PCLOB Releases Its Oversight Agenda July 2, 2019
The Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board is conducting oversight in nearly a dozen areas broadly related to intelligence and counterterrorism. The PCLOB oversight agenda was …
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Classified Anti-Terrorist Ops Raise Oversight Questions November 5, 2018
Last February, the Secretary of Defense initiated three new classified anti-terrorist operations intended “to degrade al Qaeda and ISIS-affiliated terrorists in the Middle East and specific regions of Africa.” A…
Read moreReviving the Role of CRS in Congressional Oversight September 6, 2018
The Congressional Research Service once played a prominent role in supporting oversight by congressional committees. Although that support has diminished sharply in recent years, it could conceivably be restored in…
Read moreSSCI Requires Strategy for Countering Russia July 17, 2018
In its new report on the FY 18-19 Intelligence Authorization bill, published today, the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence would require the Director of National Intelligence…
Read moreThe Aging Secrecy System Is “At a Crossroads” July 12, 2018
Today’s national security classification system is unsustainable, says a new annual report to the President from the government’s Information Security Oversight Office…
Read moreSuppressed Afghanistan War Data Now Published March 8, 2018
In January, the Department of Defense ordered the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) not to publish certain data on areas of Afghanistan that were held by insurgents. “This…
Read moreBudget Law May “Neuter” Intelligence Oversight January 24, 2018
The new budget law that keeps the government open for the next three weeks includes a provision that would permit the transfer and spending of intelligence funds during that period…
Read moreUS Air Force Updates Policy on Special Access Programs December 6, 2017
The US Air Force last month issued updated policy guidance on its “special access programs” (SAPs). Those are classified programs of exceptional sensitivity requiring safeguards and access restrictions…
Read moreExecutive Branch Oversight, Here & There September 18, 2017
Government oversight can take diverse forms even among Western democracies. A new report from the Law Library of Congress surveys the mechanisms of parliamentary oversight of…
Read moreSenate Intelligence Authorization Report Filed September 11, 2017
Do the security clearance procedures that are used for granting access to classified information actually serve their intended purpose? To help answer that question, the Senate Intelligence Committee mandated a…
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