions of the year 1959, which had been
censored for reasons that are hard to fathom, have been restored.
Other newly declassified lines include these:
"With the deaths of Kennedy and Diem, the struggle in the South entered
a period of enormous flux and instability. A plan developed by the
Joint Chiefs of Staff, under guidance from the Kennedy administration,
to reduce American forces in Vietnam by the end of 1965 to one-quarter
the 1963 level (25,000), was quietly scrapped." (p. 171).
"There had always been a suspicion going back to the 1950s about the
integrity of South Vietnamese security." (page 463).
"Westmoreland called the battle in Kontum Province the 'beginning of a
great defeat of the enemy'." (page 317).
"As for the Tet Offensive, despite official and personal claims, SIGINT
[signals intelligence] did not deliver an adequate warning in January
1968." (p. 465).
Perhaps most substantive is the brief discussion of a 1968 report of
the President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board on the performance
of intelligence in Vietnam (pp. 340-41).
The 90 pages that include newly declassified material are posted here
(8 MB PDF file):
http://www.fas.org/irp/nsa/spartans/additional.pdf
The previously released body of the report (not yet including the newly
disclosed passages) can be found here:
http://www.fas.org/irp/nsa/spartans/index.html
_______________________________________________
Secrecy News is written by Steven Aftergood and published by the
Federation of American Scientists.
The Secrecy News Blog is at:
http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/
To SUBSCRIBE to Secrecy News, go to:
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_______________________
Steven Aftergood
Project on Government Secrecy
Federation of American Scientists
web: www.fas.org/sgp/index.html
email: saftergood@fas.org
voice: (202) 454-4691
-----------------------------------------------------------
Rag Readers:
Our government grapples with issues of classification
of information. Two sides of the issue are presented.
SECRECY NEWS
from the FAS Project on Government Secrecy
Volume 2008, Issue No. 51
May 28, 2008
Secrecy News Blog: http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/
Support Secrecy News
http://www.fas.org/sgp/donate.html
** PRESS RELEASES COULD BECOME "CONTROLLED UNCLASSIFIED INFO"
** A DIFFERENT VIEW OF HOMELAND SECURITY INFORMATION
PRESS RELEASES COULD BECOME "CONTROLLED UNCLASSIFIED INFO"
Government press releases could be temporarily marked as "controlled
unclassified information" to protect them from premature disclosure,
according to an official Background paper on the new White House
information security policy.
Controlled unclassified information, or CUI, refers to information that
does not meet the standards for classification but that is considered
too sensitive for unrestricted public disclosure. The new CUI policy
was issued by President Bush on May 7.
While the precise definitions of CUI and the implementing policy
directives remain to be written, there are indications that CUI could
end up as a catch-all category for information that agencies wish to
withhold.
Thus, "embargoed press releases" could be designated as CUI for at
least a few hours, according to the newly released Background paper (at
page 5, paragraph 8).
http://www.fas.org/sgp/cui/background.pdf
What if a member of the public wants to obtain information that some
agency has marked as CUI? Well, he should file a Freedom of
Information Act request, the Background paper says.
"The FOIA process will provide a straightforward way for anyone to seek
public release of CUI and ensure that all CUI for which there is a
demand will be carefully reviewed for release." (at page 6).
But anyone who has filed a FOIA request knows that the FOIA process is
not quite straightforward, nor does it produce a timely result.
The Background paper thus affirms a view that information deemed
"sensitive" shall be presumptively withheld, and any exceptions shall
be handled through the FOIA process.
In truth, this policy of presumptive withholding is pretty much how the
Bush Administration currently operates. And it makes no tangible
difference if agencies use 100 different terms for "sensitive" or
replace them all with one term, "controlled unclassified information."
But informal, discretionary disclosure was far more common in previous
Administrations, and it could be once again in some future
Administration. Institutionalizing presumptive withholding in a
government-wide CUI policy could make it harder to overcome current
secrecy practices when the opportunity to do so presents itself.
On the other hand, Allen Weinstein, the head of the National Archives
(NARA), told agencies in a May 21 memorandum that CUI would be narrowly
construed.
"NARA, as the Executive Agent and consistent with the President's
direction, will ensure that only that information which truly requires
the protections afforded by the President's memorandum be introduced
into the CUI Framework," he wrote.
http://www.fas.org/sgp/cui/nara052108.pdf
This implies that at least some information that is currently withheld
as sensitive might not qualify for the new CUI marking. But if so, the
criteria for excluding any existing sensitive information from the CUI
category have not been identified.
William J. Bosanko, the Director of the CUI Office, told public
interest groups at a May 27 meeting that he was committed to an open
and accountable CUI policy process.
Various resources on CUI and sensitive information policy are available
here:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/cui/index.html
A DIFFERENT VIEW OF HOMELAND SECURITY INFORMATION
Instead of new forms of secrecy, new mechanisms for actively informing
the public about threats to homeland security are needed, said Stephen
E. Flynn of the Council on Foreign Relations at a May 15 hearing of a
House Homeland Security subcommittee.
"The targets of choice for current and future terrorists will be
civilians and infrastructure," he said. "Safeguarding those targets
can only be accomplished with an informed, inspired and mobilized
public. The first preventers and the first responders are far more
likely to be civilians and local officials, not soldiers or federal law
enforcement officers."
On September 11, 2001, Mr. Flynn recalled, the only hijacked aircraft
that was prevented from reaching its target was stopped not by security
professionals with Top Secret clearances but "by one thing alone: an
alert and heroic citizenry."
Yet "overwhelmingly, the national defense and federal law enforcement
community have chosen secrecy over openness when it comes to providing
the general public with details about the nature of the terrorist
threat and the actions required to mitigate and respond to that risk."
"The discounting of the public can be traced to a culture of secrecy
and paternalism" that is rooted in the Cold War, when the Soviet threat
dictated adoption of a highly compartmented security regime. "Despite
the passage of nearly two decades since the fall of the Berlin Wall,
this secretive system remains almost entirely intact."
"What is required is a truly collaborative approach which engages civil
society and taps extensive private-sector capabilities and ingenuity for
managing risk and coping with disasters. A critical barrier to
advancing collaboration," Mr. Flynn said, "is excessive secrecy
throughout the federal government reinforced by a reflexive tendency to
classify material or to designate it as 'For Official Use Only' or
'Treat as Classified'."
A copy of his May 15 testimony before the House Homeland Security
Subcommittee on National Security is available here:
http://www.fas.org/irp/congress/2008_hr/051508flynn.pdf
Stephen Flynn, a former Coast Guard officer, addressed related issues
in the March/April 2008 issue of Foreign Affairs and at greater length
in a 2007 book "The Edge of Disaster: Rebuilding a Resilient Nation."
While such views are congenial to proponents of open government, they
stop short of answering all of the questions that a responsible policy
maker (let alone a classification officer) would feel obliged to ask.
Under exactly what conditions does public disclosure of infrastructure
vulnerabilities promote security rather than diminish it? As a
practical matter, how does one distinguish between those types of
information, such as personal privacy or confidential source data, that
everyone agrees should be protected and threat information that an
engaged public needs to know?
There may not be simple answers to such questions. But by framing the
issue in a way that takes public information needs into account, Mr.
Flynn and others are helping to redefine the terms of the debate.
--------------------------------------------------------------------- SECRECY NEWS
from the FAS Project on Government Secrecy
Volume 2008, Issue No. 50
May 23, 2008
Secrecy News Blog: http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/
Support Secrecy News
http://www.fas.org/sgp/donate.html
** INTEL SURVEILLANCE COURT GETS TWO NEW JUDGES
INTEL SURVEILLANCE COURT GETS TWO NEW JUDGES
Two new judges were named to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance
Court this week, Secrecy News has learned, one a Clinton appointee and
one a Reagan appointee.
Judge Mary A. McLaughlin of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and
Judge James B. Zagel of the Northern District of Illinois were
appointed to seven year terms on the secret court by the Chief Justice
to replace Judge James G. Carr and Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, whose
terms expired on May 18.
The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court is responsible for
reviewing and approving government applications under the Foreign
Intelligence Surveillance Act for domestic electronic surveillance and
physical search of suspected foreign intelligence agents or terrorists.
But it does more than that. The Court also reinterprets the terms of
the Act in an undisclosed fashion, producing in effect a body of
"secret law," a matter discussed at an April 30 hearing of the Senate
Judiciary Committee.
"The FISC has in fact issued... legally significant decisions that
remain classified and have not been released to the public," observed
Judge John D. Bates, a member of the FIS Court, when he denied an ACLU
motion for disclosure of portions of those decisions last December.
The appointment of new judges to the FIS Court assumes particular
importance today because of a proposal pending in Congress that would
refer existing lawsuits alleging illegal warrantless surveillance to
the secret FIS Court in what would likely be a severely constrained
adjudicative process. The proposal is being considered as an
alternative to granting outright immunity to telephone companies that
allegedly cooperated with the President's surveillance program.
Judge Mary A. McLaughlin was appointed to the bench in 2000 by
President Clinton. She was formerly an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the
District of Columbia, and a special counsel to the Senate Judiciary
Subcommittee on terrorism during the Ruby Ridge hearings in 1995.
Judge James B. Zagel was appointed in 1987 by President Reagan. Judge
Zagel is "an intelligent, tough-minded jurist," said the Chicago
Council of Lawyers, a public interest association, in a 1991
evaluation. However, "some lawyers are concerned that he will bring a
political agenda to bear in certain classes of cases."
The new appointments were confirmed for Secrecy News today by Sheldon
L. Snook of the administrative office at the D.C. District Court.
A new appointment to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of
Review, an appeals court, has not yet been formally announced, he said.
But the Providence Journal (RI) reported on April 14 that Judge Morris
Sheppard Arnold of the 8th District had been named to the Review Court.
An updated roster of the membership of the Foreign Intelligence
Surveillance Court is here:
http://www.fas.org/irp/agency/doj/fisa/court2008.html
"During calendar year 2007, the Government made 2,371 applications to
the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court for authority to conduct
electronic surveillance and physical search for foreign intelligence
purposes," the Justice Department told Congress in the latest annual
report on FISA activity.
http://www.fas.org/irp/agency/doj/fisa/2007rept.pdf
_______________________________________________
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SECRECY NEWS
from the FAS Project on Government Secrecy
Volume 2008, Issue No. 49
May 22, 2008
Secrecy News Blog: http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/
Support Secrecy News
http://www.fas.org/sgp/donate.html
** HPSCI: CLASSIFICATION OF CYBER SECURITY PROGRAM IS "EXCESSIVE"
** AN ONLINE INDEX TO AIR FORCE HISTORICAL RECORDS
** NARA ESTABLISHES "CONTROLLED UNCLASSIFIED INFO" OFFICE
** CHINA'S ECONOMIC CONDITIONS, AND MORE FROM CRS
HPSCI: CLASSIFICATION OF CYBER SECURITY PROGRAM IS "EXCESSIVE"
The National Cyber Security Initiative, which is "the single largest...
and most important initiative" in next year's budget, is being conducted
under "excessive classification," the House Permanent Select Committee
on Intelligence (HPSCI) said in its new report on the 2009 intelligence
authorization act.
For the cyber security program to function as intended, "it will
require a partnership with industry unlike any model that currently
exists. The excessive classification of the [Initiative], however,
militates against the collaboration necessary to achieve that
partnership."
That view coincides with the recent assessment of the Senate Armed
Services Committee regarding overclassification of the cybersecurity
program (Secrecy News, 05/15/08).
The 121-page House Intelligence Committee report is full of grist for
the intelligence policy mill.
The Committee flexed its oversight muscles by imposing a limit on
spending for covert action to no more than 25 percent of the allocated
funds until each member of the Committee has been briefed on all covert
actions.
"The obligation to report to the committees is not negotiable," the
report declared. "It is not an obligation that the President can ignore
at his discretion. It is not an obligation that can be evaded by
claiming that briefing the congressional intelligence committees will
require other committees to be briefed. It is not an obligation that
can be evaded by broad assertions of executive power."
The Committee would establish a new Inspector General for the entire
intelligence community, and would impose new limits and new reporting
requirements on intelligence contractors.
The Republican minority said that more should have been done to combat
unauthorized disclosures of classified information:
"We are disappointed that the Committee has held no hearings and
conducted little to no substantial oversight on this issue during this
Congress. In addition, we are concerned that the issue is becoming
increasingly politicized, sometimes under the false premise that there
are 'good leaks' and 'bad leaks'. The Committee should take a firm and
clear position that no unauthorized disclosures of classified
information should be tolerated."
The minority also insisted that "the United States does not torture," a
view that is increasingly hard to reconcile with the public record,
including a new report from the Justice Department Inspector General
that catalogued many abusive forms of interrogation by U.S. military
and intelligence personnel.
See the House Intelligence Committee Report on the 2009 Intelligence
Authorization Act, H.Rep. 110-665, May 21:
http://www.fas.org/irp/congress/2008_rpt/hrpt110-665.html
AN ONLINE INDEX TO AIR FORCE HISTORICAL RECORDS
A new searchable index of hundreds of thousands of documents held by
the Air Force Historical Research Agency has been created by private
researchers and posted online.
http://www.airforcehistoryindex.org/
The index does not provide access to the underlying documents, which
must be requested from AFHRA. Nevertheless, it has several interesting
features.
For one thing, it represents a step forward in improving accessibility
to declassified government records. The new Air Force index provides a
simple illustration of what can be done to alert the interested public
to the existence of particular records, and suggests how much more
still needs to be done, including providing online access to the
records themselves.
Second, the new index represents an unusual, implicit public-private
partnership. Researchers gained access to the Air Force bibliographical
data and installed a search engine on top, then posted it online in the
public interest. The researchers said they preferred to remain
anonymous.
NARA ESTABLISHES "CONTROLLED UNCLASSIFIED INFO" OFFICE
The National Archives and Records Administration today announced the
establishment of a new Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) Office
that is intended to lead the implementation and oversight of a new White
House policy on CUI, which is unclassified information that is deemed to
require protection from disclosure (Secrecy News, 05/12/08).
The CUI Office, to be headed by Information Security Oversight Office
director William J. Bosanko, is tasked with developing implementation
guidance, training, and oversight of the new government-wide policy.
http://www.fas.org/sgp/news/2008/05/cui052208.html
CHINA'S ECONOMIC CONDITIONS, AND MORE FROM CRS
Noteworthy new reports from the Congressional Research Service,
obtained by Secrecy News, include the following.
"U.S. Nuclear Cooperation With India: Issues for Congress," updated May
20, 2008:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/nuke/RL33016.pdf
"Nuclear Weapons: The Reliable Replacement Warhead Program," updated
May 19, 2008:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/nuke/RL32929.pdf
"Suits Against Terrorist States By Victims of Terrorism," updated May
1, 2008:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/terror/RL31258.pdf
"Syria: Background and U.S. Relations," updated May 1, 2008:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/mideast/RL33487.pdf
"China's Economic Conditions," updated May 13, 2008:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/row/RL33534.pdf
_______________________________________________
Secrecy News is written by Steven Aftergood and published by the
Federation of American Scientists.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rag Readers:
Based on the information in the second blurb, one
has to wonder whether Mossad provided correct
intel regarding Syrian nuclear capabilities.
KK
SECRECY NEWS
from the FAS Project on Government Secrecy
Volume 2008, Issue No. 48
May 21, 2008
Secrecy News Blog: http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/
Support Secrecy News
http://www.fas.org/sgp/donate.html
** INTEL AGENCY ACTION URGED AGAINST SPACE, CYBER THREATS
** NORTH KOREA-SYRIA CONTACTS VIEWED BY OPEN SOURCE CENTER
INTEL AGENCY ACTION URGED AGAINST SPACE, CYBER THREATS
U.S. defense intelligence agencies should aim to "eliminate" the
capabilities of opponents to operate effectively against the United
States from outer space or cyber space, according to a new Pentagon
strategy for defense intelligence.
Defense intelligence shall "eliminate any advantage held by our
adversaries to operate from and within the space and cyber domains,"
says the new strategy document, "Defense Intelligence 2008" (strategic
objective IV).
"As stated in the U.S. National Space Policy, the focus of defense
intelligence in space will be to ensure full situational awareness for
military and civilian decision-makers, support military planning
initiatives, and satisfy operational requirements. As addressed within
the Comprehensive National Cybersecurity Initiative, cyberspace has
become a vital national interest economically, militarily and
culturally, and the current patchwork of passive defense is likely to
fail in the face of greater vulnerabilities and more sophisticated
threats."
"Defense intelligence must do its part to defeat this critical threat."
See "Defense Intelligence 2008" (flagged by BeSpacific.com):
http://www.fas.org/irp/agency/dod/2008strategy.pdf
NORTH KOREA-SYRIA CONTACTS VIEWED BY OPEN SOURCE CENTER
Intergovernmental contacts between North Korean and Syrian officials
during the last two years were scrutinized by the DNI Open Source
Center (OSC), but even in retrospect the available record presents no
indication of joint work on a secret nuclear facility destroyed by
Israel last September.
"A review of available North Korean and Syrian print and online media
in the period 2005-2007 has yielded the names of dozens of DPRK and
Syrian officials involved in military, scientific, trade, and other
aspects of bilateral relations," the OSC analysis said.
However, "no obvious indications of covert military cooperation
surfaced in the highly-censored media of North Korea or Syria in this
period."
In other words, assuming the allegations of clandestine nuclear
cooperation are true, open source intelligence provided no clues
concerning the activity.
Like most other OSC products, the new analysis has not been approved
for public release. But a copy was obtained independently by Secrecy
News.
See "DPRK-Syria Bilateral Contacts, 2005-2007," Open Source Center, May
2, 2008:
http://www.fas.org/irp/dni/osc/dprk-syria.pdf
_______________________________________________
Secrecy News is written by Steven Aftergood and published by the
Federation of American Scientists.
------------------------------------------------------------------- Dear Rag Readers:
I think I am going to be happy that I downloaded certain
government documents that had been declared "open
source." It looks like things might be changing. Once
again.
SECRECY NEWS
from the FAS Project on Government Secrecy
Volume 2008, Issue No. 47
May 19, 2008
Secrecy News Blog: http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/
Support Secrecy News
http://www.fas.org/sgp/donate.html
** BETTER SECRECY FOR OPEN SOURCE INTEL COLLECTORS URGED
** OPEN SOURCE CENTER KEEPS PUBLIC IN THE DARK
** THE "RED-DEAD" CANAL, AND MORE FROM CRS
BETTER SECRECY FOR OPEN SOURCE INTEL COLLECTORS URGED
U.S. intelligence employees who are collecting open source intelligence
online should do more to ensure that they are not identified as
intelligence personnel, the House Armed Services Committee said in its
new report on the 2009 Defense Authorization Act.
Failure to conceal the identity of open source intelligence collectors
could conceivably lead to spoofing, disinformation or other forms of
compromise.
"Efforts in this area [i.e., open source intelligence] will require
collectors to operate in benign cyberspace domains, such as media
websites and academic databases, as well as more hostile areas, such as
foreign language blogging websites and even websites maintained by
terrorist or state-actors groups. The committee is concerned about the
ability of our adversaries to be able to track and attribute collection
activities to U.S. and allied forces. Technology exists to provide
non-attribution services to protect identities, especially source
country of origin."
"The committee urges the Secretary of Defense to ensure, through the
use of all reasonable means, protection of government investigators
involved in gathering open source intelligence. These means should
include proven non-attribution services, as well as development of
appropriate tactics, techniques and procedures that are incorporated
into manuals and training programs."
The Committee generally welcomed the growing investment in open source
intelligence.
"The committee recognizes that open source intelligence provides a
critical complementary capability to traditional intelligence gathering
and analysis. The committee is encouraged by the growing recognition
within the military and intelligence communities of the value of open
source intelligence which is punctuated by the establishment of the
Open Source Center and the development of an Army field manual on open
source intelligence."
See "Non-attribution of open source intelligence research," excerpted
from House Report 110-652, May 16:
http://www.fas.org/irp/congress/2008_cr/nonattribution.html
A copy of the Army field manual on open source intelligence, which has
not been approved for public release, was obtained by Secrecy News and
is available here:
http://www.fas.org/irp/doddir/army/fmi2-22-9.pdf
OPEN SOURCE CENTER KEEPS PUBLIC IN THE DARK
The ODNI Open Source Center has imposed some rather ferocious controls
on its unclassified products in order to shield them from public
access.
