From a secrecy policy point of view, the Administration’s FY 2013 budget proposal that was released yesterday contained one surprise: The Department of Defense disclosed the amount of its request for the Military Intelligence Program (MIP). This is something that the Pentagon has never done before and indeed had refused to do. “The Department of […]
New and newly updated reports from the Congressional Research Service that Congress has not made readily available to the public include the following (all pdf). U.S.-China Military Contacts: Issues for Congress, February 10, 2012 China Naval Modernization: Implications for U.S. Navy Capabilities — Background and Issues for Congress, February 8, 2012 Military Base Closure: Socioeconomic […]
After all the speeches about greater openness have been delivered and the news releases about secrecy reform have been filed away, one may ask: What has actually been accomplished? How much improper secrecy has been eliminated? Specific answers to such questions may soon be forthcoming. The Information Security Oversight Office (ISOO), which is responsible for oversight of […]
The Department of Defense currently seeks expanded access to U.S. airspace for its unmanned aerial systems (UASs), and it anticipates the routine use of military UAS in the National Airspace System (NAS) as a long-term goal, according to a 25 year roadmap for UAS development. “The number of UAS in the DoD inventory is growing rapidly. […]
In recent years the Mandatory Declassification Review (MDR) process has become an increasingly useful alternative to the Freedom of Information Act by which members of the public can challenge the classification of government records. Remarkably, agency classification positions have been overturned with some frequency in the MDR appeals process, which is something that almost never […]
In a move that can only strengthen and improve oversight of the national security classification system, the Department of Defense Inspector General has begun a far-reaching review of Pentagon classification policy. Among other things, the Inspector General review will focus on “efforts by the Department to decrease over-classification.” In response to the “Reducing Over-classification Act” […]
A new book-length study of leaks of classified information published by the Defense Intelligence Agency’s National Intelligence University contends that “the tension between maintaining national security secrets and the public’s right to know cannot be ‘solved’, but can be better understood and more intelligently managed.” “Who Watches the Watchmen?” by Gary Ross explores the phenomenon […]
New reports from the Congressional Research Service that have not been made readily available to the public include the following (all pdf). China’s Vice President Xi Jinping Visits the United States: What Is at Stake?, February 6, 2012 Lebanon and the Uprising in Syria: Issue for Congress, February 2, 2012 Iran’s Threat to the Strait […]
When Congress passed the 2012 National Defense Authorization Act, it included provisions that authorized U.S. armed forces to detain persons who are captured in the conflict with al-Qaeda, the Taliban, or associated forces. However, Congress also said that those provisions did not provide any new authority to detain U.S. citizens or others who may be […]
The Military Intelligence Professional Bulletin is a quarterly journal published by the U.S. Army to promote awareness and discussion of current topics in military intelligence. Although unclassified, the Bulletin is not made available online by the Army. Recent volumes can be found, however, on the Federation of American Scientists website. The two latest issues are […]
Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta and other officials have warned that if U.S. military spending is cut significantly, the unacceptable result would be a “a hollow force incapable of sustaining the missions it is assigned.” But a new critique from the Congressional Research Service suggests that the use of the term “hollow force” is inappropriate […]
Updated below A House-Senate conference report this week called on the Administration to accelerate the use of civilian unmanned aerial systems (UAS), or “drones,” in U.S. airspace. The pending authorization bill for the Federal Aviation Administration directs the Secretary of Transporation to develop within nine months “a comprehensive plan to safely accelerate the integration of […]