In an abrupt reversal, the Central Intelligence Agency said that it will process a Freedom of Information Act request for documents pertaining to the establishment of Open Source Works, the CIA’s in-house open source intelligence organization.
Intelligence historian Jeffrey Richelson had requested the charter of Open Source Works under the Freedom of Information Act, only to be told that the CIA could not confirm or deny the existence (or non-existence) of responsive records. See “Charter of Open Source Org is Classified, CIA Says,” Secrecy News, December 12.
But Dr. Richelson said that CIA Information and Privacy Coordinator Susan Viscuso called him yesterday to inform him that the request would be processed after all. The earlier response, she said, was “an administrative error.”
Satellite imagery of RAF Lakenheath reveals new construction of a security perimeter around ten protective aircraft shelters in the designated nuclear area, the latest measure in a series of upgrades as the base prepares for the ability to store U.S. nuclear weapons.
It will take consistent leadership and action to navigate the complex dangers in the region and to avoid what many analysts considered to be an increasingly possible outcome, a nuclear conflict in East Asia.
Getting into a shutdown is the easy part, getting out is much harder. Both sides will be looking to pin responsibility on each other, and the court of public opinion will have a major role to play as to who has the most leverage for getting us out.
How the United States responds to China’s nuclear buildup will shape the global nuclear balance for the rest of the century.