Even when its publications are not copyrighted, they are to be "treated
as copyrighted" and in any case they "must not be disseminated to the
public."
The following notice was recently posted on the password-protected OSC
website:
"Content available via this website must not be disseminated to the
public. All content available via this website is treated as
copyrighted material and is provided for U.S. Government purposes only.
Such purposes may include rebroadcast, redistribution, dissemination,
copying, and hyper-linking provided it is for official U.S. Government
purposes only. Any removal or redistribution of content outside of
official U.S. Government channels requires the advance authorization of
OSC. Information under the control of external websites to which OSC may
provide hyperlinks may have separate restrictions and shall be accessed
only in accordance with any usage policies and restrictions applicable
to those sites."
"Authorized system users may use the content available via this website
to support official U.S. Government business and may disseminate this
information to other U.S. Government components. In disseminating this
content for other U.S Government component use, U.S. Government
personnel must use a password-protected email system. System users who
are partners (e.g. those who have a formal relationship with OSC), may
also use the content, as authorized by OSC, to support their official
business and must use a password-protected email system. Contractors
with access to this site may only have that access during the time
period as required to fulfill their contract responsibilities."
Meanwhile, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence has
scheduled a conference on open source intelligence on September 11-12
in Washington, DC which will be open to the public (advance
registration required). See:
http://www.dniopensource.org/
THE "RED-DEAD" CANAL, AND MORE FROM CRS
Noteworthy new reports from the Congressional Research Service that
have not been made readily available to the public include the
following.
"Defense Contracting in Iraq: Issues and Options for Congress," updated
May 6, 2008:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/natsec/RL33834.pdf
"The National Security Council: An Organizational Assessment," updated
April 21, 2008:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/natsec/RL30840.pdf
"Homeland Security Department: FY2009 Request for Appropriations," May
6, 2008:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/homesec/RL34482.pdf
"Japan's Nuclear Future: Policy Debate, Prospects, and U.S. Interests,"
May 9, 2008:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/nuke/RL34487.pdf
"Does Price Transparency Improve Market Efficiency? Implications of
Empirical Evidence in Other Markets for the Health Sector," updated
April 29, 2008:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/RL34101.pdf
"The "Red-Dead" Canal: Israeli-Arab Efforts to Restore the Dead Sea,"
May 13, 2008:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/mideast/RS22876.pdf
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dear Rag Readers:
Perhaps the following is the reason Google was ordered
to remove images from its archive site, and various websites
have been "cleansed."
SECRECY NEWS
from the FAS Project on Government Secrecy
Volume 2008, Issue No. 46
May 15, 2008
Secrecy News Blog: http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/
Support Secrecy News
http://www.fas.org/sgp/donate.html
** CYBER SECURITY INITIATIVE IS TOO SECRET, SASC SAYS
** SASC REBUFFS PENTAGON SECRECY PROPOSALS
** DOD RELEASES DIRECTIVE ON INFORMATION OPERATIONS
** OLC VIEWS THE OFFICE OF VICE PRESIDENT, 1955-2007
CYBER SECURITY INITIATIVE IS TOO SECRET, SASC SAYS
The new National Cyber Security Initiative that is intended to reduce
the vulnerability of government information networks and to devise an
information warfare doctrine is so highly classified that it is
undermining the deterrent value of the project, the Senate Armed
Services Committee (SASC) said in a new report.
"It is difficult to conceive how the United States could promulgate a
meaningful [information warfare] deterrence doctrine if every aspect of
our capabilities and operational concepts is classified," the Senate
report said.
During the cold war, "deterrence was not possible without letting
friends and adversaries alike know what capabilities we possessed and
the price that adversaries would pay in a real conflict. Some analogous
level of disclosure is necessary in the cyber domain."
(Or, as Dr. Strangelove put it 40 years ago, "The whole point of a
Doomsday Machine is lost if you keep it a secret!")
As things stand, the Senate report said, "virtually everything about
the [cyber security] initiative is highly classified, and most of the
information that is not classified is categorized as 'For Official Use
Only'."
"These restrictions preclude public education, awareness, and debate
about the policy and legal issues, real or imagined, that the
initiative poses in the areas of privacy and civil liberties."
"The committee strongly urges the administration to reconsider the
necessity and wisdom of the blanket, indiscriminate classification
levels established for the initiative."
The committee's remarks on the National Cyber Security Initiative were
published in its report on the 2009 defense authorization act,
excerpted here:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/congress/2008/sasc-cyber.html
SASC REBUFFS PENTAGON SECRECY PROPOSALS
The Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) rejected several legislative
proposals submitted by the Department of Defense that would have
increased the Department's secrecy authority.
One proposal would have granted the Defense Intelligence Agency an
extension of its "operational files" exemption from the Freedom of
Information Act, which expired at the end of 2007. Such an exemption
would permit the agency to dismiss FOIA requests for certain types of
intelligence records without searching or reviewing the records.
Another proposal would have created new criminal penalties for the
unauthorized disclosure or possession of maps and other geospatial
products that have been marked for Limited Distribution (LIMDIS).
"For several years, products bearing the LIMDIS caveat have wrongfully
been offered for sale to the public through a variety of means from
surplus stores to on-line auctions," the Pentagon said as justification
for the proposal.
"Current protection efforts have been ineffective, at least in part,
because of the lack of effective penalties for unauthorized possession,
sale, and use."
A third proposal would have expanded the government's authority to
withhold certain unclassified homeland security information from
disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act.
The three proposals, all of which were excluded from the Senate
Committee mark up of the 2009 defense authorization act, were presented
earlier this year in the Pentagon's own draft of the authorization bill
and were described in detail here:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/congress/2008/dod-2009.html
DOD RELEASES DIRECTIVE ON INFORMATION OPERATIONS
A 2006 Department of Defense directive on Information Operations, which
had previously been withheld as "For Official Use Only," was released
last week in response to a Freedom of Information Act request from the
Federation of American Scientists.
The directive, issued by the Under Secretary of Defense (Intelligence),
assigns baseline responsibilities for the conduct of information
operations, an umbrella term that includes electronic warfare, computer
network operations, psychological operations, military deception, and
operations security.
Among related capabilities, the directive cites "public affairs," the
purpose of which is "to communicate military objectives, counter
misinformation and disinformation, deter adversary actions, and
maintain the trust and confidence of the U.S. population, as well as
our friends and allies. Effective military operations shall be based
on credibility and shall not focus on directing or manipulating U.S.
public actions or opinion."
The New York Times reported on April 20 that the Pentagon had mobilized
numerous former military officials, some with unacknowledged financial
interests in Department programs, to help generate favorable news
coverage of the Bush Administration's war policies. It is not clear
(to me, at least) how this practice comports with the declared Pentagon
policy on public affairs, i.e. whether it violates the policy, or
implements it.
See "Information Operations," Department of Defense Directive O-3600.1,
August 14, 2006:
http://www.fas.org/irp/doddir/dod/info_ops.pdf
OLC VIEWS THE OFFICE OF VICE PRESIDENT, 1955-2007
The Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) at the Department of Justice has been
pondering the peculiar status of the Office of Vice President for
decades, and has recently released a collection of more than a dozen
OLC opinions regarding the Vice President, dating back to the
Eisenhower Administration.
"The Vice President, of course, occupies a unique position under the
Constitution. For some purposes, he is an officer of the Legislative
Branch, and his status in the Executive Branch is not altogether
clear," wrote William H. Rehnquist, the future Chief Justice, in a 1969
OLC opinion that foreshadowed a similar argument offered last year by
Vice President Cheney.
"With regard to the Vice President there is even a constitutional
question whether the President can direct him to abide by prescribed
standards of conduct," asserted Antonin Scalia in a 1974 OLC opinion.
"The Vice Presidential Office is an independent constitutional office,
and the Vice President is independently elected. Just as the President
cannot remove the Vice President, it would seem he may not dictate his
standards of conduct," the future Justice Scalia wrote.
The OLC opinions concerning the Vice President, which were previously
provided to the House Judiciary and Oversight Committees, were released
by OLC in response to a Freedom of Information Act request from the
Federation of American Scientists. See:
http://www.fas.org/irp/agency/doj/olc/index.html
------------------------------------------------------------------------- SECRECY NEWS
from the FAS Project on Government Secrecy
Volume 2008, Issue No. 44
May 8, 2008
Secrecy News Blog: http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/
Support Secrecy News
http://www.fas.org/sgp/donate.html
** PROGRAM TRACKS NUCLEAR MATERIALS WORLDWIDE
** PRESSURE BUILDS TO IMPROVE OVERSIGHT OF INTEL CONTRACTORS
PROGRAM TRACKS NUCLEAR MATERIALS WORLDWIDE
An interagency program established in 2006 by a classified Presidential
directive is working to gather information on the status and security of
nuclear materials around the world and to characterize them for forensic
purposes. Remarkably, such a thing had never been done before in a
rigorous way.
"On August 28, 2006, the national-level Nuclear Materials Information
Program (NMIP) was established via National and Homeland Security
Presidential Directive (NSPD-48/HSPD-17)," said Rolf Mowatt-Larssen,
director of the Department of Energy Office of Intelligence and
Counterintelligence at an April 2, 2008 hearing of the Senate Homeland
Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.
"While the specifics of NMIP are classified, the goal of NMIP is to
consolidate information from all sources pertaining to worldwide
nuclear materials holdings and their security status into an integrated
and continuously updated information management system," he said.
"We have prioritized this program to focus on countries and facilities
that we regard in the intelligence community to be of the highest
risk," said Mr. Mowatt-Larssen at another hearing last October 10. "So
we have in fact identified the high-risk sites. We have identified what
type of material is there. We have an assessment, an ongoing
assessment, it's being updated every day, on the status at the highest
priority level. It's a work in progress. It's going to take a number
of years to complete."
"I'm very enthusiastic about what they're doing," said Matt Bunn, a
nonproliferation expert at Harvard who has long advocated this kind of
database development. "My hat's off to them," he said, adding that the
Bush Administration deserved credit for surpassing previous efforts in
this direction.
The subject matter of the classified Presidential directives NSPD-48
and HSPD-17 had not been publicly identified before Mr.
Mowatt-Larssen's testimony last month. Thanks to Jeffrey Richelson of
the National Security Archive who noticed the disclosure. A list of
known Bush Administration National Security Presidential Directives is
available here:
http://www.fas.org/irp/offdocs/nspd/index.html
PRESSURE BUILDS TO IMPROVE OVERSIGHT OF INTEL CONTRACTORS
A bill introduced in the House of Representatives would require U.S.
intelligence agencies to report to Congress on the total number and
cost of contractors that they employ and to provide detailed
information on the services that contractors perform. Some
controversial intelligence contractor activities would be prohibited
outright, including arrest, interrogation and detention.
"Contracting in the intelligence community has more than doubled in
scope in the last decade, and it's clear that effective management and
oversight is lacking," said Rep. David Price (D-NC), who co-sponsored
the new legislation (H.R. 5973) with Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-CA).
"We've got to get a handle on it," Rep. Price said. "That means
demanding more complete information, establishing more effective
management practices and, in some cases, drawing a red line to prevent
the privatization of especially sensitive activities."
The two Members of Congress hope to include the provisions of their
bill in the 2009 intelligence authorization act, which is being marked
up in the House Intelligence Committee today. See the text of the
"Transparency and Accountability in Intelligence Contracting Act of
2008" here:
http://www.fas.org/irp/congress/2008_cr/hr5973.html
The fact cited by Rep. Price that intelligence contracting "has more
than doubled in scope in the last decade" was first reported by
journalist Tim Shorrock writing in Salon and elsewhere.
Mr. Shorrock has recently authored a book on intelligence contracting
which describes as much about the sensitive subject as intrepid
reporting can uncover.
See "Spies for Hire: The Secret World of Intelligence Outsourcing" by
Tim Shorrock, Simon & Schuster, 2008:
http://www.simonsays.com/content/book.cfm?tab=1&pid=616280
----------------------------------------------------------------------- Rag Readers:
Russ Feingold's article in the L.A. Times is linked
at the end of this from FAS.
SECRECY NEWS
from the FAS Project on Government Secrecy
Volume 2008, Issue No. 45
May 12, 2008
Secrecy News Blog: http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/
Support Secrecy News
http://www.fas.org/sgp/donate.html
** WHITE HOUSE ISSUES POLICY ON "CONTROLLED UNCLASSIFIED INFO"
** SSCI CALLS FOR INTEL CONTRACTOR ACCOUNTABILITY
** WANTED: OSC ANIMAL POX REPORT
** CONGRESS'S CONTEMPT POWER, AND MORE FROM CRS
** SECRET LAW HEARING FOLLOW-UP
WHITE HOUSE ISSUES POLICY ON "CONTROLLED UNCLASSIFIED INFO"
The White House last week issued a long-awaited policy on "controlled
unclassified information" (CUI) to provide a uniform government-wide
system for safeguarding unclassified information that is deemed
sensitive.
http://www.fas.org/sgp/bush/cui.html
The CUI framework is supposed to replace the numerous individual agency
control markings -- "sensitive but unclassified," "for official use
only," and over a hundred other designations -- and thereby to overcome
barriers to information sharing within the government.
But the new policy will do nothing to restore public access to
government records that have been improperly withheld.
Development of the CUI policy began with a December 16, 2005 memo from
the President directing agencies to "standardize procedures for
sensitive but unclassified information." Despite the passage of two
and a half years, however, little progress has been made in defining
the terms of the new policy.
It establishes a single CUI framework, with three graduated levels of
sensitivity and security. But the definition of what information may
qualify as CUI, which includes anything that "under law or policy"
requires protection from unauthorized disclosure, is vague and
expansive.
To put it another way, the CUI policy does not exclude anything that is
currently controlled as Sensitive But Unclassified.
This is a disappointment in light of previous suggestions that
wholesale disclosures of currently controlled unclassified information
might ensue.
"The great majority of the information which is now controlled can be
put in a simple unclassified, uncontrolled category, it seems to me,"
said Amb. Thomas McNamara, program manage of the ODNI Information
Sharing Environment, in 2006 testimony before Congress (Secrecy News,
01/16/08).
But under the new Bush policy, "the great majority of the information"
that Amb. McNamara said should be uncontrolled will remain controlled
and unavailable to the public.
The CUI policy properly notes that the new policy does not modify the
requirements of the Freedom of Information Act process: "CUI markings
may inform but do not control the decision of whether to disclose or
release the information to the public, such as in response to a request
made pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act."
But despite the passage of years since the policy was proposed, many of
the hard decisions involved have been deferred to the implementation
phase.
Which, if any, of the more than 100 existing control categories will be
canceled, rather than absorbed into the new CUI category? The new
policy does not say. At what point, if any, does the CUI designation
expire? There's no way to tell. What enforcement mechanisms are
established to ensure compliance with the new policy? To be
determined.
SSCI CALLS FOR INTEL CONTRACTOR ACCOUNTABILITY
New limitations and reporting requirements should be imposed on
intelligence contractors, the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence
said in its new report on the 2009 intelligence authorization act.
"Several provisions of the bill are aimed at reducing the overall use
of contractors by the Intelligence Community. The Committee believes
these provisions are necessary for financial and accountability
purposes," the report said.
One provision, advanced by Sen. Dianne Feinstein with Sen. Feingold,
"requires a one-time report to the congressional intelligence
committees by the DNI describing the activities within the Intelligence
Community that the DNI believes should only be conducted by governmental
employees but that are being conducted by one or more contractors [and]
an estimate of the number of contractors performing each such
activity."
Another provision, also moved by Sen. Feinstein and other Democratic
members, would "prohibit the Director of the Central Intelligence
Agency from permitting a contractor or subcontractor of the CIA to
carry out an interrogation of an individual and to require that all
interrogations be carried out by employees."
Similar requirements were also adopted by the House Intelligence
Committee last week.
The May 8 Senate report on the 2009 Intelligence Authorization Act,
which includes many other significant intelligence policy provisions,
is available here:
http://www.fas.org/irp/congress/2008_rpt/srpt110-333.html
WANTED: OSC ANIMAL POX REPORT
In January 2008, the ODNI Open Source Center (OSC) published a report
on "Recent Worldwide Research on Animal Pox Viruses" principally
authored by Dr. Alfred D. Steinberg of the MITRE Corporation.
Secrecy News has been trying unsuccessfully to obtain a releasable copy
of the document. A request to ODNI was forwarded to the Central
Intelligence Agency, which manages the Open Source Center, months ago.
CIA did not reply to the request. The MITRE Corporation has also been
unresponsive, except for a courteous note from the author.
Readers who have ready access to the OSC report on animal pox viruses
are invited to forward the unclassified document to me directly.
Confidentiality -- or, alternatively, an effusive public expression of
gratitude -- is promised, as you prefer.
Copies of other OSC publications would also be welcome.
CONGRESS'S CONTEMPT POWER, AND MORE FROM CRS
Noteworthy new reports from the Congressional Research Service that
have not been made publicly accessible online include the following.
"Defense: FY2009 Authorization and Appropriations," May 5, 2008:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/natsec/RL34473.pdf
"Second FY2008 Supplemental Appropriations for Military Operations,
International Affairs, and Other Purposes," updated May 8, 2008:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/natsec/RL34451.pdf
"Director of National Intelligence Statutory Authorities: Status and
Proposals," updated April 17, 2008:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/intel/RL34231.pdf
"Congress's Contempt Power: Law, History, Practice, and Procedure,"
updated April 15, 2008:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/RL34097.pdf
"Navy LPD-17 Amphibious Ship Procurement: Background, Issues, and
Options for Congress," May 6, 2008:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/weapons/RL34476.pdf
"U.S.-French Commercial Ties," updated April 7, 2008:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/row/RL32459.pdf
"Strategic Airlift Modernization: Analysis of C-5 Modernization and
C-17 Acquisition Issues," updated April 15, 2008:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/weapons/RL34264.pdf
SECRET LAW HEARING FOLLOW-UP
A recent Senate hearing on the subject of "secret law" drew an
appreciative review today from syndicated columnist and first amendment
champion Nat Hentoff.
"So important was an April 30 hearing before the Senate Judiciary
Subcommittee on the Constitution that it should have been on front
pages around the country," he wrote.
"Titled 'Secret Law and the Threat to Democratic and Accountable
Government' and chaired by Sen. Russ Feingold, Wisconsin Democrat. it
focused on an issue ignored by the presidential contenders that has
deeply weakened our rule of law." (Secrecy News, April 30).
See "Let the Sunshine In" by Nat Hentoff, via The Washington Times, May
12:
http://washingtontimes.com/article/20080512/EDITORIAL07/211525697/1013/EDITORIAL
"It's a given in our democracy that laws should be a matter of public
record," wrote Senator Feingold in a Los Angeles Times opinion piece.
"But the law in this country includes not just statutes and
regulations, which the public can readily access. It also includes
binding legal interpretations made by courts and the executive branch.
These interpretations are increasingly being withheld from the public
and Congress."
See "Government in Secret," by Sen. Russ Feingold, May 8:
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-feingold8-2008may08,0,7384959.story
--------------------------------------------------------------- Rag Readers:
One has to wonder if the Intel community's desire
to change its pay based on performance has to do
with the fact that they got screwed over by the
Administration's attempt to blame them for the
"faculty" info on WMDs.
>SECRECY NEWS
>from the FAS Project on Government Secrecy
>Volume 2008, Issue No. 43
>May 6, 2008
>
>Secrecy News Blog: http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/
>
>Support Secrecy News
>http://www.fas.org/sgp/donate.html
>
>
>** INTEL COMMUNITY MOVES TOWARDS PERFORMANCE-BASED PAY
>** PENTAGON DETAILS OSD RECORDS MANAGEMENT
>** CRS ON CHINA'S "SOFT POWER"
>** DEA'S USE OF INTELLIGENCE ANALYSTS
>
>
>INTEL COMMUNITY MOVES TOWARDS PERFORMANCE-BASED PAY
>
>The Director of National Intelligence last week issued several new
>Intelligence Community Directives (ICDs) that implement new
>community-wide personnel practices, including a performance-based
>compensation policy that rewards superior job performance.
