Updated below The Department of Defense revealed this week that “The fact that U.S. nuclear weapons were deployed on Okinawa prior to Okinawa’s reversion to Japan on May 15, 1972” has been declassified. While this is indeed news concerning classification policy, it does not represent new information about Okinawa. According to an existing Wikipedia entry, […]
In response to calls for increased deployment of ground forces against the Islamic State, the Congressional Research Service stated this week that “There are no clear-cut answers to determining the suitability, size, and mission profile of the ground elements of any military campaign; determining the disposition of military forces is in many ways as much […]
Under a requirement recently enacted by Congress, intelligence agency employees who hold clearances for Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI) must report any employment with a foreign government entity for up to two years after leaving their US government job. An internal US Air Force memorandum implementing the new requirement for Air Force intelligence personnel was released […]
A new summary of U.S. intelligence expenditures over time has been prepared by the Congressional Research Service. See Intelligence Spending: In Brief, February 16, 2016. Other new and updated reports from the Congressional Research Service that Congress has withheld from public distribution include the following. What Does Justice Scalia’s Death Mean for Congress and the […]
The Congressional Research Service has prepared reports on various aspects of the U.S. Supreme Court nominations process, including these: Speed of Presidential and Senate Actions on Supreme Court Nominations, 1900-2010, August 6, 2010 Supreme Court Appointment Process: Roles of the President, Judiciary Committee, and Senate, February 19, 2010 Supreme Court Nominations Not Confirmed, 1789-August 2010, […]
A 2014 memorandum from Director of National Intelligence James R. Clapper, released this week under the Freedom of Information Act, drew a new distinction between intelligence satellite images and the intelligence products that are derived from those images. The subtle new distinction affects the classification and declassification of the two categories of information, and may […]
The phrase “notwithstanding any other provision of law” has already appeared in bills introduced in the current Congress more than 600 times, according to a new analysis from the Congressional Research Service. “Does the presence of this phrase in an enactment really mean that no other statutes apply, as is sometimes suggested? The short answer […]
By Hans M. Kristensen The final defense budget of the Obama administration effectively crowns this administration as the nuclear modernization leader of post-Cold War U.S. presidencies. While official statements so far have mainly justified the massive nuclear modernization as simply extending the service-life of existing capabilities, the Pentagon now explicitly paints the nuclear modernization as […]
Last year Senator Richard Burr (R-NC), the new chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee (SSCI), abandoned the Committee’s longstanding practice of holding a public hearing with intelligence agency heads on the global threat environment. But yesterday, the annual threat hearing was once again held in public. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-NM) noted last year’s lapse. “It’s […]
Intelligence community budgets appear set to continue on the modest downward slope of the last several years. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence said yesterday that it was requesting $53.5 billion for the National Intelligence Program (NIP) in FY 2017, a slight reduction from the $53.9 billion that was requested for the NIP […]
New and updated reports from the Congressional Research Service that Congress has withheld from online public disclosure include the following. Oman: Reform, Security, and U.S. Policy, updated February 5, 2016 Saudi Arabia: Background and U.S. Relations, updated February 5, 2016 Senate Committee Rules in the 114th Congress: Key Provisions, February 8, 2016 Medicare Trigger, updated […]
John W. Ficklin retired last month from his position as Senior Director for Records and Access Management at the National Security Council. In that capacity he was responsible for declassification of White House records, among other records management duties. He also chaired an interagency classification reform committee that met (and still meets) to consider improvements […]