Brennan: “Perhaps” Classification System is Outdated
Among the questions submitted to DCIA-nominee John Brennan by the Senate Intelligence Committee in advance of his much-anticipated confirmation hearing this afternoon was one about classification policy.
A recent report to the President from the Public Interest Declassification Board termed the national security classification system “outdated,” the Committee noted. Does Mr. Brennan agree?
“I would say that the classification system is perhaps outdated in some respects and the recommendations from the PIDB report warrant further consideration,” he replied (Question 30). “If confirmed as Director, I would review the PIDB’s conclusions and would be glad to get back to the Committee with my views.”
In other words, he seemed to say, one of the cornerstones of intelligence as practiced today may be obsolete, at least “in some respects.” But I have nothing to say about that right now. Let’s talk about it after I am confirmed.
At a recent workshop, we explored the nature of trust in specific government functions, the risk and implications of breaking trust in those systems, and how we’d known we were getting close to specific trust breaking points.
tudents in the 21st century need strong critical thinking skills like reasoning, questioning, and problem-solving, before they can meaningfully engage with more advanced domains like digital, data, or AI literacy.
When the U.S. government funds the establishment of a platform for testing hundreds of behavioral interventions on a large diverse population, we will start to better understand the interventions that will have an efficient and lasting impact on health behavior.
The grant comes from the Carnegie Corporation of New York (CCNY) to investigate, alongside The British American Security Information Council (BASIC), the associated impact on nuclear stability.