>
>The new payment policy "links performance-based pay increases and
>bonuses to individual accomplishments, demonstrated competencies, and
>contributions to organizational results."
>
>"Higher performance and greater contribution to mission should result
>in proportionally higher rewards for similarly-situated employees."
>
>The new payment and personnel policies, part of DNI J. Michael
>McConnell's 100-day and 500-day plans, are intended to modernize the
>business practices of U.S. intelligence agencies and, implicitly, to
>make government service somewhat more competitive with intelligence
>contractors in the private sector.
>
>The new personnel policies will also replace the standard government
>personnel grading system known as the General Schedule (GS) for all
>intelligence agency employees, except that senior officials at the
>GS-15 or higher grade are exempted.
>
>The new IC Directives, all dated April 28, 2008, were released under
>the Freedom of Information Act. They include:
>
>ICD 650, National Intelligence Civilian Compensation Program: Guiding
>Principles and Framework
>
>ICD 652, Occupational Structure for the Intelligence Community Civilian
>Workforce
>
>ICD 654, Performance-Based Pay for the Intelligence Community Civilian
>Workforce
>
>ICD 656, Performance Management System Requirements for Intelligence
>Community Senior Civilian Officers
>
>Copies of these and other IC Directives are available here:
>
> http://www.fas.org/irp/dni/icd/index.html
>
>
>PENTAGON DETAILS OSD RECORDS MANAGEMENT
>
>The Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) generates some of the most
>sensitive and most consequential records in the U.S. Government, along
>with an enormous volume of ephemeral material. Managing this endless
>flow of records efficiently and effectively is a challenge.
>
>Close students of OSD records management policy will find useful
>reference data in two new Pentagon volumes.
>
>General records maintenance policies are spelled out in "Office of the
>Secretary of Defense (OSD) Records Management Program -- Administrative
>Procedures," Administrative Instruction 15, change 1, April 18, 2008:
>
> http://www.fas.org/irp/doddir/dod/ai15v1.pdf
>
>Records schedules approved by the National Archives for the disposition
>of all OSD component records are compiled in "Office of the Secretary of
>Defense (OSD) Records Management Program -- Records Disposition
>Schedules," Administrative Instruction 15, volume 2, April 18, 2008:
>
> http://www.fas.org/irp/doddir/dod/ai15v2.pdf
>
>
>CRS ON CHINA'S "SOFT POWER"
>
>China's foreign policy goals and actions in Asia, Africa and Latin
>America are assessed in a new report to Congress from the Congressional
>Research Service.
>
>"The study opens with an overview section discussing China's presumed
>foreign policy goals, the attractions and limitations of China's 'soft
>power,' and the implications and options for the United States. The
>memorandum proceeds to an analysis of China's relations with countries
>in Latin America and the Caribbean, the Southwest Pacific, Japan and
>South Korea, Central Asia, Southeast Asia, and Sub-Saharan Africa."
>
>The study was released by Senator Joseph Biden, chairman of the Senate
>Foreign Relations Committee.
>
>"It is my hope that this study will inform debate about China and help
>point the way toward policies that will not only respond to those
>Chinese actions that are at odds with U.S. interests, but will also
>build on the many common interests created by China's enhanced
>integration with the international community," Sen. Biden wrote in a
>foreword.
>
>See "China's Foreign Policy and 'Soft Power' in South America, Asia,
>and Africa," April 2008:
>
> http://www.fas.org/irp/congress/2008_rpt/crs-china.pdf
>
>
>DEA'S USE OF INTELLIGENCE ANALYSTS
>
>"The number of DEA intelligence analysts has grown from 11 since the
>DEA's inception in 1973 to 710 stationed around the world as of March
>15, 2008," according to a new report from the Justice Department
>Inspector General (IG) on the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) as
>an intelligence agency.
>
>The new report provides the most detailed public account available of
>DEA's intelligence function and its role as one of the sixteen member
>agencies in the U.S. intelligence community.
>
>The IG report noted a generally favorable evaluation of DEA
>intelligence, except for significant delays in publication of
>time-sensitive intelligence information.
>
>"The DEA Chief of Intelligence told us that when reports officers
>receive information related to terrorism, weapons, or a foreign
>country's military, the cable must be prepared and disseminated to the
>intelligence community within 24 to 48 hours of receipt. Of the 4,500
>cables prepared since June 2004, we tested 81 cables for timeliness of
>dissemination. Our testing showed that cables are transmitted on
>average 34 days from the date the original information was received by
>the DEA."
>
>See "The Drug Enforcement Administration's Use of Intelligence
>Analysts," Audit Report 08-23, Department of Justice Office of the
>Inspector General, May 2008:
>
> http://www.fas.org/irp/agency/doj/oig/dea-intel.pdf
>
>Some of those who idly speculate about nominees to cabinet positions in
>the next Administration have mentioned Justice Department Inspector
>General Glenn A. Fine, who is widely respected for his independence, as
>a possible future Attorney General.
>_______________________________________________
>Secrecy News is written by Steven Aftergood and published by the
>Federation of American Scientists.
>
>The Secrecy News Blog is at:
> http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/
>
>To SUBSCRIBE to Secrecy News, go to:
> http://www.fas.org/sgp/news/secrecy/subscribe.html
>
>To UNSUBSCRIBE, go to
> http://www.fas.org/sgp/news/secrecy/unsubscribe.html
>
>OR email your request to saftergood@fas.org
>
>Secrecy News is archived at:
> http://www.fas.org/sgp/news/secrecy/index.html
>_______________________
>Steven Aftergood
>Project on Government Secrecy
>Federation of American Scientists
>web: www.fas.org/sgp/index.html
>email: saftergood@fas.org
>voice: (202) 454-4691
---------------------------------------------------------- Rag Readers:
According to Aftergood's blub "Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse probed
the destabilizing implications of the Administration view that executive
orders can be "waived" by the President without notice to Congress or
the public." My goodness, I wonder if the President understands who
he works for.
>SECRECY NEWS
>from the FAS Project on Government Secrecy
>Volume 2008, Issue No. 42
>April 30, 2008
>
>Secrecy News Blog: http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/
>
>Support Secrecy News
>http://www.fas.org/sgp/donate.html
>
>
>** SECRET LAW DEBATED IN SENATE HEARING
>** HOUSE JUDICIARY QUESTIONS SECRECY OF OLC OPINIONS
>
>
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rag Readers:
Huda Ezra Ebrahim Nonoo, the new ambassador
from Bahrain was interviewed on PBS' Frontline
a couple of weeks ago. Very impressive lady.
(See Aftergood's blub below.)
>SECRECY NEWS
>from the FAS Project on Government Secrecy
>Volume 2008, Issue No. 41
>April 28, 2008
>
>Secrecy News Blog: http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/
>
>Support Secrecy News
>http://www.fas.org/sgp/donate.html
>
>
>** RESOURCES ON THE ISRAELI STRIKE IN SYRIA
>** A NEW AMBASSADOR FROM BAHRAIN
>** HEARING ON SECRET LAW
>** PRESIDENTIAL CLAIMS OF EXECUTIVE PRIVILEGE, AND MORE FROM CRS
>
>
>RESOURCES ON THE ISRAELI STRIKE IN SYRIA
>
>The September 6, 2007 Israeli strike against a suspected Syrian nuclear
>facility remains a puzzle despite the confident assertion by U.S.
>intelligence officials last week that the target was a Syrian reactor
>constructed for the production of plutonium with the assistance of
>North Korea.
>
>An extensive, frequently updated collection of open source materials on
>the subject -- including foreign and domestic news reports, satellite
>imagery and analysis -- has been compiled by Allen Thomson in "A
>Sourcebook on the Israeli Strike in Syria, 6 September 2007" (currently
>812 pages in a 15 MB PDF file):
>
> http://www.fas.org/man/eprint/syria.pdf
>
>An updated bibliography of Syrian nuclear science research, from
>reactor safety to laser isotope separation, was prepared by researcher
>Mark Gorwitz. See "Syrian Nuclear Science Bibliography: Open
>Literature Citations," April 2008:
>
> http://www.fas.org/nuke/guide/syria/biblio.pdf
>
>A list of all cooperative agreements between the International Atomic
>Energy Agency and the Atomic Energy Commission of Syria, also compiled
>by Mr. Gorwitz, is here:
>
> http://www.fas.org/nuke/guide/syria/iaea-syria.pdf
>
>The web site of the Atomic Energy Commission of Syria is here:
>
> http://www.aec.org.sy/index_e.php
>
>
>A NEW AMBASSADOR FROM BAHRAIN
>
>The next ambassador from Bahrain to the United States will be a Jewish
>woman named Huda Ezra Ebrahim Nonoo, according to a report in
>GulfNews.com last week.
>
>"Huda is Bahrain's nominee for the post and this is of course very good
>news for Bahrain's deep-rooted values of tolerance and openness," said
>Faisal Fouladh of the Shura Council, the upper house of Bahrain's
>legislature. The Shura Council currently includes 11 women, including
>one Christian.
>
>See "Bahrain set to name Jewish woman envoy" by Habib Toumi, GulfNews,
>April 25:
>
> http://archive.gulfnews.com/news/gulf/bahrain/10208344.html
>
>Alone among Muslim countries, Bahrain and Bosnia have Jewish diplomats
>in senior positions, said Stephen S. Schwartz of the Center for Islamic
>Pluralism (www.islamicpluralism.org).
>
>
>HEARING ON SECRET LAW
>
>The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing April 30 on the
>subject of "secret law."
>
>"It's been nearly forty years since Professor Kenneth Davis stated in
>his seminal treatise on administrative law that 'Secret law is an
>abomination'," according to a Committee announcement.
>
>"The upcoming hearing will examine the extent to which this abomination
>is gradually becoming a common state of affairs, and its effect on our
>democracy."
>
>The hearing will be chaired by Sen. Russ Feingold. I will be
>testifying, along with J. William Leonard, the former director of the
>Information Security Oversight Office, and a diverse group of others.
>See "Secret Law and the Threat to Democratic and Accountable
>Government":
>
> http://judiciary.senate.gov/hearing.cfm?id=3305
>
>
>PRESIDENTIAL CLAIMS OF EXECUTIVE PRIVILEGE, AND MORE FROM CRS
>
>Noteworthy new reports from the Congressional Research Service that
>have not been made readily available to the public include the
>following.
>
>"Africa Command: U.S. Strategic Interests and the Role of the U.S.
>Military in Africa," updated March 10, 2008:
>
> http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/natsec/RL34003.pdf
>
>"High Altitude Electromagnetic Pulse (HEMP) and High Power Microwave
>(HPM) Devices: Threat Assessments," updated March 26, 2008:
>
> http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/natsec/RL32544.pdf
>
>"Second FY2008 Supplemental Appropriations for Military Operations,
>International Affairs, and Other Purposes," April 15, 2008:
>
> http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/natsec/RL34451.pdf
>
>"Iraq: Regional Perspectives and U.S. Policy," updated April 4, 2008:
>
> http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/mideast/RL33793.pdf
>
>"Operation Iraqi Freedom: Strategies, Approaches, Results, and Issues
>for Congress," March 28, 2008:
>
> http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/mideast/RL34387.pdf
>
>"Major U.S. Arms Sales and Grants to Pakistan Since 2001" (fact sheet),
>updated April 23, 2008:
>
> http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/row/pakarms.pdf
>
>"Pakistan-U.S. Relations," updated March 27, 2008:
>
> http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/row/RL33498.pdf
>
>"Presidential Claims of Executive Privilege: History, Law, Practice and
>Recent Developments," updated April 16, 2008:
>
> http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/secrecy/RL30319.pd
-----------------------------------------------------
Rag Readers:
You might want to check out the section related
to "National Security Letters" and how business'
might be required to disclose "business record
information." I have to wonder why business
records are important to "national security."
Perhaps, years after utilizing the term "in the
interest of national security" the American public
finally will find out just what that means.
---------------------------------------------------------------
SECRECY NEWS
>from the FAS Project on Government Secrecy
>Volume 2008, Issue No. 39
>April 17, 2008
>
>Secrecy News Blog: http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/
>
>
>** STAGE SET FOR TRANSFER OF CIA RECORDS TO NATIONAL ARCHIVES
>** A NEW ISOO DIRECTOR, AND VARIOUS ITEMS
>** WAR CRIMES AND PERSIAN GULF WEATHER
>
>
>STAGE SET FOR TRANSFER OF CIA RECORDS TO NATIONAL ARCHIVES
>
>A memorandum of understanding signed this month by the Director of the
>Central Intelligence Agency and the National Archivist is expected to
>enable the transfer of many permanently valuable historical CIA records
>that are 50 years old or older to the custody of the National Archives
>(NARA), officials of both agencies said today.
>
>Up to now, "we haven't had a framework" for such transfers, said Joe
>Lambert, the new CIA chief information officer. And so, with few
>exceptions, "we haven't transferred anything [to the Archives] in the
>past." (Exceptions include certain CIA records related to the JFK
>assassination, Nazi war crimes, and a few other topics, as well as
>translations of foreign news reports.)
>
>The new memorandum "lays the groundwork for routine transfer of CIA
>records" to the National Archives once they become 50 years old, said
>Assistant Archivist Michael J. Kurtz. "This will institutionalize the
>process."
>
>The memorandum itself does not seem very promising. It imposes a
>number of binding requirements on NARA officials, including referral to
>CIA of any request for records that have not already been approved for
>public release. No binding requirements are imposed on CIA, beyond an
>open-ended commitment to "review" any such requests.
>
>But Allen Weinstein, the Archivist of the United States, said the
>memorandum would pave the way for regular transfers of CIA records to
>the Archives, and would ultimately result in improved public access to
>those records.
>
>"Access is a multi-step process," said Gary M. Stern, General Counsel
>at the National Archives. "Getting the records into the Archives is
>the first step."
>
>Having "listened carefully to the words and the music, I was convinced
>that this [agreement] would serve the public interest," said Dr.
>Weinstein. "I wouldn't have signed it otherwise."
>
>The memorandum's words, at least, can be found here:
>
> http://www.fas.org/sgp/othergov/intel/nara-cia.pdf
>
>CIA is expected to provide to NARA an index of records subject to
>transfer in the next few weeks, with actual transfers to follow
>sometime thereafter.
>
>A March 2000 National Archives evaluation of "Records Management in the
>Central Intelligence Agency" provided some detailed insight into the
>subject.
>
> http://www.fas.org/sgp/othergov/naracia.html
>
>At that time, NARA held that "CIA retention of permanent files for 50
>years is no longer appropriate" and should be reduced to something
>closer to 30 years. But by default and inaction, 50 year retention of
>records by CIA has now become the goal that the agencies are striving
>for.
>
>
>A NEW ISOO DIRECTOR, AND VARIOUS ITEMS
>
>William J. Bosanko was formally named this week as the fourth director
>of the Information Security Oversight Offfice, the executive branch
>agency that is responsible for oversight of national security
>classification and declassification policy government-wide. A ten-year
>veteran of the ISOO staff, Mr. Bosanko shares an understanding of the
>ideals and the realities of classification as well as the scruple and
>the responsiveness that made his predecessors such remarkable public
>servants.
>
> http://www.archives.gov/press/press-releases/2008/nr08-92.html
>
>"When I am president, the era of Bush/Cheney secrecy will be over,"
>said Sen. Hillary Clinton in a speech to the Newspaper Association of
>America on April 15. "I will empower the federal government to operate
>from a presumption of openness, not secrecy... I will direct my
>administration to prevent needless classification of information that
>ought to be shared with the public."
>
> http://www.fas.org/sgp/news/2008/04/clinton041508.html
>
>Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) this week introduced a new bill to increase
>transparency in government agency expenditures, to provide online
>public tracking of legislative earmarks, and to require the IRS to
>provide taxpayers with statements of total taxes paid and projected.
>"This latest effort will provide taxpayers unprecedented information
>about how their money is spent, and how their taxes are paid.
>Increasing transparency in government spending is essential for
>accountability and fiscal responsibility."
>
> http://www.fas.org/sgp/congress/2008/s2852.html
>
>The CIA today published for public comment a proposed rule modifying
>its Freedom of Information Act procedures. "The Agency proposes to
>revise its FOIA regulations to more clearly reflect the current CIA
>organizational structure, record system configuration, and FOIA
>policies and practices and to eliminate ambiguous, redundant and
>obsolete regulatory provisions."
>
> http://www.fas.org/sgp/news/2008/04/fr041708.html
>
>
>WAR CRIMES AND PERSIAN GULF WEATHER
>
>Prodded by a request from the Federation of American Scientists, the
>U.S. Marine Corps recently restored online public access to many of its
>doctrinal publications, Federal Computer Week reported on March 27.
>
> http://www.fcw.com/online/news/152064-1.html
>
>One of those Marine Corps documents addresses war crimes, describing
>prohibited actions and the need to prevent them.
>
>"While we Marines fight swiftly and aggressively, we also conduct our
>military operations with respect toward both the liberated people and
>the vanquished foe."
>
>"Marines do not harm enemy soldiers who surrender. Marines do not
>torture or kill enemy prisoners of war or detainees. Marines collect
>and care for the wounded, whether friend or foe."
>
>See "War Crimes," Marine Corps Reference Publication 4-11.8B, 6
>September 2005:
>
> http://www.fas.org/irp/doddir/usmc/mcrp4-11-8b.pdf
>
>Another document is a 1990 analysis of weather patterns in the Persian
>Gulf.
>
>"While some of the technical information in this manual is of use
>mainly to meteorologists, much of the information is invaluable to
>anyone who wishes to predict the consequences of changes in the season
>or weather on military operations."
>
>See "The Persian Gulf Region: A Climatological Study," Fleet Marine
>Force Reference Publication 0-54, 19 October 1990:
>
> http://www.fas.org/irp/doddir/usmc/gulfclimate.pdf
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rag Readers:
There is a new classification for archiving documents:
"keep this document from the American public."
SECRECY NEWS
from the FAS Project on Government Secrecy
Volume 2008, Issue No. 33
April 3, 2008
Secrecy News Blog: http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/ (just scroll down. the article is there. I don't know why this happens or what to do about it. Just bear with it. June)
** THE OLC TORTURE MEMO AS A FAILURE OF THE CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM
** REFORMING THE STATE SECRETS PRIVILEGE: TWO VIEWS
** THE WAR POWERS RESOLUTION, AND MORE FROM CRS
THE OLC TORTURE MEMO AS A FAILURE OF THE CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM
The Justice Department Office of Legal Counsel memo on interrogation of
enemy combatants that was declassified this week "exemplifies the
political abuse of classification authority," Secrecy News suggested
yesterday.
J. William Leonard, the nation's top classification oversight official
from 2002-2007, concurred.
"The disappointment I feel with respect to the abuse of the
classification system in this instance is profound," said Mr. Leonard,
who recently retired as director of the Information Security Oversight
Office, which reports to the President on classification and
declassification policy.
"The document in question is purely a legal analysis," he said, and it
contains "nothing which would justify classification."
Beyond that crucial fact, the binding technical requirements of
classification were ignored.
Thus, he explained: There were no portion markings, identifying which
paragraphs were classified at what level. The original classifier was
not identified on the cover page by name or position. The duration of
classification was not given. A concise basis for classification was
not specified. Yet all of these are explicitly required by the
President's executive order on classification.
"It is not even apparent that [John] Yoo [who authored the memo] had
original classification authority," Mr. Leonard said.
"All too often, government officials simply assert classification. To
enjoy the legal safeguards of the classification system, you need to do
more than that. Those basic, elemental steps were not followed in this
instance."
"Also, for the Department of Defense to declassify a Department of
Justice document," as in this case, "is highly irregular," Mr. Leonard
said.
(The DoD declassifier mistakenly cited "Executive Order 1958" on the
cover page of the declassified memorandum. The correct citation is
"Executive Order 12958, as amended.")
Violations of classification policy pale in comparison to the policy
deviations authorized by the Justice Department memo, which was
ultimately rescinded. Nevertheless, such classification violations are
significant because they enabled the Administration to pursue its
interrogation policies without independent scrutiny or accountability.
