Brazil’s nuclear energy research programs and facilities are described in two recent publications of the DNI Open Source Center. These documents have not been approved for public release, but copies were obtained by Secrecy News. “Brazil — Survey of Nuclear Agencies, Facilities” (pdf), February 9, 2009. “Brazil — Websites, Online Publications Seek to Inform Public […]
At a media roundtable last March 26 (pdf), Director of National Intelligence Dennis C. Blair said that “I see my job as making sure that out of this almost 100,000 people and $45 billion that we spend, we get the absolute best intelligence to the President.” But speaking to reporters yesterday (pdf) about the release […]
U.S. military commanders “are responsible for the maintenance of the health of their commands to ensure mission accomplishment in the event of CBRN [chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear] attacks,” a new Army Field Manual advises, while noting that “medical planners can expect, as a minimum, 10 to 20 percent casualties within a division-sized force that […]
If one were searching for an individual to represent the public interest in promoting declassification of government records, the first name that came to mind would probably not be Michael V. Hayden, the former director of the National Security Agency and the Central Intelligence Agency. But improbable as it may seem, he is the latest […]
The “qui tam” statutes (such as the False Claims Act) that enable members of the public to file lawsuits on behalf of the government and to seek financial penalties have been “reviled… as a breeding ground for viperous vermin and parasites,” observes a new report from the Congressional Research Service. But they have also been […]
The vast apparatus of government secrecy persisted through the last year with only limited changes in the contours of its multi-billion dollar operations, according to the latest “secrecy report card” published by Openthegovernment.org, a coalition of organizations working for increased transparency. The new report card (pdf), prepared by Patrice McDermott and Amy Fuller Bennett, compiles […]
Pakistan was ready to test a nuclear weapon just six years after it first began to enrich uranium, according to A.Q. Khan, the architect of the Pakistani nuclear program and an infamous proliferator of nuclear weapons designs and technology. “It was 6 April 1978 when we achieved our first centrifugal enrichment of uranium,” Khan recalled […]
Ordinarily, decisions about granting security clearances and determining whether an individual has a “need to know” certain classified information are made by the executive branch. But a federal judge recently ruled that a court can also make such determinations and can require the disclosure of classified information to a cleared individual even against the wishes […]
There are more Department of Defense contractors in Afghanistan today than there are uniformed U.S. military personnel, according to a new report from the Congressional Research Service. Not only that, the ratio of contractors to troops in Afghanistan is higher than in any prior military engagement in U.S. history. “As of March 2009, there were […]
Some other new reports from the Congressional Research Service that have not previously been posted online include the following (all pdf). “United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan: Background and Policy Issues,” July 30, 2009. “Detection of Nuclear Weapons and Materials: Science, Technologies, Observations,” August 4, 2009. “The Global Economic Crisis: Impact on Sub-Saharan Africa and […]
Robert Steele, the longtime proponent of a robust open source intelligence program, has a new web site which notably includes an archive of intelligence-policy related documents, several of which I had missed. The collection is accompanied by his own occasionally tart commentary. The Open Society Institute (which supports the FAS Project on Government Secrecy) announces […]
Two 90-day interagency reviews of government secrecy policies that were ordered by President Obama on May 27 are now essentially complete. A review of the current executive order on classification policy is finished except for a few “sticky” issues pertaining to intelligence agency authorities, according to one participant in the interagency process. The recommendations of […]