The Department of Defense has issued a new publication (pdf) to update and clarify its doctrine on “psychological operations.” Psychological operations, or PSYOP, are intended to “convey selected information and indicators to foreign audiences to influence their emotions, motives, objective reasoning, and ultimately the behavior of foreign governments, organizations, groups, and individuals. The purpose of […]
Newly published congressional hearing volumes on national security-related topics include the following. “Nomination of Leon Panetta to be Director of Central Intelligence Agency,” Senate Intelligence Committee, February 5-6, 2009. “Nomination of David S. Kris to be Assistant Attorney General for National Security,” Senate Intelligence Committee, March 10, 2009. “Nomination of J. Patrick Rowan to be […]
Worlds seem to collide as I sat in a Chevy Chase synagogue last night waiting to hear Israeli Talmudist Adin Steinsaltz and the ACLU’s Art Spitzer discuss Martin Luther King’s Letter from Birmingham Jail. Former Bush Administration Pentagon official Douglas Feith, of all people, sat a few rows back. I was reading a 2006 book […]
A lawsuit (pdf) filed on behalf of a Jewish-American FBI agent whose security clearance was revoked based on unspecified charges states that his termination was an improper expression of FBI bias against American Jews, and complains that the agent was unconstitutionally denied a right to confront and rebut the claims against him. The case appears […]
A recent book written by two Israeli writers and published in translation (pdf) by the DNI Open Source Center (OSC) traces what the authors see as the decline of Israel’s political left. “The Left died the day the Six-Day War ended,” wrote Shmuel Hasfari and Eldad Yaniv. “Until 1967, the Left actually managed some impressive […]
New and updated reports from the Congressional Research Service obtained by Secrecy News include the following (all pdf). “U.S. Periods of War,” January 7, 2010. “Terrorist Watchlist Checks and Air Passenger Prescreening,” December 30, 2009. “Cluster Munitions: Background and Issues for Congress,” December 22, 2009. “Arms Sales: Congressional Review Process,” January 8, 2010. “Desalination: Status […]
In an effort to promote cooperation with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) engaged in humanitarian relief operations and to enhance its own emergency response capabilities, the Department of Defense has published a newly updated “Guide to Nongovernmental Organizations for the Military” (pdf). When a devastating earthquake struck Haiti yesterday, several disaster relief organizations such as Oxfam and […]
A new U.S. Navy Instruction (pdf) updates Navy policy on the use of marine mammals for national security missions. It seems that by law (10 USC 7524), the Secretary of Defense is authorized to “take” (or acquire) up to 25 wild marine mammals each year “for national defense purposes.” These mammals — including whales, dolphins, […]
In a remarkable sign of how the ground is shifting in government information policy, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has invited the public to suggest categories of NRC information that should be published on its web site, and to recommend other measures the Commission might take to improve transparency, public participation and collaboration. A December 8, […]
The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit Friday on behalf of Col. Morris D. Davis, a former chief prosecutor at Guantanamo, alleging that he was unlawfully fired from the Congressional Research Service because he made statements as a private individual that were critical of Obama Administration policy on military commissions. (“CRS Fires A Division […]
“The World Bank Unveiled” tells the story of an attempt by World Bank researcher David Shaman and some of his colleagues to introduce greater transparency into the deliberations of the World Bank. In 1999, at a time when the Bank was subject to intense controversy and public demonstrations, Shaman co-created the internet-based B-SPAN, which offered […]
In a December 29 Order published in the Federal Register yesterday, President Obama designated more than two dozen officials as “original classification authorities” (OCAs) who have the power to classify information as Top Secret or Secret, and (in most cases) to delegate such authority to their subordinates. The new list of authorized classifiers contains only […]