"To learn that such a document is classified has the same effect for me
as waking up one morning and learning that after all these years there
is a 'secret' Article IV to the Constitution that the American people
did not even know about," said Mr. Leonard.
"There is no information contained in this document which gives an
advantage to the enemy," he said. "The only possible rationale for
making it secret was to keep it from the American people."
REFORMING THE STATE SECRETS PRIVILEGE: TWO VIEWS
Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey this week expressed strong Bush
Administration opposition to pending legislation that would regulate
the use of the state secrets privilege in civil litigation.
The proposed "State Secrets Protection Act" (S.2533), the Attorney
General wrote in a detailed seven-page letter, "would needlessly and
improperly interfere with the appropriate constitutional role of both
the Judicial and Executive branches in state secrets cases; would alter
decades of settled case law; and would likely result in the harmful
disclosure of national security information that would not be disclosed
under current doctrine."
In short, "We strongly oppose this legislation."
See the Attorney General's March 31, 2008 letter to Sen. Patrick J.
Leahy, chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, here:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/jud/statesec/ag033108.pdf
At the request of Senator Edward M. Kennedy, an original sponsor of the
State Secrets Protection Act, Attorney General Mukasey's criticisms of
the bill were reviewed and rebutted by Louis Fisher, the constitutional
law expert at the Law Library of Congress.
"According to Attorney General Mukasey, Presidents are entitled to
unilaterally define the scope of their powers under Article II and no
other branch has any authority to impose limitations," Dr. Fisher
wrote.
"The Constitution has been interpreted in that manner at times by some
Presidents, but never successfully. Such a reading would eliminate the
checks and balances that are fundamental to the U.S. Constitution."
See this April 2, 2008 memorandum prepared by Louis Fisher:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/jud/statesec/fisher040208.pdf
THE WAR POWERS RESOLUTION, AND MORE FROM CRS
Noteworthy new publications from the Congressional Research Service
that have not been made readily available to the public include the
following.
"The War Powers Resolution: After Thirty-Four Years," updated March 10,
2008:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/natsec/RL32267.pdf
"The Federal Grand Jury," updated January 22, 2008:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/95-1135.pdf
"Federalism, State Sovereignty and the Constitution: Basis and Limits
of Congressional Power," updated February 1, 2008:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/RL30315.pdf
_______________________________________________
Secrecy News is written by Steven Aftergood and published by the
Federation of American Scientists.
The Secrecy News Blog is at:
http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/
---------------------------------------------------- Rag Readers:
This has got to be the most chock full issue
Aftergood has produced.
Starting with the DIA's confusion of Iraq and
Iran. Is that why the Bush administration kept
thinking Iraq had weapons of mass destruction.
On to the fact the Homeland Security has not
complied with rules and regulations of disclosure
to the public. My, my, it just goes on and on.
How about domestic surveillance by unmanned
drones over major cities; Miami is the first city
to test the devices.
SECRECY NEWS
from the FAS Project on Government Secrecy
Volume 2008, Issue No. 29
March 26, 2008
Secrecy News Blog: http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/
** DEFENSE INTELLIGENCE AGENCY HISTORY CONFUSES IRAQ AND IRAN
** MORE FRUS ERRORS OF OMISSION AND COMMISSION
** HOMELAND SECURITY COUNCIL FADES TO BLACK
** RUSSIA WEIGHS RESTRICTIONS ON INTERNET
** DOMESTIC SATELLITE SURVEILLANCE, AND MORE FROM CRS
DEFENSE INTELLIGENCE AGENCY HISTORY CONFUSES IRAQ AND IRAN
In a memorable TV interview with former Secretary of State James Baker,
prankster "Ali G" (Sasha Baron Cohen) wondered about the possibility of
confusing "Iran" and "Iraq."
"Do you think it would be a good idea if one of them changed their name
to make it very different sounding from the other one?" he asked
Secretary Baker.
"Ain't there a real danger that someone give like a message over the
radio to one of them fighter pilots whatever saying bomb 'Ira...' and
the geezer don't hear it properly and bomb Iran rather than Iraq?"
"No danger," Secretary Baker gamely replied.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=yXbNLkNhy1M
In an official history published on its web site, however, the Defense
Intelligence Agency really has confused Iran and Iraq.
Among the "world crises" that transpired during the 1980s, the DIA
history cites "an Israeli F-16 raid to destroy an Iranian nuclear
reactor."
See "Defense Intelligence Agency: A Brief History" (originally
published in 1997) at page 14:
http://www.dia.mil/publicaffairs/Foia/dia_history.pdf
or here:
http://www.fas.org/irp/dia/dia_history.pdf
But there never was an Israeli attack on an Iranian nuclear reactor.
Rather, "The description appears to match Israel's raid on Iraq's
[Osirak] nuclear reactor" in 1981, observed Gideon Remez, an Israeli
scholar who is co-author of the recent book Foxbats Over Dimona (Yale,
2007).
"Today's preoccupation with Iran's nuclear program seems to have been
projected onto the events of 27 years ago," Mr. Remez suggested this
week in an email message to DIA public affairs.
"If that is indeed the case, I'd recommend a correction," he wrote.
MORE FRUS ERRORS OF OMISSION AND COMMISSION
Close examination of several recent volumes of the State Department's
Foreign Relations of the United States (FRUS) series has turned up
errors and questionable editorial judgments.
The record of conversations between Chinese Prime Minister Chou En-lai
and Henry Kissinger that was published in FRUS last month failed to
include what is arguably among the more sensitive and significant
discussions that they held, regarding Kissinger's offer to establish a
US-China "hotline," development of contingency plans for accidental or
unauthorized launch of nuclear-armed missiles, and provision of warning
information in the event of Soviet moves against China. That
discussion, which does not appear in FRUS, was memorialized in this
document:
http://www.fas.org/irp/world/china/memcon111473.pdf
Fortunately, this memorandum and many more of comparable significance
were collected and published by William Burr of the National Security
Archive in his 1999 volume "The Kissinger Transcripts":
http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/nsa/publications/DOC_readers/kissinger/19990110.htm
In another surprising editorial lapse (in Nixon FRUS volume XXIX on
Eastern Europe, document 77, page 203, footnote 2), the editors state
that "On January 17 [1969] student Jan Palach set himself on fire in
the center of Prague to protest the Soviet occupation of
Czechoslovakia."
"Anyone who knows this subject is aware that Palach immolated himself
on the 16th of January, not the 17th," said Mark Kramer, editor of the
Journal of Cold War Studies at Harvard. "This date is very well known
in Czech society, and no one would confuse it with the 17th."
Interestingly, while the State Department got this date wrong,
Wikipedia got it right.
Needless to say, everyone makes errors. The FRUS series remains a
crucial resource for historical understanding, even with the occasional
error. And a robust FRUS publication schedule with some errors is
vastly preferable to a gridlocked schedule with no errors. Still,
there may be room for improvement in the editorial process.
HOMELAND SECURITY COUNCIL FADES TO BLACK
The Homeland Security Council (HSC), a White House agency that advises
the President on homeland security policy, has become one of the
darkest corners of the U.S. Government.
The Council was established by President Bush shortly after September
11, 2001 and it was chartered as an agency within the Executive Office
of the President in the Homeland Security Act of 2002.
"Thereafter, the HSC disappeared from the public record," a new report
from the Congressional Research Service noticed.
In particular, according to CRS: The Homeland Security Council "does
not appear to have complied with requirements for Federal Register
publication of such basic information as descriptions of its central
organization."
It has never disclosed "where, from whom, and how the public may obtain
information about it." Nor has it published the required "rules of
procedure, substantive rules of general applicability, and statements
of general policy."
Moreover, "No profile of, or descriptive information regarding, the HSC
or its members and staff has appeared, to date, in the annual editions
of the United States Government Manual."
This peculiar state of affairs was described by Harold C. Relyea of the
Congressional Research Service in "Organizing for Homeland Security: The
Homeland Security Council Reconsidered," March 19, 2008:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/homesec/RS22840.pdf
Last week, President Bush appointed assistant attorney general Kenneth
L. Wainstein to be homeland security adviser and chair of the Homeland
Security Council, succeeding Frances F. Townsend.
RUSSIA WEIGHS RESTRICTIONS ON INTERNET
Legislation pending in the Russian Duma [parliament] would impose new
Russian government controls on online content, according to an analysis
of Russian news reports from the DNI Open Source Center.
Boris Gryzlov, speaker of the Duma, was quoted as saying: "We know
that the Internet is all too often used as an instrument for
destabilization and for terrorism. That kind of use of the Internet
must be stopped."
"Bloggers expressed varying degrees of alarm over the potential danger
the law would pose to their community, with some alleging [that a
sponsor of the legislation] is trying to use the law to silence his
opponents and dismissing the law as unlikely to be passed," according
to the OSC report.
See "Russia--Increased Attempts to Regulate Internet," DNI Open Source
Center, March 24, 2008:
http://www.fas.org/irp/news/2008/03/osc-russia.html
DOMESTIC SATELLITE SURVEILLANCE, AND MORE FROM CRS
Noteworthy new reports from the Congressional Research Service that
have not been made readily available to the public include the
following.
"Satellite Surveillance: Domestic Issues," March 21, 2008:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/intel/RL34421.pdf
"The Next Generation Bomber: Background, Oversight Issues, and Options
for Congress," March 7, 2008:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/weapons/RL34406.pdf
"U.S. Nuclear Cooperation With India: Issues for Congress," updated
February 12, 2008:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/nuke/RL33016.pdf
"Nuclear Weapons in U.S. National Security Policy: Past, Present, and
Prospects," updated January 28, 2008:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/nuke/RL34226.pdf
"U.S.-China Military Contacts: Issues for Congress," updated February
1, 2008:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/natsec/RL32496.pdf
"Direct Overt U.S. Aid, Export Assistance and Military Reimbursements
to Pakistan, FY2002-FY2009," March 24, 2008:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/row/pakaid.pdf
"Cybercrime: An Overview of the Federal Computer Fraud and Abuse
Statute and Related Federal Criminal Laws," updated February 25, 2008:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/97-1025.pdf
_______________________________________________
Secrecy News is written by Steven Aftergood and published by the
Federation of American Scientists.
The Secrecy News Blog is at:
http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/
To SUBSCRIBE to Secrecy News, go to:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/news/secrecy/subscribe.html
To UNSUBSCRIBE, go to
http://www.fas.org/sgp/news/secrecy/unsubscribe.html
OR email your request to saftergood@fas.org
Secrecy News is archived at:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/news/secrecy/index.html
_______________________
Steven Aftergood
Project on Government Secrecy
Federation of American Scientists
web: www.fas.org/sgp/index.html
email: saftergood@fas.org
voice: (202) 454-4691
-------------------------------------------------------------------- Rag Readers:
The "Emblems" article was the most fun to read.
Basically, an attempt to decode the symbols on
the many different patches used for various missions
into space.
SECRECY NEWS
from the FAS Project on Government Secrecy
Volume 2008, Issue No. 28
March 24, 2008
Secrecy News Blog: http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/
** FOUR FRUS VOLUMES AND AN ERROR
** SECDEF ON MILITARY LAW ENFORCEMENT AUTHORITY ABROAD
** DEFENSE INTELLIGENCE AGENCY MISSION AND FUNCTIONS
** EMBLEMS FROM THE PENTAGON'S BLACK WORLD
FOUR FRUS VOLUMES AND AN ERROR
The State Department last month published four new volumes of its
official Foreign Relations of the United States (FRUS) series,
documenting the foreign relations of the Nixon Administration:
"European Security:"
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ho/frus/nixon/xxxix/index.htm
"Germany, 1969-1972:"
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ho/frus/nixon/xxxix/index.htm
"Eastern Europe:"
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ho/frus/nixon/xxix/index.htm
"China, 1973-1976:"
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ho/frus/nixon/xviii/index.htm
Inevitably, it seems, the occasional error creeps in.
Document 13 of the China volume transcribes a February 18, 1973
conversation between Chinese Premier Chou En-lai and Henry Kissinger in
which Chou cited press reports that "the United States had contacts with
Ismail" (on page 148). The FRUS editors inserted Footnote 3 explaining
that "Ismail Fahmi was the Egyptian Minister for Foreign Affairs from
1973 until 1977." That's true, but that's not who Premier Chou was
talking about. "It is common knowledge that Chou was referring to
Sadat's national security adviser -- Hafez Ismail," wrote A, a Secrecy
News correspondent.
SECDEF ON MILITARY LAW ENFORCEMENT AUTHORITY ABROAD
The authority of a military commander to arrest and detain U.S.
civilians suspected of committing a crime outside of the United States
and within that commander's area of responsibility is detailed in a
recent memorandum from Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates.
"There is a particular need for clarity regarding the legal framework
that should govern a command response to any illegal activities by
Department of Defense civilian employees and DoD contractor personnel
overseas with our Armed Forces," Secretary Gates wrote.
Ordinarily, civilians who violate U.S. criminal laws are to be
prosecuted by the Department of Justice and commanders are to notify
DoJ whenever such cases arise.
However, the Gates memo states, "Commanders should be prepared to act,
as appropriate, should possible U.S. federal criminal jurisdiction
prove to be unavailable to address the alleged criminal behavior."
See "UCMJ Jurisdiction Over DoD Civilian Employees, DoD Contractor
Personnel, and Other Persons Serving With or Accompanying the Armed
Forces Overseas During Declared War and in Contingency Operations,"
memorandum from the Secretary of Defense, March 10, 2008:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/othergov/dod/gates-ucmj.pdf
The memorandum was previously reported by Sebastian Sprenger in
InsideDefense.com.
DEFENSE INTELLIGENCE AGENCY MISSION AND FUNCTIONS
The functions and responsibilities of the Defense Intelligence Agency
(DIA) are detailed in a 27-page directive that has been newly re-issued
by the Department of Defense.
"DIA shall satisfy the military and military-related intelligence
requirements of the Secretary and Deputy Secretary of Defense, the
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the DNI, and provide the
military intelligence contribution to national foreign intelligence and
counterintelligence."
See "Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA)," DoD Directive 5105.21, March
18, 2008:
http://www.fas.org/irp/doddir/dod/d5105_21.pdf
EMBLEMS FROM THE PENTAGON'S BLACK WORLD
A whimsical collection of patches, emblems and insignia associated with
classified Department of Defense programs has recently been published in
a book by experimental geographer Trevor Paglen.
"Readers of this book will find a collection of images that are
fragmentary, torn out of context, inconclusive, enigmatic, unreliable,
quixotic, and deceptive," the author warns. "Readers will find, in
other words, a glimpse into the black world itself."
See "I Could Tell You But Then You Would Have to Be Destroyed by Me:
Emblems from the Pentagon's Black World" by Trevor Paglen, Melville
House Publishing, March 2008.
http://www.paglen.com/tellyou/index.htm
"Military patches and logos--simply the latest examples of heraldry
dating back thousands of years--are by definition symbolic, so it is no
surprise that they contain symbols. What is surprising is that these
symbols often reveal information about ... missions that are otherwise
classified," wrote space historians Dwayne A. Day and Roger Guillemette
in an impressive analysis of several such images. See their "Secrets
and Signs" in The Space Review, January 7, 2008:
http://www.thespacereview.com/article/1033/1
Wired's Danger Room blog recently featured some of the "Most Awesomely
Bad Military Patches":
http://blog.wired.com/defense/2007/12/most-awesomel-7.html
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rag Readers:
The Iraqi Documents reveal that the Wahhabi school of Islam
was started by a Jew. How confusing can the roots of a group
get?
SECRECY NEWS
from the FAS Project on Government Secrecy
Volume 2008, Issue No. 27
March 20, 2008
Secrecy News Blog: http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/
** DOD REPORT ON CAPTURED IRAQI DOCUMENTS
** SOME NEW INTELLIGENCE BOOKS
** VARIOUS RESOURCES
DOD REPORT ON CAPTURED IRAQI DOCUMENTS
A Defense Department-sponsored report that examined captured Iraqi
documents for indications of links between Saddam Hussein and terrorist
organizations is now available online.
The five-volume report affirmed that there was "no 'smoking gun' (i.e.,
direct connection) between Saddam's Iraq and al Qaeda." But it also said
there was "strong evidence that links the regime of Saddam Hussein to
regional and global terrorism."
Although the report was publicly released on March 13, the Department
of Defense declined to publish it online, offering instead to provide
copies on disk. The full five-volume study has now been posted on the
Federation of American Scientists web site.
See "Iraqi Perspectives Project: Saddam and Terrorism: Emerging
Insights from Captured Iraqi Documents," Institute for Defense
Analyses, November 2007, redacted and released March 2008:
http://www.fas.org/irp/eprint/iraqi/index.html
The study was first reported prior to release by Warren P. Strobel of
McClatchy Newspapers. The first of the five volumes was previously
posted on the ABC News web site. The latter volumes include hundreds of
pages of captured Iraqi documents, declassified and translated into
English.
The Defense Intelligence Agency "made every effort to balance national
security concerns, requirements of law, and the needs of an informed
democracy and focused the redactions to the necessary minimum," the
report states.
The Iraqi documents themselves are an eclectic, uneven bunch.
One of them, a fifty-page Iraqi "intelligence" analysis, disparages the
austerely conservative Wahhabi school of Islam by claiming that its
eighteenth century founder, Ibn 'Abd al Wahhab, had ancestors who were
Jews.
In what must be the only laugh-out-loud line in the generally dismal
five-volume report, the Iraqi analysis states that Ibn 'Abd al Wahhab's
grandfather's true name was not "Sulayman" but "Shulman."
"Tawran confirms that Sulayman, the grandfather of the sheikh, is
(Shulman); he is Jew from the merchants of the city of Burstah in
Turkey, he had left it and settled in Damascus, grew his beard, and
wore the Muslim turban, but was thrown out for being voodoo" (at page
20 of 56).
The analysis, produced by the Air Defense Security System of Iraq's
General Military Intelligence Directorate, is not a very reliable guide
to Islamic or Jewish history, though it may explain something about
Iraq's air defenses.
"The Birth of Al-Wahabi Movement and Its Historic Roots" appears in
volume 5 of the Defense Department report and is also available in this
extract (13 MB PDF):
http://www.fas.org/irp/eprint/iraqi/wahhabi.pdf
SOME NEW INTELLIGENCE BOOKS
Some noteworthy new books on intelligence policy, reform and history
include these.
Former CIA analyst and outspoken CIA critic Melvin A. Goodman decries
"The Decline and Fall of the CIA" in his new book "Failure of
Intelligence" (Rowman and Littlefield, 2008):
http://www.amazon.com/Failure-Intelligence-Decline-Fall-CIA/dp/0742551105
UCLA professor Amy Zegart examines pre-9/11 intelligence failures and
their implications for intelligence reform in "Spying Blind"
(Princeton, 2007):
http://press.princeton.edu/titles/8498.html
Journalist Jefferson Morley traces "the hidden history of the CIA"
through the career of Winston Scott, the CIA station chief in Mexico
City from 1956 to 1969, in "Our Man in Mexico" (Univ. Press of Kansas,
2008):
http://www.ourmaninmexico.com/
VARIOUS RESOURCES
The National Archives this week announced the opening of approximately
1.3 million pages of historic Central Intelligence Agency records
dating from 1947 to 1977. The documents, which are described as open
source publications gathered by the CIA's Foreign Documents Division,
are being released as "a part of the National Declassification
Initiative program announced by the Archivist of the United States
Allen Weinstein in April 2006."
http://www.archives.gov/press/press-releases/2008/nr08-74.html
On March 17, 2008, the Public Interest Declassification Board (PIDB)
heard public comments on its report Improving Declassification that was
sent to the President in 2007. The meeting was covered by Lee White of
the National Coalition for History and reported here:
http://historycoalition.org/2008/03/19/
Last year the National Intelligence Council, a component of the Office
of the Director of National Intelligence, sponsored a conference in
Ghana on democratization in Africa. The NIC has now published the
proceedings of that conference for broad public consumption and
consideration. A copy of "Democratization in Africa: What Progress
Toward Institutionalization?" is posted here:
http://www.fas.org/irp/nic/african_democ_2008.pdf
U.S. Air Force intelligence organization and functions are described in
"General Intelligence Rules," Air Force Instruction 14-202 (vol. 3), 10
March 2008:
http://www.fas.org/irp/doddir/usaf/afi14-202v3.pdf
_______________________________________________
-------------------------------- Rag Readers:
FAS/Aftergood provides information on the secret session
of the U.S. House. See below for url links.
