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.”
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.
On Tuesday, December 23rd, the Department of Defense released its annual congressionally-mandated report on China’s military developments, also known as the “China Military Power Report,” or “CMPR.” The report is typically a valuable injection of information into the open source landscape, and represents a useful barometer for how the Pentagon assesses both the intentions and […]
Successful NC3 modernization must do more than update hardware and software: it must integrate emerging technologies in ways that enhance resilience, ensure meaningful human control, and preserve strategic stability.
The FY2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) paints a picture of a Congress that is working to both protect and accelerate nuclear modernization programs while simultaneously lacking trust in the Pentagon and the Department of Energy to execute them.
For Impact Fellow John Whitmer, working in public service was natural. “I’ve always been around people who make a living by caring.”