In May 2009, North Korea announced that it had conducted its second nuclear explosive test. Although the event generated a seismic signature consistent with a nuclear explosion, it produced no detectable release of radioactive gases or particulates (fallout). This either means that North Korea actually conducted a non-nuclear simulation of a nuclear test, or else […]
The Russian-language internet is increasingly subject to control by the Russian government and its allies in the private sector, according to a new report (pdf) from the DNI Open Source Center (OSC). Except for a vocal minority of bloggers and human rights activists, the Russian public is mostly indifferent to or even supportive of government […]
The U.S. Army is still struggling to come to grips with the unusually high rate of suicide within its ranks. “The Army ratios are above the national average and in some months recently, there have been more suicides in the Army than combat deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan,” observed Nancy Youssef of McClatchy News last […]
The origins and development of North Korea’s military forces, from the vantage point of 1952, are described in a declassified U.S. Army intelligence report (large pdf). “Although the North Korean Army was not officially activated until 8 February 1948, the backbone of the armed forces was forged in 1946 under the mask of Central Peace […]
Warrantless surveillance of an Islamic charity in Oregon in 2004 violated the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), a court ruled (pdf) on March 31. In the culmination of a four-year lawsuit, Judge Vaughn Walker of the Northern District of California found that the government had unlawfully intercepted international telephone conversations of the Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation […]
New Congressional Research Service reports obtained by Secrecy News that have not been made readily available to the public include the following (all pdf): “Federal Efforts to Address the Threat of Bioterrorism: Selected Issues for Congress,” March 18, 2010. “Changes in the Arctic: Background and Issues for Congress,” March 30, 2010. “Deforestation and Climate Change,” […]
“I believe that there is a discrepancy between what most Americans believe is legal and what the government is actually doing under the Patriot Act,” said Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) in a statement last week on the Senate floor regarding reform of the Patriot Act. “In my view, any discrepancy of this sort is intolerable […]
As of last week, there is now a U.S. Government national security agency called the Biometrics Identity Management Agency (BIMA). It supersedes a Biometrics Task Force that was established in 2000. Though nominally a component of the Army, the biometrics agency has Defense Department-wide responsibilities. “The Biometrics Identity Management Agency leads Department of Defense activities […]
A new White House report to Congress (pdf) defines “strategic communication” as “the synchronization of our words and deeds as well as deliberate efforts to communicate and engage with intended audiences.” “This understanding of strategic communication is driven by a recognition that what we do is often more important than what we say because actions […]
WikiLeaks.org, which publishes confidential documents online, says that it is being harassed by U.S. military and intelligence agencies because of its disclosures of restricted information, including the forthcoming release of a classified U.S. military video of an air strike in Afghanistan that produced civilian casualties. But those claims are disputed and can hardly be taken […]
Although the state secrets privilege is not much in the news at the moment, it continues to percolate in the law review literature. The privilege, narrowly conceived, is a way for the government to block the introduction in court of specific pieces of evidence that it deems too sensitive for disclosure. But in recent years, […]
Most criticism of the Freedom of Information Act centers on agency refusals to disclose requested records in a timely manner. But a federal appeals court said this week that a Defense Department agency was “arbitrary and capricious” in its decision to release documents to a Freedom of Information Act requester. The ruling comes shortly after […]