SECRECY NEWS
from the FAS Project on Government Secrecy
Volume 2008, Issue No. 26
March 18, 2008
Secrecy News Blog: http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/
** FORMER ISOO DIRECTORS TO TESTIFY FOR DEFENSE IN AIPAC TRIAL
** SECURITY GUIDANCE FOR LAWYERS WITH CIA CLIENTS
** A SECRET SESSION OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
FORMER ISOO DIRECTORS TO TESTIFY FOR DEFENSE IN AIPAC TRIAL
In a blow to Justice Department prosecutors, two former directors of
the Information Security Oversight Office (ISOO) are expected to
testify for the defense in the controversial trial of two former
officials of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) who
are charged with unlawful receipt and transmission of classified
information.
Steven Garfinkel (ISOO director from 1980-2002) and J. William Leonard
(2002-2007) have been the voice of classification authority across
three decades and five presidential administrations. They inspected,
oversaw and reported to the President on the government's
classification and declassification programs. And last week they were
listed among eight proposed expert witnesses for the defense in the
AIPAC case, formally known as USA v. Steven J. Rosen and Keith
Weissman.
As deeply knowledgeable classification officials, Mr. Garfinkel and Mr.
Leonard might have been expected to testify for the government in a case
involving classification policy. The fact that they are testifying for
the defense is a startling indication that the prosecution's case has
strayed far beyond any consensus view regarding the proper protection
of classified information.
The surprising participation of these former classification officials
was first reported by the Jewish Telegraphic Agency and the New York
Sun. See "Key New Witnesses Sign on for the Defense in AIPAC Case" by
Josh Gerstein, New York Sun, March 17:
http://www.nysun.com/article/73017
In another sign that the government's case may be unraveling, the lead
prosecutor quit last month to take a job in the private sector. See
"Top prosecutor in AIPAC case quits," Jewish Telegraphic Agency,
February 28:
http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/breaking/107251.html
Selected case files from the AIPAC prosecution may be found here:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/jud/aipac/index.html
SECURITY GUIDANCE FOR LAWYERS WITH CIA CLIENTS
Attorneys representing employees of the Central Intelligence Agency who
are suing the Agency are obliged to sign a non-disclosure agreement and
to comply with CIA secrecy requirements.
The CIA has prepared an introduction to its security policies for
non-governmental attorneys. It includes answers to questions such as:
How do I know when information is classified? What restrictions are
there on how I handle my client's information at my office? And so
forth.
See "Security Guidance for Representatives," Central Intelligence
Agency, 2007:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/othergov/intel/rep.pdf
The document was filed last week in the case of Franz Boening v. CIA,
which alleges unlawful prior restraint by the Agency. The CIA is
refusing to provide access to key case documents to the plaintiff's
attorney in the case, Mark S. Zaid, despite the fact that he holds a
security clearance.
A SECRET SESSION OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
"Since 1830, the House has met behind closed doors only three times,"
according to the Congressional Research Service: "in 1979 to discuss
the Panama Canal, in 1980 to discuss Central American assistance, and
in 1983 to discuss U.S. support for paramilitary operations in
Nicaragua."
On March 13, the House went into secret session once more to consider
classified matters concerning the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance
Act. After some extended discussion of the unusual practice, followed
by a security check, public access to the proceedings was barred. See:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/congress/2008/secret.html
For related background see "Secret Sessions of the House and Senate,"
Congressional Research Service, updated May 25, 2007:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/secrecy/98-718.pdf
and "Secret Sessions of Congress: A Brief Historical Overview," updated
May 30, 2007:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/secrecy/RS20145.pdf
SECRECY NEWS
from the FAS Project on Government Secrecy
Volume 2008, Issue No. 26
March 18, 2008
Secrecy News Blog: http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/
** FORMER ISOO DIRECTORS TO TESTIFY FOR DEFENSE IN AIPAC TRIAL
** SECURITY GUIDANCE FOR LAWYERS WITH CIA CLIENTS
** A SECRET SESSION OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
FORMER ISOO DIRECTORS TO TESTIFY FOR DEFENSE IN AIPAC TRIAL
In a blow to Justice Department prosecutors, two former directors of
the Information Security Oversight Office (ISOO) are expected to
testify for the defense in the controversial trial of two former
officials of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) who
are charged with unlawful receipt and transmission of classified
information.
Steven Garfinkel (ISOO director from 1980-2002) and J. William Leonard
(2002-2007) have been the voice of classification authority across
three decades and five presidential administrations. They inspected,
oversaw and reported to the President on the government's
classification and declassification programs. And last week they were
listed among eight proposed expert witnesses for the defense in the
AIPAC case, formally known as USA v. Steven J. Rosen and Keith
Weissman.
As deeply knowledgeable classification officials, Mr. Garfinkel and Mr.
Leonard might have been expected to testify for the government in a case
involving classification policy. The fact that they are testifying for
the defense is a startling indication that the prosecution's case has
strayed far beyond any consensus view regarding the proper protection
of classified information.
The surprising participation of these former classification officials
was first reported by the Jewish Telegraphic Agency and the New York
Sun. See "Key New Witnesses Sign on for the Defense in AIPAC Case" by
Josh Gerstein, New York Sun, March 17:
http://www.nysun.com/article/73017
In another sign that the government's case may be unraveling, the lead
prosecutor quit last month to take a job in the private sector. See
"Top prosecutor in AIPAC case quits," Jewish Telegraphic Agency,
February 28:
http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/breaking/107251.html
Selected case files from the AIPAC prosecution may be found here:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/jud/aipac/index.html
SECURITY GUIDANCE FOR LAWYERS WITH CIA CLIENTS
Attorneys representing employees of the Central Intelligence Agency who
are suing the Agency are obliged to sign a non-disclosure agreement and
to comply with CIA secrecy requirements.
The CIA has prepared an introduction to its security policies for
non-governmental attorneys. It includes answers to questions such as:
How do I know when information is classified? What restrictions are
there on how I handle my client's information at my office? And so
forth.
See "Security Guidance for Representatives," Central Intelligence
Agency, 2007:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/othergov/intel/rep.pdf
The document was filed last week in the case of Franz Boening v. CIA,
which alleges unlawful prior restraint by the Agency. The CIA is
refusing to provide access to key case documents to the plaintiff's
attorney in the case, Mark S. Zaid, despite the fact that he holds a
security clearance.
A SECRET SESSION OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
"Since 1830, the House has met behind closed doors only three times,"
according to the Congressional Research Service: "in 1979 to discuss
the Panama Canal, in 1980 to discuss Central American assistance, and
in 1983 to discuss U.S. support for paramilitary operations in
Nicaragua."
On March 13, the House went into secret session once more to consider
classified matters concerning the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance
Act. After some extended discussion of the unusual practice, followed
by a security check, public access to the proceedings was barred. See:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/congress/2008/secret.html
For related background see "Secret Sessions of the House and Senate,"
Congressional Research Service, updated May 25, 2007:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/secrecy/98-718.pdf
and "Secret Sessions of Congress: A Brief Historical Overview," updated
May 30, 2007:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/secrecy/RS20145.pdf
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rag Readers:
"An Executive order cannot limit a President. There is no
constitutional requirement for a President to issue a new Executive
order whenever he wishes to depart from the terms of a previous
Executive order."
You might be reacting with a loud "huh!" So was FAS and they
went looking for clarification. See what happened.
SECRECY NEWS
from the FAS Project on Government Secrecy
Volume 2008, Issue No. 25
March 11, 2008
Secrecy News Blog: http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/
** THE FBI AS A FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE ORGANIZATION
** SECRECY REIGNS AT THE DOJ OFFICE OF LEGAL COUNSEL
** SUNSHINE WEEK
THE FBI AS A FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE ORGANIZATION
Since 2006, the Federal Bureau of Investigation has assumed growing
responsibilities as a collector of foreign intelligence, FBI budget
documents indicate.
"In May 2006, the Director of the Office of National Intelligence
tasked the FBI to use its collection authorities, consistent with
applicable laws and protection of civil liberties, to collect FI
[foreign intelligence] information against the National Intelligence
Priorities Framework and pursuant to the National HUMINT Collection
Directives."
Prior to that time, "there were no concerted efforts to collect FI
exclusivly, nor did the FBI have an investigative program that solely
focused intelligence collection activities on FI."
Today, the FBI is "the primary or supporting collector on ninety-eight
(98) national intelligence topics that implement the [National
Intelligence Priorities Framework]," according to the FBI's remarkably
detailed congressional budget justification for fiscal year 2009 (page
6-48).
http://www.fas.org/irp/agency/doj/fbi/2009just.pdf
Virtually all foreign intelligence gathered by the FBI comes from
confidential human sources. The Bureau requested $3.2 million to pay
for source recruitment, or "approximately $16,000 per Agent for 200
Agents" (page 6-50).
The FBI Counterterrorism Division validated -- i.e. checked the
reliability of -- 60% of its confidential human sources in FY 2007.
This was an increase from 0% the year before, but short of the target
of 100% validation (page 4-31).
Among other notable details, the FBI budget request states that in
FY2007 there were over 21,000 "positive encounters" with known or
suspected terrorists (page 4-29). "A positive encounter is one in
which an encountered individual is positively matched with an identity
in the Terrorist Screening Data Base."
The budget document also reports on threats to government and private
information systems, stating that "more than 20 terabytes of sensitive
information has been stolen to date, disrupting military operations and
significantly impacting the confidence in the integrity of our national
information infrastructure" (page 6-20).
A recent national security computer intrusion investigation determined
that "computers were compromised at a sensitive policy making
government entity" (page 6-23).
SECRECY REIGNS AT THE DOJ OFFICE OF LEGAL COUNSEL
The Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel (OLC), which is
responsible for interpreting the law for executive branch agencies, has
played an influential role in the development of Bush Administration
policy, and an unusually secretive one.
In a December 7 floor statement, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI)
described the contents of three OLC opinions that he had been able to
review. One of them discussed the nature of executive orders as a
category. Sen. Whitehouse characterized the conclusions of that OLC
opinion as follows:
"An Executive order cannot limit a President. There is no
constitutional requirement for a President to issue a new Executive
order whenever he wishes to depart from the terms of a previous
Executive order."
http://www.fas.org/irp/congress/2007_cr/fisa120707.html
We requested a copy of that seemingly innocuous, if questionable,
opinion under the Freedom of Information Act. But the request was
denied.
"We are withholding the document in full because it is classified and
thus exempt under Exemption 1 of the FOIA," the OLC responded.
http://www.fas.org/sgp/news/2008/02/olc020508.pdf
"The OLC should publicly release more of its opinions, as was routinely
done during Janet Reno's tenure as attorney general during the 1990s,"
the Washington Post editorialized today. "Too many Bush OLC memos
remain secret, with only a handful of administration officials being
privy to their conclusions."
"During the Bush administration, the OLC has become known as a partisan
enabler of legally and ethically questionable presidential policies,
including those involving the use of torture."
See "The President's Lawyers," March 11:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/10/AR2008031002664.html
SUNSHINE WEEK
Sunshine Week, a national campaign to promote openness and access to
information, is March 16-22, 2008. Numerous events at the national and
local level, as well as online, have been scheduled to encourage a
public dialogue on transparency.
More information and abundant resources can be found here:
http://www.sunshineweek.org/
National Freedom of Information Act day will be observed on March 14
with a day-long conference sponsored by the First Amendment Center.
http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/press/information/topic.aspx?topic=FOI_Day
The recently-formed Collaboration on Government Secrecy at the American
University's Washington College of Law will hold a conference on Monday
March 17.
http://www.wcl.american.edu/secle/founders/2008/031708.cfm
OpenTheGovernment.org will hold a webcast conference on Government
Secrecy at the National Press Club on March 19.
http://www.openthegovernment.org/article/subarchive/109
Other national and local Sunshine Week events are noted here:
http://www.sunshineweek.org/index.cfm?id=6843
_______________________________________________
Secrecy News is written by Steven Aftergood and published by the
Federation of American Scientists.
------------------------------------------------------------------ SECRECY NEWS
from the FAS Project on Government Secrecy
Volume 2008, Issue No. 23
March 5, 2008
Secrecy News Blog: http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/
** COMMERCIAL SATELLITES AS "NATIONAL TECHNICAL MEANS"
** I.F. STONE PROJECT ON JOURNALISTIC INDEPENDENCE
** PROLIFERATION SECURITY INITIATIVE, AND MORE FROM CRS
COMMERCIAL SATELLITES AS "NATIONAL TECHNICAL MEANS"
U.S. intelligence agencies could do more to incorporate commercial
satellite capabilities into the U.S. intelligence satellite
architecture, an advisory panel told the Directors of the National
Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) and the National Reconnaissance
Office (NRO) in a study last year.
The report laid out several scenarios for integrating commercial
capabilities into the government's "National Technical Means."
The panel's preferred scenario "that mitigates the most risk is for the
US government to competitively acquire satellites and supporting
infrastructure to ensure maximum control and access to imagery data on
demand."
Purchase of satellites is warranted, the panel said, because "The US
government cannot rely on or be dependent on any external entity to
responsively get needed data."
The report "contains general findings about the technical competency
and business viability of commercial remote sensing vendors, suppliers,
and CDPs [commercial data providers] in the United States."
The report also specifies the standards that commercial vendors need to
meet in order to fulfill a spectrum of intelligence requirements.
"The requested review was in response to concerns/criticisms by
Congress of how NGA and NRO have under-utilized commercial remote
sensing capabilities."
The unclassified report has not been publicly released, but a copy was
obtained by Secrecy News.
See "Independent Study of the Roles of Commercial Remote Sensing in the
Future National System for Geospatial-Intelligence (NSG)," Report to the
Directors of the NGA and the NRO, July 16, 2007:
http://www.fas.org/irp/eprint/crs.pdf
I.F. STONE PROJECT ON JOURNALISTIC INDEPENDENCE
I.F. Stone (1907-1989), the celebrated journalist and iconoclast who
was renowned for his independence, is being remembered in the service
of the values he embodied.
The Nieman Foundation at Harvard University today announced the
establishment of an I.F. Stone Award for journalistic independence,
integrity and courage.
http://www.nieman.harvard.edu/
A richly detailed new website devoted to I.F. Stone provides excerpts
from his writings, biographical information, reminiscences and other
information:
http://www.ifstone.org/
PROLIFERATION SECURITY INITIATIVE, AND MORE FROM CRS
Noteworthy new or updated reports from the Congressional Research
Service that have not been made readily available to the public include
the following.
"Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI)," updated February 4, 2008:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/nuke/RL34327.pdf
"Botnets, Cybercrime, and Cyberterrorism: Vulnerabilities and Policy
Issues for Congress," updated January 29, 2008:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/terror/RL32114.pdf
"Executive Order 13,438: Blocking Property of Certain Persons Who
Threaten Stabilization Efforts in Iraq," updated January 29, 2008:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/natsec/RL34254.pdf
"Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia: Security Issues and Implications for
U.S. Interests," updated January 31, 2008:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/row/RL30679.pdf
"Asylum Law and Female Genital Mutilation: Recent Developments,"
February 15, 2008:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/RS22810.pdf
"'Wounded Warrior' and Veterans Provisions in the FY2008 National
Defense Authorization Act," February 13, 2008:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/RL34371.pdf
---------------------------------------------------------------------- Rag Readers:
You need to know to whom and how much money is being spent on
the war in Iraq. Quote from page 3 of "Defense Contracting in Iraq":
"During 2003, LOGCAP III contract rose to more than $3.5
billion. According to one press account, Halliburton/KBR reportedly earned a fixed
1% profit above costs on LOGCAP III, with the possibility of an additional 2%
incentive bonus,(9) while another press account reported that the Halliburton/KBR
LOGCAP III contract was a cost-plus, award fee contract that earned a 2% fixed fee
with the potential for an extra 5% incentive fee.(10)"
SECRECY NEWS
from the FAS Project on Government Secrecy
Volume 2008, Issue No. 22
March 3, 2008
Secrecy News Blog: http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/
** GAO OVERSIGHT OFFICE AT NSA LIES DORMANT
** A CLANDESTINE DECLASSIFIER
** CIA TASK FORCE REPORT ON LEAKS (2002)
** THE PRESIDENT'S INTELLIGENCE ADVISORY BOARD
** COMPREHENSIVE NUCLEAR TEST BAN TREATY, AND MORE FROM CRS
GAO OVERSIGHT OFFICE AT NSA LIES DORMANT
The Government Accountability Office maintains an office at the
National Security Agency but it remains unused since no one in Congress
has asked GAO to perform any oversight of the Agency, the head of GAO
disclosed last week.
Despite multi-billion dollar acquisition failures at NSA and the
Agency's controversial, possibly illegal surveillance practices,
Congress has declined to summon all of its oversight resources such as
GAO to address such issues.
In testimony before a Senate Homeland Security subcommittee on February
29, I argued that the GAO has demonstrated the ability to contribute to
oversight of U.S. intelligence agencies and that it should be called
upon to do so again.
http://www.fas.org/irp/congress/2008_hr/022908aftergood.pdf
Although U.S. intelligence community leaders say they oppose a GAO role
in intelligence oversight, I noted that GAO oversight staff have in the
past been permanently stationed at NSA, where they successfully
conducted audits and investigations.
Questioned on that point by Senator Daniel Akaka, Comptroller General
David M. Walker, the outgoing director of GAO, confirmed that it was
true.
"We still actually do have space at the NSA. We just don't use it and
the reason we don't use it is we're not getting any requests, you know.
So I don't want to have people sitting out there twiddling their
thumbs," Mr. Walker said.
His prepared statement, entitled "GAO Can Assist the Congress and the
Intelligence Community on Management Reform Initiatives," and those of
the other witnesses at the February 29 hearing may be found here:
http://www.fas.org/irp/congress/2008_hr/index.html
The hearing, which was broadcast live on C-SPAN, can be viewed here
(requires RealPlayer from www.real.com):
rtsp://video.c-span.org/project/ter/ter022908_intelligence.rm
See also "Panel witnesses press for GAO audits of intelligence
agencies" by Chris Strohm, Congress Daily, February 29:
http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=39420
A CLANDESTINE DECLASSIFIER
A Central Intelligence Agency employee who supported Agency
declassification activities was killed in a traffic accident late last
year. Perhaps befitting a CIA classification official, his name has
not been publicly acknowledged by the Agency.
"The CIA expressed its sadness concerning a CIA member's death,"
according to a brief notice in the December 2007 minutes of a closed
session of the State Department Historical Advisory Committee, which
were published last week. "The member had served as a moving force on
declassification issues."
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ho/adcom/mtgnts/101473.htm
Secrecy News asked CIA Public Affairs to provide the name of the CIA
member. No response was received.
But a former Agency colleague identified him as Bob Knight.
His death in a motorcycle accident on the way to work was "a major blow
to the rather small CIA declassification cadre."
"I think his career was mostly in the DI [Directorate of Intelligence],
but he had worked in declassification since at least 2002."
Mr. Knight previously served as an Assistant Information Review Officer
and worked on at least three major NIC publications, including National
Intelligence Estimates on China, Vietnam, and the former Yugoslavia.
Just prior to his death, he was serving as CIA coordinator for the
Foreign Relations of the United States series.
"Bob's death was keenly felt by all who had worked with him," the
former colleague said.
CIA TASK FORCE REPORT ON LEAKS (2002)
Although there is no foolproof system of preventing unauthorized
disclosures of classified information ("leaks"), there are a variety of
new technical tools that can deter such disclosures or facilitate
identification of those who compromise information security, according
a 2002 CIA Task Force Report that was released last year under the
Freedom of Information Act.
See "Interagency Task Force Report on Unauthorized Disclosure of
Classified Information," CIA Directorate of Science and Technology, 25
March 2002:
http://www.fas.org/irp/cia/product/leak-report.pdf
A supplementary paper argued that new legislation against leaks was
"urgently needed." The author singled out the National Security
Archive and the Federation of American Scientists for propagating the
"popular myth that the government over-classifies everything, and
classifies way too much."
