The Obama Administration proposal to renew the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) Amendments Act for another five years would be amended to a three year extension, if the Senate Judiciary Committee has its way. Last June, the Senate Intelligence Committee approved — without amendment — the Administration’s request for a five year renewal of the […]
The Director of National Intelligence “is committed to protecting civil liberties and privacy, which are foundational principles of our Nation’s democratic society, preserved in the Constitution of the United States, and guaranteed in Federal law.” So states a new Intelligence Community Directive on Civil Liberties and Privacy, signed by DNI James R. Clapper on August […]
In order to promote improved information sharing, the Director of National Intellingence told agencies to make use of “tearlines.” This refers to the practice of segregating and withholding the most sensitive portions of a document, allowing the remainder to be “torn off,” literally or figuratively, and widely disseminated. “Tearlines are portions of an intelligence report […]
In 1984, President Reagan ordered the Director of Central Intelligence to develop “capabilities for the pre-emptive neutralization of anti-American terrorist groups which plan, support, or conduct hostile terrorist acts against U.S. citizens, interests, and property overseas.” The President further ordered the DCI to “develop a clandestine service capability, using all lawful means, for effective response […]
Updated below The capacity of gas centrifuges to enrich uranium increased by two orders of magnitude between 1961 and 1967, from 0.39 kg-SWU/year to 30 kg-SWU/year. That striking fact was declassified by the U.S. Department of Energy in 2008 and made public this month. See update/correction below. Under the terms of the Atomic Energy Act […]
One of the features that make Congressional Research Service reports broadly valuable is that they often reflect the privileged access to executive branch information that is enjoyed by CRS, at least in some areas, compared to what an ordinary member of the public can expect. So, for example, a newly updated CRS report on Central […]
Fifty years ago, the President’s Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board (PFIAB) urged President John F. Kennedy to take “drastic action” against whoever had leaked classified intelligence information to a New York Times reporter. The Board also suggested that the CIA be empowered domestically to track down such leaks. The PFIAB recommendations to President Kennedy were memorialized […]
New products of the Congressional Research Service which Congress has not made publicly available include the following. Instances of Use of United States Armed Forces Abroad, 1798-2012, updated September 19, 2012 Airport Body Scanners: The Role of Advanced Imaging Technology in Airline Passenger Screening, September 20, 2012 National Security and Emergency Preparedness Communications: A Summary […]
U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta meets with New Zealand Defense Minister Jonathan Coleman, in a first step to normalize relations between the two countries nearly 30 years after the U.S. punished New Zealand for its ban on nuclear weapons. . By Hans M. Kristensen Hat tip to the Obama administration for doing the right and […]
Government attorneys this week appealed an extraordinary court order that required the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) to publicly release a classified government document. They said the order reflected “improper skepticism” of the government. In response to a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit filed by the Center for International Environmental Law, DC […]
In 2006, the Department of Energy formally declassified the already widely publicized fact “That the People’s Republic of China obtained some Restricted Data information on the W88 [nuclear] warhead, and perhaps the complete W88 design.” Then, in a remarkable display of bureaucratic acrobatics, DOE classified the memo that authorized the declassification of that information. The […]
Has Iran violated the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty? The answer is “unclear,” says the Congressional Research Service in a newly updated report. “The treaty does not contain a mechanism for determining that a state-party has violated its obligations. Moreover, there does not appear to be a formal procedure for determining such violations.” The CRS report reviews […]