Independent press reporting of Army plans to extend soldiers’ tours of duty in Iraq by three months prompted outraged warnings from the Army vice chief of staff about the need to improve control of Army information against unauthorized disclosure. See “General: Embarrassing = Secret” in the Danger Room blog, April 18.
The government asserted the “state secrets” privilege in a Nevada lawsuit involving eTreppid Technologies (and the classified BIG SAFARI program). But instead of trying to shut the case down, as commonly occurs in state secrets cases, the government, which is not a party to the case, is proposing a way that it could proceed. See “eTreppid case gets special treatment” by Martha Bellisle, Reno Gazette-Journal, April 19.
Senate efforts to advance the FY2007 Intelligence Authorization Act collapsed again on April 17 in the face of Republican opposition to several provisions of the legislation, further undermining congressional oversight of intelligence.
This is bigger than a singular elimination of race and ethnicity questions. It could accelerate the second wave of widespread reductions to demographic data, leaving public health officials with even less information to deliver better health outcomes for all Americans.
Soft law was never meant to be a permanent solution. Treating it as one, and letting the sandcastle stand in for the skyscraper indefinitely, is how we end up with a decade of voluntary commitments and no enforceable accountability to show for it.
FAS has partnered with ICLEI USA to launch the CRI Local Advisory Council.
We sat down with Dr. Max Moritz and Chief Rob Hazard to discuss how communities use time, money, and data to reduce the risk that wildfires pose.