See "Leaks: How Unauthorized Media Disclosures of US Classified
Intelligence Damage Sources and Methods," Foreign Denial and Deception
Committee, 24 April 2002:
http://www.fas.org/irp/cia/product/leak-report-supp.pdf
The interagency process ultimately rejected the view that new
legislation was needed. An October 2002 report to Congress from the
Attorney General indicated that existing tools to combat leaks appeared
to be adequate.
http://www.fas.org/sgp/othergov/dojleaks.html
THE PRESIDENT'S INTELLIGENCE ADVISORY BOARD
President Bush issued Executive Order 13462 last week redesignating the
President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board (PFIAB) as the
President's Intelligence Advisory Board (PIAB), and modifying the
Board's functions and interactions with the executive branch.
http://www.fas.org/irp/offdocs/eo/eo-13462.htm
The Order appeared to diminish the Board's autonomy and to further
reduce its influence, which has been negligible in recent years.
It was reported by Pamela Hess of the Associated Press in "New White
House Order Bolsters Intelligence Chief's Power," February 29:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23416177/
The new Order and the 1993 Order that it superseded were critically
compared by Smintheus in Daily Kos here:
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/3/1/112537/4829
COMPREHENSIVE NUCLEAR TEST BAN TREATY, AND MORE FROM CRS
Noteworthy new reports from the Congressional Research Service include
the following.
"Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty: Issues and Arguments," February
28, 2008:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/nuke/RL34394.pdf
"Fusion Centers: Issues and Options for Congress," updated January 18,
2008:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/intel/RL34070.pdf
"The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act: A Brief Overview of
Selected Issues," updated February 8, 2008:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/intel/RL34279.pdf
"The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act: Comparison of House-Passed
H.R. 3773, S. 2248 as Reported By the Senate Select Committee on
Intelligence, and S. 2248 as Reported Out of the Senate Judiciary
Committee," updated February 8, 2008:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/intel/RL34277.pdf
"Operation Iraqi Freedom: Strategies, Approaches, Results, and Issues
for Congress," February 22, 2008:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/natsec/RL34387.pdf
"Defense Contracting in Iraq: Issues and Options for Congress," updated
January 29, 2008:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/natsec/RL33834.pdf
"FY2009 Defense Budget: Issues for Congress," February 11, 2008:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/natsec/2009dodbud.pdf
----------------------------------------------------------------------- Rag Readers:
Of particular interest in this issue is the report
on water.
"Water Infrastructure Needs and Investment: Review and Analysis of Key
Issues," updated January 23, 2008:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/homesec/RL31116.pdf
Plus, an indirect reference to Phil Shenon's book (The Commission)
and the reviving of the charges against Sandy Berger's stealing
national archive documents. Congress members are pointing
to the "stonewalling" of the Bush administration attempting to
hinder on-going investigations.
SECRECY NEWS
from the FAS Project on Government Secrecy
Volume 2008, Issue No. 21
February 28, 2008
Secrecy News Blog: http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/
** NBC WEAPONS AND MISSILES, AND MORE FROM CRS
** PRESERVATION OF IRAQ WAR RECORDS, AND MORE DOD DOCTRINE
** HOUSE REPUBLICAN BLASTS BUSH ADMINISTRATION "STONEWALLING"
NBC WEAPONS AND MISSILES, AND MORE FROM CRS
Noteworthy new publications from the Congressional Research Service
include the following.
"Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Weapons and Missiles: Status and
Trends," updated February 20, 2008:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/nuke/RL30699.pdf
"Water Infrastructure Needs and Investment: Review and Analysis of Key
Issues," updated January 23, 2008:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/homesec/RL31116.pdf
"Russian Energy Policy toward Neighboring Countries," updated January
17, 2008:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/row/RL34261.pdf
"North American Oil Sands: History of Development, Prospects for the
Future," updated January 17, 2008:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/RL34258.pdf
PRESERVATION OF IRAQ WAR RECORDS, AND MORE DOD DOCTRINE
The Joint Chiefs of Staff recently reaffirmed the requirement to
preserve historically valuable records pertaining to the Iraq War.
"Operations ENDURING FREEDOM and NOBLE EAGLE and current operations
pertaining to Iraq are a prominent part of American and world history.
It is important that we preserve the historical records of these
continuing operations and we obtain information and lessons that can be
applied in planning, shaping, and implementing our national defense in
the future."
See Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Notice 5760, Preservation of
Historical Records of Operations Enduring Freedom and Noble Eagle and
Pertaining to Iraq, 7 September 2006, current as of 31 January 2008:
http://www.fas.org/irp/doddir/dod/cjcsn5760.pdf
A new Army Regulation defines policies and procedures governing
military civilians who are engaged in human intelligence and
counterintelligence activities. See Army Regulation 690-950-4,
"Military Intelligence Civilian Excepted Career Program," 20 February
2008:
http://www.fas.org/irp/doddir/army/ar690-950-4.pdf
A revised new Army Field Manual 3-0 on "Operations" has not yet been
released. But the Defense Department has released revised doctrine on
Joint Operations. See Joint Publication 3-0, change 1, 13 February
2008:
http://www.fas.org/irp/doddir/dod/jp3_0.pdf
HOUSE REPUBLICAN BLASTS BUSH ADMINISTRATION "STONEWALLING"
"The disdain and uncooperative nature that this administration has
shown toward Congress... is so egregious that I can no longer assume
that it is simply bureaucratic incompetence or isolated mistakes.
Rather, I have come to the sad conclusion that this administration has
intentionally obstructed Congress' rightful and constitutional duties."
That rather damning criticism comes not from a liberal opponent of the
Bush Administration, but from one of its most right-wing supporters in
Congress, California Republican Rep. Dana Rohrabacher.
"This administration is setting a terrible precedent. What people have
to understand... is when there is a liberal Democrat in the White
House, the President will have set [the precedent] that Members of
Congress can simply be dismissed, and that when they are trying to do a
congressional investigation need not be cooperated with, in fact, can be
obstructed. Is that the type of President that we want? Is that
acceptable? It shouldn't be acceptable to Democrats and it shouldn't be
acceptable to Republicans," he said on the House floor on February 26.
http://www.fas.org/sgp/congress/2008/rohr022608.html
Rep. Rohrabacher described a series of incidents in which the Bush
Administration blocked congressional initiatives or failed to meet his
expectations. Some of the offenses described, like the failure to
administer a polygraph to former national security advisor Samuel R.
Berger concerning his theft of documents from the National Archives,
seem idiosyncratic or otherwise questionable. But the Congressman's
outrage appears genuine enough.
"It is truly with a heavy heart, Madam Speaker, that I stand here
reciting example after example of the maliciousness and condescending
attitude exhibited by this administration. It is a problem that's
flowing from the top."
"When I hear my friends on the other side of the aisle accusing this
administration of stonewalling, of coverups, or thwarting
investigations, I sadly must concur with them," Rep. Rohrabacher
concluded.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dear Rag Readers:
Steven Aftergood proves that there are some publications
able to print feedback from individuals critical of their
stance on "wikileaks."
SECRECY NEWS
from the FAS Project on Government Secrecy
Volume 2008, Issue No. 19
February 22, 2008
Secrecy News Blog: http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/
** DNI REPORT DETAILS DATA MINING PROGRAMS
** A WORD FROM WIKILEAKS
** US NUCLEAR WEAPONS, AND MORE FROM CRS
DNI REPORT DETAILS DATA MINING PROGRAMS
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence provided an
overview of U.S. intelligence data mining development programs in a new
report to Congress.
Data mining is used by intelligence agencies to search through
databases in order to discern patterns of activity that could indicate
a threat to national security.
The new report presents brief descriptions of several data
mining-related intelligence projects, some of which have previously
been publicly identified and others that appear to be newly disclosed.
"The Video Analysis and Content Extraction (VACE) project seeks to
automate what is now a very tedious, generally human-powered process of
reviewing video for content that is potentially of intelligence value."
"Reynard is a seedling effort to study the emerging phenomenon of
social (particularly terrorist) dynamics in virtual worlds and
large-scale online games and their implications for the Intelligence
Community."
"Because application of results from these research projects may
ultimately have implications for privacy and civil liberties, IARPA
[the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Agency] is also investing
in projects that develop privacy protecting technologies," the report
stated.
The ODNI Report to Congress is unclassified, but was accompanied by a
classified annex.
See "Data Mining Report," ODNI Report to Congress, February 15, 2008:
http://www.fas.org/irp/dni/datamining.pdf
A WORD FROM WIKILEAKS
Although we have declined more requests for comment about Wikileaks
than we have responded to, some participants in the project feel that
we have said too much (Secrecy News, Feb. 19).
Jay Lim of Wikileaks sent the following advisory email today:
"Who's side are you on here Stephen? It is time this constant harping
stopped."
"You know full well if you make n comments about us and m negative ones
about us it'll only be the negative comment that is reported -- since
everyone else has only positive things to say and by your position at
FAS there is an expectation of positive comment. You are not a child.
As a result of your previous criticism it seem you are becoming the 'go
to' man for negative comments on Wikileaks. Over the last year, our
most quoted critic has not been a right wing radio host, it has not
been the Chinese ambassador, it has not been Pentagon bureaucrats, it
has been you Stephen. You are the number one public enemy of this
project. On top of everything else, your quote is the only critical
entry on our Wikipedia page. Some friend of openness!"
"We are very disappointed in your lack of support and suggest you cool
it. If you don't, we will, with great reluctance, be forced to
respond."
"Jay Lim"
US NUCLEAR WEAPONS, AND MORE FROM CRS
Some noteworthy new reports from the Congressional Research Service on
nuclear weapons policy include the following.
"U.S. Nuclear Weapons: Changes in Policy and Force Structure," updated
January 23, 2008:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/nuke/RL31623.pdf
"Nuclear Arms Control: The Strategic Offensive Reductions Treaty,"
updated January 18, 2008:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/nuke/RL31448.pdf
"Managing the Nuclear Fuel Cycle: Policy Implications of Expanding
Global Access to Nuclear Power," updated January 30, 2008:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/nuke/RL34234.pdf
------------------------------------------------------- Rag Readers:
Federation of American Scientists scores one
in the name of the American people, and
Cheney still refuse to cooperate with
Information Security Oversight Office.
SECRECY NEWS
from the FAS Project on Government Secrecy
Volume 2008, Issue No. 18
February 21, 2008
Secrecy News Blog: http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/
** ARMY SAYS IT WILL RESTORE PUBLIC ACCESS TO ONLINE LIBRARY
** JUSTICE SEES NO MISCONDUCT IN CONFLICT BETWEEN VP AND ISOO
** US ARMED FORCES ABROAD, 1798-2007, AND MORE FROM CRS
ARMY SAYS IT WILL RESTORE PUBLIC ACCESS TO ONLINE LIBRARY
The U.S. Army said today that it would restore public access to the
online Reimer Digital Library of Army publications, after having
blocked the site on February 6.
Last week, the Federation of American Scientists filed a Freedom of
Information Act request asking for a copy of the entire Reimer
collection for publication on the FAS website or, alternatively, for
renewed public access to the site (Secrecy News, Feb. 13).
The Army chose the latter option.
"TRADOC [U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command] is currently in the
process of making it available to the public again," said Mrs. Alverita
Mack, a Freedom of Information Act officer at Fort Eustis, Virginia.
"The Army has seen the error of its ways," said another Defense
Department FOIA officer. "Also, they want you to withdraw your FOIA
request."
The dispute over the shuttered website was reported today in the
Washington Post. See "Army Blocks Public's Access to Documents in
Web-Based Library" by Christopher Lee, February 21:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/20/AR2008022002830.html
By moving the Reimer site behind the password-protected Army Knowledge
Online (AKO) firewall, the Army placed the public at a disadvantage,
but not only the public.
"The Army has not only restricted access to the public but to everyone
else in DoD as well," one Navy correspondent explained to Secrecy News.
"So... those working for the AF, Navy, Marines, etc will not be able to
access these documents -- unless they are able to get an AKO account --
which isn't a given."
"I happen to have an AKO account but only because I know someone who
was willing to sponsor me," the Navy official wrote. "It is getting
harder and harder to access information within DoD let alone from
outside it!"
The Freedom of Information Act is not often an effective mechanism for
changing government policy, nor was it intended to be. But in this
case, where the Army had moved to block public access to thousands of
releasable documents, the FOIA proved to be the optimal tool for
compelling a change in policy.
Mrs. Mack, the Army FOIA officer, said today that she did not know
exactly when the Reimer Digital Library would again be accessible.
And, she said, it might end up at a different URL than before. We
indicated that we would withdraw our FOIA request after public access
is fully restored.
JUSTICE SEES NO MISCONDUCT IN CONFLICT BETWEEN VP AND ISOO
The Department of Justice Office of Professional Responsibility has
declined to open an investigation into allegations that Justice
Department attorneys improperly refused to respond to the Information
Security Oversight Office when it challenged the Office of the Vice
President's failure to cooperate with ISOO's oversight of the
classification system.
In a January 2, 2008 complaint, the Federation of American Scientists
had argued that, under the terms of the President's executive order,
the Justice Department was obliged to render an opinion on the
executive order's applicability to the Office of the Vice President
when ISOO asked for it. Yet Justice attorneys at the Office of Legal
Counsel refused to do so. (Secrecy News, Jan. 3).
The Office of Professional Responsibility was not persuaded.
"We have concluded that the facts do not raise an issue of attorney
misconduct that requires an investigation by this office," wrote H.
Marshall Jarrett, OPR Counsel.
"This matter does not involve an allegation of affirmative malfeasance,
but rather, the alleged improper failure to perform an act," he wrote.
Furthermore, the Justice Department's handling of the matter appeared
to be consistent with the support of the Vice President's position
against oversight that was expressed by the White House counsel, Mr.
Jarrett said.
Finally, he suggested, if there are still questions of interpretation
of the executive order that remain unresolved, "the ISOO may request an
opinion from the Department clarifying the matter."
The Department's prior refusal to render such an opinion was the basis
of the original complaint.
See the February 14, 2008 letter from H. Marshall Jarrett, Office of
Professional Responsibility, Department of Justice, here:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/news/2008/02/opr021408.pdf
The FAS complaint to which Mr. Jarrett responded may be found here:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/news/2008/01/fas-opr.pdf
US ARMED FORCES ABROAD, 1798-2007, AND MORE FROM CRS
Noteworthy new reports from the Congressional Research Service that
have not been made readily available to the public include these.
"Instances of Use of United States Armed Forces Abroad, 1798-2007,"
updated January 14, 2008:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/natsec/RL32170.pdf
"The Cost of Iraq, Afghanistan, and Other Global War on Terror
Operations Since 9/11," updated February 8, 2008:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/natsec/RL33110.pdf
"Defense: FY2008 Authorization and Appropriations," updated January 23,
2008:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/natsec/RL33999.pdf
"U.N. Convention Against Torture (CAT): Overview and Application to
Interrogation Techniques," updated January 25, 2008:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/intel/RL32438.pdf
"Nonstrategic Nuclear Weapons," updated January 16, 2008:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/nuke/RL32572.pdf
"Securing General Aviation," updated January 24, 2008:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/homesec/RL33194.pdf
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SECRECY NEWS
from the FAS Project on Government Secrecy
Volume 2008, Issue No. 17
February 19, 2008
Secrecy News Blog: http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/
** COURT ISSUES INJUNCTION AGAINST WIKILEAKS.ORG
** OVERSIGHT OF A US-IRAQ SECURITY AGREEMENT, AND MORE FROM CRS
** JASON ON SHOCKS TO SHIPS
COURT ISSUES INJUNCTION AGAINST WIKILEAKS.ORG
A federal court on Friday issued an injunction disabling the internet
domain name of Wikileaks.org, the anti-censorship web site devoted to
publication of leaks and other unauthorized disclosures of information.
http://www.fas.org/sgp/news/2008/02/wl021508.pdf
The move followed a complaint by Bank Julius Baer, a Swiss bank, that
Wikileaks had published confidential bank records that are protected by
law. The offending documents were itemized in a temporary restraining
order also issued by the court on February 15.
http://www.fas.org/sgp/news/2008/02/wl-tro.pdf
Those documents are whistleblower records that reveal "trust structures
allegedly used for tax evasion, asset hiding and money laundering by the
ultra rich," according to Wikileak's Julian Assange, who protested what
he said was an "unconstitutional" blockage of the wikileaks domain
name.
Wikileaks is intended to provide "an uncensorable system for
untraceable mass document leaking and public analysis," according to
the web site, and its often controversial contents have been mirrored
by dozens of other sites around the world, which remain operational.
"Anti-censorship servers operating in foreign jurisdictions have kicked
in successfully," wrote Mr. Assange after the court issued its order,
"but 'wikileaks.org' has been forcibly deleted from the domain name
system."
Judge Jeffrey S. White of the Northern District of California scheduled
a hearing on the matter for February 29.
It is too early to say who has won or lost more in this confrontation.
Wikileaks has demonstrated the willingness and the ability to sustain a
robust publication capability in defiance of legal authority, though it
may have lost its domain name for the foreseeable future. Bank Julius
Baer, whom most people would have never heard of, will now be
permanently linked in many minds with vague allegations of financial
misconduct.
But the disclosure restrictions that wikileaks managed to defeat were
not exactly those of a tyrannical government bent on censorship. They
were banking secrecy laws that protect ordinary people as well as
corporate malefactors. And by providing the occasion for the court's
extraordinary action, Wikileaks has helped set an unfortunate precedent
that may make the next court injunction against a public web site that
much easier to obtain.
Additional details on the case are available from cryptome.org and
wikileak.org (without the "s").
OVERSIGHT OF A US-IRAQ SECURITY AGREEMENT, AND MORE FROM CRS
Noteworthy new reports from the Congressional Research Service include
the following.
"Congressional Oversight and Related Issues Concerning the Prospective
Security Agreement Between the United States and Iraq," February 7,
2008:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/mideast/RL34362.pdf
"How Large is China's Economy? Does it Matter?," February 13, 2008:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/row/RS22808.pdf
"FY2009 Appropriations for State and Local Homeland Security," February
7, 2008:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/homesec/RS22805.pdf
"The Emergency Alert System (EAS) and All-Hazard Warnings," updated
January 28, 2008:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/homesec/RL32527.pdf
JASON ON SHOCKS TO SHIPS
A new report from the JASON defense science advisory panel examines the
feasibility of modeling explosive shocks to naval vessels to assess
their vulnerability.
"Underwater mines have long been a major threat to ships. The most
probable threats are non-contact explosions, where a high pressure wave
is launched towards the ship."
"During World War II, it was discovered that although such 'near miss'
explosions do not cause serious hull or superstructure damage, the
shock and vibrations associated with the blast nonetheless incapacitate
the ship, by knocking out critical components and systems. This
discovery led the Navy to implement a rigorous shock hardening test
procedure. The shock hardening testing culminates in a Full Ship Shock
Trial (FSST), in which an underwater explosive charge is set off near
an operational ship, and system and component failures are documented."
"JASON was asked by the Navy to examine the potential role of Modeling
and Simulation for certifying ship hardness, with the potential goal of
FSST replacement."
A copy of the unclassified JASON report was obtained by Secrecy News.
See "Navy Ship Underwater Shock Prediction and Testing Capability
Study," JSR-07-200, October 2007:
http://www.fas.org/irp/agency/dod/jason/shock.pdf
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dear Rag Readers:
I was fascinated to read the report from the White
House on the U.S. governments agreements with
Columbia and Brazil on interdiction of aircraft
involved in illicit drug trafficking.
Plus, Steve's FAS challenge to the Army's attempt
to block previously accessible Army doctrinal
publications. From a reader.
SECRECY NEWS
from the FAS Project on Government Secrecy
Volume 2008, Issue No. 16
February 13, 2008
Secrecy News Blog: http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/
** ARMY BLOCKS PUBLIC ACCESS TO DIGITAL LIBRARY
** INTERDICTION OF AIRCRAFT INVOLVED IN DRUG SMUGGLING
** IRANIAN NUCLEAR SCIENCE RESEARCH
** THE RUIN OF J. ROBERT OPPENHEIMER
** DOD ON DETAINEE OPERATIONS
ARMY BLOCKS PUBLIC ACCESS TO DIGITAL LIBRARY
Public access to the Reimer Digital Library, which is the largest
online collection of U.S. Army doctrinal publications, has been blocked
by the Army, which last week moved the collection behind a
password-protected firewall.
http://www.train.army.mil/
But today the Federation of American Scientists filed a Freedom of
Information Act request asking the Army to provide a copy of the entire
unclassified Library so that it could be posted on the FAS web site.
http://www.fas.org/sgp/news/2008/02/reimer.pdf
The Army move on February 6 marks the latest step in an ongoing
withdrawal of government records from the public domain.
"It was a policy decision to put it behind the AKO [Army Knowledge
Online] firewall and to restrict public access," said Don Gough of the
system development division at the Army Training Support Center at Fort
Eustis, Virginia, which operates the Reimer Digital Library.
The move came as a surprise since only unclassified and non-sensitive
records had ever been made available at the Library site.
Isn't it true, Secrecy News asked, that the only documents that had
been accessible to the public were those that had been specifically...
"'Approved for public release,' yes," said Mr. Gough, completing our
sentence. "I understand your concern," he added.
The FAS Freedom of Information Act request is intended to reverse the
Army action.
"We hope to restore public access to the Reimer Digital Library by
obtaining all of its publicly releasable contents and posting that
material on our own website," the FAS request explained. "Furthermore,
in order to preserve the status quo, we expect to file regular FOIA
requests for updates to the RDL two or three times a month, so that we
may add them to our mirror site."
"Alternatively, if the Army were to restore the prior level of public
access to the RDL, that would fulfill this request and make future
requests unnecessary," the FAS request stated.
Among the many thousands of documents that were formerly available to
the public on the Reimer Digital Library, two of the latest additions
are these:
"The Modular Force," Field Manual Interim FMI 3-0.1, January 2008:
http://www.fas.org/irp/doddir/army/fmi3-0-1.pdf
"Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and High Yield Explosives
Operational Headquarters," Field Manual Interim FMI 3-90.10, January
2008:
http://www.fas.org/irp/doddir/army/fmi3-90-10.pdf
INTERDICTION OF AIRCRAFT INVOLVED IN DRUG SMUGGLING
The U.S. Government supported the interdiction of over 80 flights over
Colombia last year as well as an undisclosed number of other flights
over Brazil that were suspected of involvement in drug trafficking,
according to a new White House report to Congress.
The report describes the procedures used, and the results that
followed.
See "Report Relating to the Interdiction of Aircraft Involved in
Illicit Drug Trafficking," communication from the President of the
United States, February 6:
http://www.fas.org/irp/congress/2008_rpt/interdict.pdf
IRANIAN NUCLEAR SCIENCE RESEARCH
The scale of Iranian research in nuclear science and technology is
evident from a new bibliography of published research by Iranian
scientists.
The bibliography, prepared by Mark Gorwitz, a private nonproliferation
researcher, includes titles on nuclear physics, reactor safety, isotope
separation and more.
See "Iranian Nuclear Science Bibliography: Open Literature References,"
by Mark Gorwitz, February 2008:
http://www.fas.org/nuke/guide/iran/nuke/biblio.pdf
THE RUIN OF J. ROBERT OPPENHEIMER
Priscilla J. McMillan, author of the well-received 2006 book "The Ruin
of J. Robert Oppenheimer and the Birth of the Modern Arms Race," has
opened up some of her personal archives relating to Oppenheimer and
posted them online.
Dozens of primary source documents that were uncovered by Ms. McMillan
in the course of her research on Oppenheimer, along with related
resources, can now be found on this site:
http://h-bombbook.com/index.html
The author has a new blog here:
http://blog.h-bombbook.com/
DOD ON DETAINEE OPERATIONS
The Department of Defense has released the final version of its
controversial doctrine on "detainee operations," which defines the
class of unlawful enemy combatants and prescribes their treatment.
"US forces must be prepared to properly control, maintain, protect, and
account for all categories of detainees in accordance with applicable
domestic law, international law, and policy," the new publication
explains.
Among the categories of detainees are those designated as "unlawful
enemy combatants" who, the DoD states, do not enjoy the ordinary
protections of lawful combatants.
"Unlawful ECs are persons not entitled to combatant immunity, who
engage in acts against the United States or its coalition partners in
violation of the laws and customs of war during an armed conflict or
who support such acts. For purposes of the war on terrorism, the term
unlawful EC is defined to include, but is not limited to, an individual
who is or was part of or supporting Taliban or al Qaeda forces or
associated forces that are engaged in hostilities against the United
States or its coalition partners."
At the same time, however, even unlawful enemy combatants must be
treated humanely, the document says, and to do otherwise is a war
crime.
"Common Article 3 to the Geneva Conventions of 1949, as construed and
applied by US law, establishes minimum standards for the humane
treatment of all persons detained by the United States and coalition
and allied forces. It is a war crime to undercut or violate these
standards. Common Article 3 prohibits at any time and in any place:
'violence to life and person, in particular murder of all kinds,
mutilation, cruel treatment and torture; taking of hostages; outrages
upon personal dignity, in particular humiliating and degrading
treatment; the passing of sentences and the carrying out of executions
without previous judgment pronounced by a regularly constituted court,
affording all the judicial guarantees which are recognized as
indispensable by civilized peoples'."
See "Detainee Operations," Joint Publication JP 3-63, February 6, 2008:
http://www.fas.org/irp/doddir/dod/jp3_63.pdf
_______________________________________________
Secrecy News is written by Steven Aftergood and published by the
Federation of American Scientists.
The Secrecy News Blog is at:
http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/
To SUBSCRIBE to Secrecy News, go to:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/news/secrecy/subscribe.html
To UNSUBSCRIBE, go to
http://www.fas.org/sgp/news/secrecy/unsubscribe.html
OR email your request to saftergood@fas.org
Secrecy News is archived at:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/news/secrecy/index.html
_______________________
Steven Aftergood
Project on Government Secrecy
Federation of American Scientists
web: www.fas.org/sgp/index.html
email: saftergood@fas.org
voice: (202) 454-4691
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dear Raggers:
I have already put in an order with Amazon
for "Inside the 9/11 Commission." From a reader
SECRECY NEWS
from the FAS Project on Government Secrecy
Volume 2008, Issue No. 15
February 11, 2008
Secrecy News Blog: http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/
** INSIDE THE 9/11 COMMISSION
** BLOG NEWS
INSIDE THE 9/11 COMMISSION
"Senior investigators on the 9/11 Commission believed their work was
being manipulated by the executive director to minimize criticism of
the Bush Administration," according to a new book on the Commission.
"Investigative staffers at the Commission believe [executive director]
Philip Zelikow repeatedly sought to minimize the administration's
intelligence failures in the months leading up to 9/11, which had the
effect of helping to ensure President Bush's re-election in 2004," no
less.
That is the sensational thesis of "The Commission: The Uncensored
History of the 9/11 Investigation" by New York Times reporter Philip
Shenon:
http://www.thecommissionbook.com
The claim was immediately disputed by the former Commissioners and by
former staff.
"The author is mistaken in his criticism of the role of Executive
Director Philip Zelikow. The proper standard for judgment is the
quality of the report, and there is no basis for the allegations of
bias he asserts," according to a February 8 statement issued jointly by
the Commissioners (except White House counsel Fred Fielding).
http://www.fas.org/irp/news/2008/02/911comm.pdf
Michael Hurley, a Commission staff member who led the team on
counterterrorism policy, concurred in an email message to Secrecy News.
"The Shenon book depicts Philip Zelikow as a manager who bullied the
9/11 Commission staff. He didn't bully the staff. Zelikow assembled a
stellar group of independent-minded professionals, many of whom had
substantial and distinguished careers in their fields. They were not
the sort who could be bullied or manipulated," said Mr. Hurley, a
former CIA operations officer who served in Afghanistan after September
11.
"No piece of evidence, no matter how damning to Bush, Rice, or Richard
Clarke got left on the cutting room floor," he added.
Mr. Shenon's engaging book provides new details on the efforts of
former national security adviser Sandy Berger to destroy documents at
the National Archive; the discovery of a highly classified Memorandum
of Notification authorizing the killing of Osama bin Laden that was
signed by President Clinton on December 24, 1998 then modified a few
months later for reasons that remain obscure; John Ashcroft's attempt
to embarrass Commissioner Jamie Gorelick, which had the unintended
effect of unifying the Commission; and lots of interesting, gossipy
details about the internal dynamics of the Commission, some of which,
as noted, have been disputed.
Last week, Mr. Shenon posted his extensive email exchanges with Mr.
Zelikow on the book's web site (www.thecommissionbook.com). Mr.
Zelikow also released almost the identical material, in slightly
different format and with a bit of material not included by Mr. Shenon
(such as a memo sent to Walter Pincus of the Washington Post regarding
a paper by Paul Pillar). The Zelikow release is here:
http://www.fas.org/irp/news/2008/02/zelikow.pdf
In either version, Zelikow's detailed messages, which are neither
defensive nor vindictive, tend to deflate the more breathless
allegations of his critics, and add a dimension of understanding to the
Commission report and its public reception.
"One of the most neglected observations in the report was in our
section comparing the Millenium period (end 1999) with the 'summer of
threat' in 2001," Mr. Zelikow wrote to Mr. Shenon on September 20, 2007
in a passage that was not included in the book.
"We made the point there that the main driver in all the attention in
the earlier period was the massive publicity surrounding the Ressam
arrest. [Ahmed Ressam was convicted of plotting to bomb Los Angeles
International Airport on New Year's Eve 1999.] We contrasted that with
the muffling secrecy of Summer 2001."
"Imagine what might have happened if the Moussaoui arrest had gotten
the kind of publicity and extended coverage that accompanied the Ressam
arrest. We had evidence from [Khalid Sheikh Mohammed] that, had he known
of the Moussaoui arrest, he might have cancelled the operation," Mr.
Zelikow wrote.
BLOG NEWS
We recently migrated the blog version of Secrecy News to a new format.
As a result, readers who previously subscribed to the blog may need to
update the feed address in their blog readers. The new feed is:
http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/wp-atom.php
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dear Rag Readers:
The following comes from Aftergood's summary of the CRS report on
the DHS/DOD "cooperation." If might be a good idea to know what
our tax dollars are paying for, therefore, might I suggest you read
the very short report. A citation:
"Seeking to continue to strengthen relationships between DHS and DOD, the
2008 NDAA directs the Secretary of Defense, in consultation with the Secretary of
Homeland Security, to determine what military-unique capabilities DOD provides
that are necessary to support civil authorities during national catastrophic incidents.
Additionally, the 2008 NDAA directs DOD to budget for additional requirements
deemed necessary to conduct civil support missions."
From: "Homeland Security: Roles and Missions for United States Northern
Command," January 28: http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/homesec/RL34342.pdf
Plus, did anyone ask the candidates if they would revise some of the insanely
invasive policies of the Bush administration when they got into office? No,
I didn't think so. From a reader of June's Rag.
SECRECY NEWS
from the FAS Project on Government Secrecy
Volume 2008, Issue No. 14
February 7, 2008
Secrecy News Blog: http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/
Support Secrecy News: http://www.fas.org/static/contrib_sec.jsp
** THE NEXT PRESIDENT COULD REVERSE BUSH-ERA SECRECY
** NORTHERN COMMAND ROLES AND MISSIONS, AND MORE FROM CRS
THE NEXT PRESIDENT COULD REVERSE BUSH-ERA SECRECY
The next President of the United States could single-handedly do what
years of advocacy, investigation, legislation and litigation have yet
to fully accomplish, namely to uncover the concealed record of the Bush
Administration's two terms in office on everything from warrantless
wiretapping to extraordinary rendition.
In an essay published in the Nieman Watchdog today, I argue that the
next Administration might find it advantageous and would clearly have
the authority to overcome the Bush-era secrecy that has impeded
government accountability and confounded public debate on a whole host
of issues.
"By now no one expects the Bush Administration to make itself
accountable for its controversial and possibly illegal practices in
domestic surveillance, prisoner detention and interrogation, or for its
numerous other departures from the norms of American government. But the
next President will have a unique opportunity to reveal what has been
kept hidden for the last seven years, and to let Americans know exactly
what has been done in their name."
"Although internal White House records that document the activities of
the outgoing President and his personal advisers will be exempt from
disclosure for a dozen years or so, every Bush Administration decision
that was actually translated into policy will have left a documentary
trail in one or more of the agencies, and all such records could be
disclosed at the discretion of the next President."
If so, it would make sense to question the presidential candidates now
about their willingness to engage in such housecleaning by asking them,
for example:
"Will you disclose the full scope of Bush Administration domestic
surveillance activities affecting American citizens, including all
surveillance actions that were undertaken outside of the framework of
law, as well as the legal opinions that were generated to justify
them?"
See "The next president should open up the Bush Administration's
record" by Steven Aftergood, Nieman Watchdog, February 7:
http://www.niemanwatchdog.org/index.cfm
The Nieman Watchdog, a project of the Nieman Foundation for Journalism
at Harvard University, aims to invigorate press coverage by framing
probing questions on matters of public policy importance.
NORTHERN COMMAND ROLES AND MISSIONS, AND MORE FROM CRS
Noteworthy new reports from the Congressional Research Service include
the following.
"Homeland Security: Roles and Missions for United States Northern
Command," January 28:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/homesec/RL34342.pdf
"Pakistan's Nuclear Weapons: Proliferation and Security Issues,"
updated January 14, 2008:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/nuke/RL34248.pdf
"Pakistan's Political Crises," updated January 3, 2008:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/row/RL34240.pdf
"Navy Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) Program: Oversight Issues and Options
for Congress," updated January 4, 2008:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/weapons/RL33741.pdf
"East Asian Regional Architecture: New Economic and Security
Arrangements and U.S. Policy," updated January 4, 2008:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/row/RL33653.pdf
"The United Nations Human Rights Council: Issues for Congress," updated
January 8, 2008:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/row/RL33608.pdf
_______________________________________________
Secrecy News is written by Steven Aftergood and published by the
Federation of American Scientists.
The Secrecy News Blog is at:
http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/
To SUBSCRIBE to Secrecy News, go to:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/news/secrecy/subscribe.html
To UNSUBSCRIBE, go to
http://www.fas.org/sgp/news/secrecy/unsubscribe.html
OR email your request to saftergood@fas.org
Secrecy News is archived at:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/news/secrecy/index.html
SUPPORT Secrecy News with a donation here:
http://www.fas.org/static/contrib_sec.jsp
_______________________
Steven Aftergood
Project on Government Secrecy
Federation of American Scientists
web: www.fas.org/sgp/index.html
email: saftergood@fas.org
voice: (202) 454-4691
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SECRECY NEWS
from the FAS Project on Government Secrecy
Volume 2008, Issue No. 13
February 5, 2008
Secrecy News Blog: http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/
Support Secrecy News: http://www.fas.org/static/contrib_sec.jsp
** RENDITION TO TORTURE: THE CASE OF MAHER ARAR
RENDITION TO TORTURE: THE CASE OF MAHER ARAR
The case of Maher Arar, the Canadian national who was mistakenly
identified as an Islamist extremist and deported from the United States
to Syria for interrogation under torture, was explored in a
Congressional hearing last October. The record of that hearing has
just been published.
"The refusal of the Bush administration to be held accountable [for its
handling of the Arar case] is an embarrassment to many of us," said Rep.
Bill Delahunt (D-MA) of the House Judiciary Committee, who issued his
own apology to Mr. Arar.
Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) endorsed the apology to Maher Arar, but
also defended the Bush Administration policy of extraordinary
rendition.
"Should we halt every government program that, due to a human error,
results in a tragedy?" asked Mr. Rohrabacher. "I challenge anybody to
compare the error rate of rendition, this program, with the error rate
in any other government program."
See "Rendition to Torture: The Case of Maher Arar," joint hearing
before subcommittees of the House Judiciary and Foreign Affairs
Committees, October 18, 2007:
http://www.fas.org/irp/congress/2007_hr/arar.pdf
------------------------------------------------------------------ MORE SECRETS.
Los Angeles, CA February 1, 2008 – A growing number of Architects, Engineers and Scientists are finding out that the official narrative about the events of September 11th has been proven incorrect by way of scientific evidence.
To further their cause for a truly independent investigation of 9/11, Architect Richard Gage, AIA and Physics Professor (ret.) Dr. Steven Jones will put forth a presentation of facts and analysis providing scientific proof that the three World Trade Center buildings (buildings 1, 2 and 7) were not destroyed by jet impact and fires alone, but by controlled demolition with explosives.
This presentation will be made available to the public on Saturday, February 23 at the Immanuel Presbyterian Church* located at 3300 Wilshire Blvd. in Los Angeles.
Thanks to the reader who sent the above
I googled the names of the scientists and found the following that you can click in to:
BYU Physics Prof. Steven Jones finds Thermate in WTC Physical Samples, .... http://www.ae911truth.org/ web site for Richard Gage, Architect, AIA and links ...
www.abodia.com/911/ - 46k - Cached - Similar pages |
Richard Gage, AIA, Architect, the founder of Architects and Engineers for ... Dr. Steven Jones, Kevin Ryan, Jim Hoffman, and others responded to the FAQ on ...
philjayhan.wordpress.com/2007/04/29/more-canadian-news-media-groups-expose-911/ - 62k - Cached - Similar pages
Interview with Bay Area architect Richard Gage, AIA, about the organization .... former astronaut Edgar Mitchell, physics professor Dr. Steven Jones, Ret. ...
www.ae911truth.org/announce/ - 41k - Cached - Similar pages---
The group submitting the Request includes 9/11 family members Bob McIlvaine and Bill Doyle, architect Richard Gage, AIA, physicist Steven E. Jones, ...
www.gnn.tv/threads/6031/Former_Bush_Team_Member_Says_WTC_Collapse_Likely_A_Controlled_Demolition?page=33... - 193k - Cached - Similar pages
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MORE UNCOVERED NEWS - A HOPEFUL SIGN
IF YOU CAN STAND MORE, - A FASCINATING ARTICLE FOUND in "LIBERAL OPINION WEEK", of
1/30 available at the GV Library every week.
HAS THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION BEEN CHECKED BY AN 'EXECUTIVE COUP D'ETAT' ?
by William Pfaff
Paris, January 17, 2008 – The conspicuous irrelevance of George W. Bush’s tour of the Middle East to any of the real forces and interests of the region, as well as the spooky irrelevance of nearly everything he said there about the alleged menace of Iran, Israel-Palestine peace, his fancied notions of Iraq’s democratic development, and even about oil prices and the American economy, embarrassed his Arab hosts as well as the American officials and press accompanying him.
The tour – his farewell to the Middle East? -- lent weight to the judgment many abroad have already reached, that he no longer governs the United States, and indeed does not even understand its present foreign relationships. It is widely felt that what amounts to a coup d’etat has taken place in the United States, removing George Bush, without his even recognizing this (or at least admitting that it has occurred) from control over the principal issues of war and peace.
This coup has taken the form of what amounts to a mutiny of the professional foreign policy services of the U.S. government, acquiesced in by the new Secretary of Defense, the service chiefs, and Director of Central Intelligence Bush has himself appointed.
It was specifically carried out by the 16 recognized intelligence services in the American government, not as an act of law defiance, but by faithful execution of their duty as required by law, which is to form a common judgment, free from partisan pressure or interest, on matters vital to the nation.
The National Intelligence Estimate made known December 3, after an elaborate civilian and military interagency consultation, carefully walled off from interference by the politically partisan figures in the Bush administration, was presented as a fait accompli to the White House, the press and the nation as a whole. Its finding was that the claims made by the White House and others that Iran was actively developing nuclear weapons were untrue, contradicted by the consensus judgment of all the American government’s intelligence agencies.
Implicit in this was a threat. This threat was that the main military service chiefs and their Department of Defense superiors would not act on a presidential order to attack Iran. This decision would not take the form of direct and insubordinate refusal of orders. It would be a refusal by the military and their chiefs to act on such an order until Congress had been informed and consulted, and had performed its constitutional duty to give formal legislative consent to acts of war.
The pathetic and pusillanimous refusal of recent American Congresses – and we are not simply speaking about the Congress now in office, but of practically every Congress since the beginning of the cold war – to fulfill their constitutional responsibilities with respect to the declaration and financing of wars, has now generated its own rebuke from within the executive branch of government.
Leaders in the executive branch are unwilling to act on presidential orders that do not carry with them the constitutionally mandated authority of the representative branch of government.
This is a response by the executive branch to the insistent efforts of the Bush White House, acting on a novel and controversial theory of supreme executive authority in matters of national security, to permanently alter the practive and disarm the legal precedents of American government.
This effort has thus far met little effective opposition in the Congress, and has in general been abetted by a judiciary intimidated by the powers of the Bush Justice Department, and by administration federal and supreme court appointments that imply that this novel theory will become permanntly installed as the law of the land.
Judicial resistance has been rare to the administration’s defiance of what until now have been all but universally accepted as fundamental norms of American government and justice: of respect for humanitarian precedent and treaty obligation under international law concerning wartime conduct towards civilians, the seizure and treatment of prisoners or ‘detainees,’ and deference to what the American Declaration of Independence describes as a ‘decent respect to the opinions of mankind.’
The matter might also be described as a mutiny by what it is now customary to call the civil society, that minority of responsible leaders of important institutions in society itself -- the professions, the university, the clergy – who are willing to demand accountability of American government and defend American society’s traditional norms of justice and decency.
It seems reasonable to say that as the irresponsibility of the Bush-Cheney government has become increasingly apparent, and in the past year its seeming determination to initiate another war of aggressive intervention in the Middle East became evident, with manifest risk of provoking regional conflict embroiling the United States for years to come, a consensus has emerged in American elite opinion that has lent authority to mutiny inside the government.
I am perhaps taking a romantic and unjustified view of what has happened. I hope not. I believe that only grave malfeasance in government and unconstitutional conduct justify an executive ‘coup d’etat’ – however ‘postmodern’ the form that it assumes, and however elevated its motives.
However I would suggest that the present election campaign demonstrates that powerful forces in the Washington political and foreign policy communities, reinforced by financial and industrial interests, are committed to suppressing all challenge to policies that already have altered the political character of the United States. The American form of government itself needs to be defended.
Copyright 2008 by Tribune Media Services International. All Rights Reserved.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ANOTHER SECRET EXPOSED: Bill Clinton is back being the president and Hillary
hasn't even been elected.
- - - - - - - - - -
New York Times
by Jo Becker and Don Van Natta Jr.
updated 12:11 a.m. MT, Thurs., Jan. 31, 2008
Late on Sept. 6, 2005, a private plane carrying the Canadian mining financier Frank Giustra touched down in Almaty, a ruggedly picturesque city in southeast Kazakhstan. Several hundred miles to the west a fortune awaited: highly coveted deposits of uranium that could fuel nuclear reactors around the world. And Mr. Giustra was in hot pursuit of an exclusive deal to tap them.
Unlike more established competitors, Mr. Giustra was a newcomer to uranium mining in Kazakhstan, a former Soviet republic. But what his fledgling company lacked in experience, it made up for in connections. Accompanying Mr. Giustra on his luxuriously appointed MD-87 jet that day was a former president of the United States, Bill Clinton.
Upon landing on the first stop of a three-country philanthropic tour, the two men were whisked off to share a sumptuous midnight banquet with Kazakhstan�s president, Nursultan A. Nazarbayev, whose 19-year stranglehold on the country has all but quashed political dissent.
Story continues below ↓
advertisement
Mr. Nazarbayev walked away from the table with a propaganda coup, after Mr. Clinton expressed enthusiastic support for the Kazakh leader�s bid to head an international organization that monitors elections and supports democracy. Mr. Clinton�s public declaration undercut both American foreign policy and sharp criticism of Kazakhstan�s poor human rights record by, among others, Mr. Clinton�s wife, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York.
Within two days, corporate records show that Mr. Giustra also came up a winner when his company signed preliminary agreements giving it the right to buy into three uranium projects controlled by Kazakhstan�s state-owned uranium agency, Kazatomprom.
Deal stunned the mining industry
The monster deal stunned the mining industry, turning an unknown shell company into one of the world�s largest uranium producers in a transaction ultimately worth tens of millions of dollars to Mr. Giustra, analysts said.
Just months after the Kazakh pact was finalized, Mr. Clinton�s charitable foundation received its own windfall: a $31.3 million donation from Mr. Giustra that had remained a secret until he acknowledged it last month. The gift, combined with Mr. Giustra�s more recent and public pledge to give the William J. Clinton Foundation an additional $100 million, secured Mr. Giustra a place in Mr. Clinton�s inner circle, an exclusive club of wealthy entrepreneurs in which friendship with the former president has its privileges.
Mr. Giustra was invited to accompany the former president to Almaty just as the financier was trying to seal a deal he had been negotiating for months.
In separate written responses, both men said Mr. Giustra traveled with Mr. Clinton to Kazakhstan, India and China to see first-hand the philanthropic work done by his foundation.
A spokesman for Mr. Clinton said the former president knew that Mr. Giustra had mining interests in Kazakhstan but was unaware of �any particular efforts� and did nothing to help. Mr. Giustra said he was there as an �observer only� and there was �no discussion� of the deal with Mr. Nazarbayev or Mr. Clinton.
But Moukhtar Dzhakishev, president of Kazatomprom, said in an interview that Mr. Giustra did discuss it, directly with the Kazakh president, and that his friendship with Mr. Clinton �of course made an impression.� Mr. Dzhakishev added that Kazatomprom chose to form a partnership with Mr. Giustra�s company based solely on the merits of its offer.
After The Times told Mr. Giustra that others said he had discussed the deal with Mr. Nazarbayev, Mr. Giustra responded that he �may well have mentioned my general interest in the Kazakhstan mining business to him, but I did not discuss the ongoing� efforts.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
To Rag Readers:
Below, the Army instructs our children in what
is required of a "warrior."
SECRECY NEWS
from the FAS Project on Government Secrecy
Volume 2008, Issue No. 12
January 31, 2008
Secrecy News Blog: http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/
Support Secrecy News: http://www.fas.org/static/contrib_sec.jsp
** PRESIDENT ASKS FOR AGENCY VIEWS ON DECLASSIFICATION
** HISTORIANS SEEK RELEASE OF ROSENBERG GRAND JURY RECORDS
** THE OKNO AND KRONA SPACE SURVEILLANCE SYSTEMS
** THE WARRIOR ETHOS
PRESIDENT ASKS FOR AGENCY VIEWS ON DECLASSIFICATION
President Bush this week ordered executive branch agency heads to
respond to dozens of recommendations that were issued earlier this
month by the Public Interest Declassification Board, an official
advisory group, regarding the declassification of historical records.
The Board's report, "Improving Declassification," presented 49
recommendations to increase the utility and productivity of
declassification, such as establishment of a National Declassification
Center, creation of a public database of declassified documents,
expedited declassification of presidential records including the
President's Daily Brief, and new procedures for declassification of
closed congressional hearing records and other documents.
"Please submit in writing no later than April 15, 2008... your views on
each of the recommendations, including with respect to each
recommendation your view of whether and to what extent it should be
implemented," President Bush told the agency heads on January 29.
http://www.fas.org/sgp/bush/wh012908.html
The Board's report hardly made a ripple when it was released earlier
this month (Secrecy News, 01/09/08). And since it is purely advisory,
it could easily have been ignored.
But the President's response increases the likelihood that the Board's
recommendations will now receive serious consideration, inside and
outside of the executive branch.
HISTORIANS SEEK RELEASE OF ROSENBERG GRAND JURY RECORDS
A coalition of historians is petitioning a federal court in New York to
release sealed grand jury records from the 1951 indictment of Julius and
Ethel Rosenberg, who were convicted of spying for the Soviet Union and
executed in 1953.
The Rosenberg case, a crucible of atomic secrets, American communism,
Soviet spying, U.S. counterespionage, and more, remains a landmark in
the history of the Cold War. But after decades of debate and
disclosure, some of the basic records of the case still remain
inaccessible. The historians' initiative aims to change that.
The National Security Archive, one of the petitioners, has published
the petition along with a diverse collection of declarations here:
http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/news/20080131/index.htm
THE OKNO AND KRONA SPACE SURVEILLANCE SYSTEMS
Russia's Okno and Krona space surveillance systems are profiled in a
newly updated open-source documentary collection by former CIA analyst
Allen Thomson.
The precise location of the Okno facility, which is in Tajikistan, has
not been publicly identified.
But last year, observed Mr. Thomson, a new "Krona-N radar site near
Nakhodka was found in Google Earth (not by me) and the head of the
Russian Space Forces says it's going to be put into operation starting
this year."
"Like Krona Classic in the Caucasus, this is going to be an imaging
radar," he said. "Together with the 3-meter adaptive optics telescope
being built in Siberia, the Krona radars will give Russia an excellent,
all-weather capability to get high-resolution images of foreign
satellites of interest. The new National Reconnaissance Office spysats
scheduled for launch in the next few years seem likely to be among
those."
The new documentary collection is mostly in Russian, with selected
translations and some nice images.
See "Sourcebook on the Okno and Krona Space Surveillance Sites" by
Allen Thomson:
http://www.fas.org/spp/military/program/track/okno.pdf
THE WARRIOR ETHOS
A new U.S. Army Field Manual presents an introduction for soldiers to
"the warrior ethos."
"Modern combat is chaotic, intense, and shockingly destructive," the
document states. "In your first battle, you will experience the
confusing and often terrifying sights, sounds, smells, and dangers of
the battlefield--but you must learn to survive and win despite them."
"The Warrior Culture, a shared set of important beliefs, values, and
assumptions, is crucial and perishable. Therefore, the Army must
continually affirm, develop, and sustain it, as it maintains the
nation's existence."
The warrior ethos (or any other) is not instilled simply by reading
about it. But the new Army publication provides a common vocabulary
and framework of reference for the aspiring warrior, along with basic
survival and combat techniques.
See "The Warrior Ethos and Soldier Combat Skills," U.S. Army Field
Manual FM 3-21.75, January 2008 (316 pages in a very large 28 MB PDF
file):
http://www.fas.org/irp/doddir/army/fm3-21-75.pdf
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rag Readers:
Please notice that Philip Zelikow, of the 9/11 Commission, "engaged in
'surreptitious' communications with presidential adviser Karl Rove and
other Bush administration officials during the commission's 20-month
investigation into the 9/11 attacks." More on this issue below.
SECRECY NEWS
from the FAS Project on Government Secrecy
Volume 2008, Issue No. 11
January 30, 2008
Secrecy News Blog: http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/
Support Secrecy News: http://www.fas.org/static/contrib_sec.jsp
** ESPIONAGE IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY
** ANOTHER LOOK AT THE 9/11 COMMISSION
** PRESIDENTIAL TRANSITIONS, AND MORE FROM CRS
ESPIONAGE IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY
Espionage remains "a very real threat to U.S. national security," a
House Judiciary Committee panel was told this week.
"Since the end of the Cold War, there have been 78 individuals arrested
for espionage or espionage-related crimes and since the 21st century
began, there have been 37 individuals arrested in the US as agents of
foreign powers," according to David G. Major, a former senior FBI
official who is now President of the private Counterintelligence
Centre.
In his January 29 testimony, Mr. Major presented a convenient
tabulation of "Agents of Foreign Powers Arrested in the United States
in the 21st Century":
http://www.fas.org/irp/congress/2008_hr/012908major.pdf
But his list erroneously includes Steven J. Rosen and Keith Weissman,
former officials of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee
(AIPAC), who are charged with unauthorized receipt and disclosure of
classified information.
They are not accused of espionage, nor does the U.S. Government argue
that they are agents of a foreign power. To the contrary, prosecutors
acknowledged in a January 30, 2006 court filing that it is a "fact that
the defendants were not agents of Israel, or any foreign nation."
Recent espionage cases were also reviewed at the House Committee
hearing by J. Patrick Rowan of the Department of Justice and Larry M.
Wortzel of the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission. Their
prepared statements are here:
http://www.fas.org/irp/congress/2008_hr/index.html#esp
ANOTHER LOOK AT THE 9/11 COMMISSION
Author Max Holland takes an advance peek at a new, not-yet-published
book about the 9/11 Commission.
"In a revelation bound to cast a pall over the 9/11 Commission, [New
York Times reporter] Philip Shenon will report in a forthcoming book
that the panel's executive director, Philip Zelikow, engaged in
'surreptitious' communications with presidential adviser Karl Rove and
other Bush administration officials during the commission's 20-month
investigation into the 9/11 attacks," Mr. Holland writes.
See "Commission Confidential," January 30:
http://www.washingtondecoded.com/site/2008/01/commission-conf.html
PRESIDENTIAL TRANSITIONS, AND MORE FROM CRS
Noteworthy new and newly updated reports from the Congressional
Research Service include the following.
"Presidential Transitions," updated December 27, 2007:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/RL30736.pdf
"Engineered Nanoscale Materials and Derivative Products: Regulatory
Challenges," January 22, 2008:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/RL34332.pdf
"NATO in Afghanistan: A Test of the Transatlantic Alliance," updated
January 7, 2008:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/row/RL33627.pdf
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SECRECY NEWS
from the FAS Project on Government Secrecy
Volume 2008, Issue No. 10
January 29, 2008
Secrecy News Blog: http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/
Support Secrecy News: http://www.fas.org/static/contrib_sec.jsp
** CONFRONTING THE STATE SECRETS PRIVILEGE
** CHINA'S CURRENCY, AND MORE FROM CRS
CONFRONTING THE STATE SECRETS PRIVILEGE
At a House Judiciary Subcommittee hearing today, witnesses discussed
the feasibility and advisability of legislating reforms to the state
secrets privilege.
The state secrets privilege has been used by the executive branch to
block discovery in civil litigation when the government believes that
there is an unacceptable risk of disclosure of sensitive national
security secrets. But on several occasions, the mere assertion of the
privilege has led to termination of the lawsuit. It has effectively
short-circuited the adjudication of claims against the government
involving domestic surveillance, unlawful detention, and torture.
"I do believe thoughtful legislation is needed to insure that maximum
and uniform efforts are made to strike the right balance between
national security needs and fair judicial proceedings," said the Hon.
Patricia M. Wald, the retired chief judge of the DC Circuit Court of
Appeals in testimony today.
Legislative intervention was also endorsed by H. Thomas Wells, Jr., the
president-elect of the American Bar Association, and by Kevin Bankston
of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, whose lawsuit on warrantless
domestic surveillance has prompted state secrets claims by the
government.
Patrick Philbin, a former deputy attorney general, argued that any
legislative proposal to permit judges to overrule the executive branch
regarding the sensitivity of particular information "would be a
mistake."
The prepared statements from today's hearing are posted here:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/congress/2008/index.html#statesec
Last week, Senators Kennedy, Specter and Leahy introduced "The State
Secrets Protection Act." The text of that legislation is now available
here:
http://www.fas.org/irp/congress/2008_cr/s2533.html
CHINA'S CURRENCY, AND MORE FROM CRS
Newly updated reports from the Congressional Research Service that have
not been made readily available to the public include the following:
"China's Currency: Economic Issues and Options for U.S. Trade Policy,"
updated January 9, 2008:
Readers:
Be sure to check out the link to a blurb
about a new movie called "Secrecy."
More and more, the subject of how
much secrecy is necessary to "protect"
our Democracy is being discussed
behind the scenes - outside the public
mainstream press.
SECRECY NEWS
from the FAS Project on Government Secrecy
Volume 2008, Issue No. 9
January 24, 2008
Secrecy News Blog: http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/
Support Secrecy News: http://www.fas.org/static/contrib_sec.jsp
** AIR FORCE UPDATES PROCEDURES FOR HANDLING NUCLEAR WEAPONS
** PRESSURE GROWS TO LIMIT THE STATE SECRETS PRIVILEGE
** THE NEED FOR A LAW AGAINST COMINT LEAKS (1944)
AIR FORCE UPDATES PROCEDURES FOR HANDLING NUCLEAR WEAPONS
The U.S. Air Force last week issued revised procedures for securely
maintaining and transporting nuclear weapons.
The move follows an incident last August in which crewmen at Minot Air
Force Base in North Dakota mistook missiles armed with nuclear weapons
for unarmed missiles and flew them across the country without
authorization.
Though the Minot AFB event is not mentioned in the new procedures, the
origins of that mishap are implicitly addressed: "Do not co-mingle
nuclear and non-nuclear munitions/missiles ... in the same storage
structure, cell, or WS3 [weapons storage and security system]."
"Nuclear weapons require special consideration because of their
political and military importance, destructive power, cost, and
potential consequences of an accident or unauthorized act," the Air
Force Instruction observes.
The new policy prescribes detailed auditing and tracking procedures to
promote accountability of nuclear weapons, along with weapons
maintenance, personnel certification, and secure transport.
The document was approved for public release.
See "Nuclear Weapons Maintenance Procedures," Air Force Instruction
21-204, 17 January 2008:
http://www.fas.org/irp/doddir/usaf/afi21-204.pdf
PRESSURE GROWS TO LIMIT THE STATE SECRETS PRIVILEGE
A rising tide of criticism of the use of the state secrets privilege to
derail litigation against the government has yielded new legislation
introduced in the Senate to define the privilege and to limit its use.
The state secrets privilege has been invoked with growing frequency to
deflect claims of unlawful domestic surveillance, detention, and
torture as well as other more mundane complaints, on grounds that
adjudicating them would cause unacceptable damage to national security.
But a new bill sponsored by Senators Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA) and Arlen
Specter (R-PA) would provide a mechanism for protecting legitimate
secrets while also permitting litigation to proceed.
"The [proposed] Act ensures that the litigation process will not reveal
state secrets, using many of the same safeguards that have proven
effective in criminal cases and in litigation under the Freedom of
Information Act," according to a description issued by Senator
Kennedy's office. "For example, a court may limit a party's access to
hearings, court filings, and affidavits, or require counsel to have
appropriate security clearances."
And crucially, "The Act clarifies that the courts, not the executive
branch, must review the evidence and determine whether information is
covered by the state secrets privilege."
Senator Kennedy introduced the State Secrets Protection Act (S. 2533)
on January 22.
http://www.fas.org/irp/congress/2008_cr/statesec.html
The personal story behind the controversial 1953 Supreme Court ruling
that established the state secrets privilege is featured, along with
other aspects of government secrecy, in the new film "Secrecy" by Peter
Galison and Robb Moss.
http://www.secrecyfilm.org/about.html
The film premiered this past week at the Sundance Film Festival, where
it was reportedly well-received. "The question of how much we should
rely on methods inconsistent with our values is intelligently and
elegantly handled," wrote Los Angeles Times film reviewer Kenneth
Turan.
THE NEED FOR A NEW LAW AGAINST COMINT LEAKS (1944)
There is a "great need" for legislation that will specifically prohibit
and punish unauthorized disclosures of communication intelligence
(COMINT), the U.S. military argued in a newly-released 1944 report.
Such a law was in fact enacted in 1950.
"Unauthorized disclosures... have jeopardized, on several occasions,
the results of many years of arduous research and have endangered the
safety of our armed forces," according to the report.
The document provides "an historical resume of some of the famous
publicity leaks of the past generation," including an account of
Herbert Yardley's "Black Chamber" and a chapter on the "effects of
publicity leaks on U.S. cryptanalytical activities," in order "to
demonstrate the need for greater security precautions."
"It is recognized that a satisfactory solution of this problem will
probably encroach upon the freedom of the press and freedom of speech,"
the authors write in the late World War II-era report. "The issues at
stake are so important, however, that some action must be taken in the
interest of national safety."
The 1944 report was released by the National Security Agency in
response to a request from researcher Michael Ravnitzky, who provided a
copy to Secrecy News.
See "The Need for New Legislation Against Unauthorized Disclosures of
Communication Intelligence Activities," report to the U.S. Army-Naval
Communication Intelligence Coordinating Committee, Special Report No.
1, June 9, 1944:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/library/comint1944.pdf
In 1950, Congress enacted legislation to protect communications
intelligence from unauthorized disclosure (18 U.S.C. 798). That
statute embodied several of the specific recommendations formulated in
the 1944 report.
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Secrecy News is written by Steven Aftergood and published by the
Federation of American Scientists.
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SECRECY NEWS
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