The Department of Defense has done a better job of complying with changes in national security classification policy than it has gotten credit for, Pentagon officials told a Senate Committee. The number of classification guides that are up to date has increased from 30% to over 70%, the officials said, and a new four-volume information […]
The heightened surveillance of classified government information networks that was a predictable response to the unauthorized disclosures published by WikiLeaks is becoming more clearly discernible. “USSTRATCOM/USCYBERCOM is monitoring use of the SIPRNet and now has a mechanism for reporting certain anomalous behaviors for appropriate remediation,” said Thomas A. Ferguson, Deputy Under Secretary of Defense (Intelligence) […]
“I will tell you the relationship between CIA and Special Operations Forces is as good as I have ever seen it,” said Adm. William H. McRaven, Commander of Special Operations Command, in congressional testimony last year. “Both under [CIA] Director Panetta, and now, of course, under Director Petraeus, I think we are going to see […]
New and updated reports from the Congressional Research Service that Congress has declined to make readily available to the public include the following. Extraterritorial Application of American Criminal Law, February 15, 2012 Civilian Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act: Federal Contractor Criminal Liability Overseas, February 15, 2012 Nonstrategic Nuclear Weapons, February 14, 2012 The U.S. Export Control System […]
Despite an outcry from congressional republicans and conservatives against the Obama administration’s plans to reduce nuclear weapons, Republican presidents have been the big disarmers in the post-Cold War era. Click graph for larger version . By […]
The question of whether a reporter is entitled to protect confidential sources has emerged as a central issue in the pending pre-trial appeal in prosecution of Jeffrey Sterling, the former CIA officer who is accused of leaking classified information to New York Times reporter James Risen. “There is no ‘reporter’s privilege’ applicable to criminal prosecutions […]
The Department of Defense basic research program has many strengths as well as some serious weaknesses, according to a new report (large pdf) from the Defense Science Board (DSB), but it needs to open up and to improve its information management practices. “As is true for most programs in the DoD,… less bureaucracy and more […]
New and updated reports from the Congressional Research Service that Congress has not made publicly available include these. Defense: FY2012 Budget Request, Authorization and Appropriations, February 13, 2012 Guam: U.S. Defense Deployments, February 13, 2012 Conventional Prompt Global Strike and Long-Range Ballistic Missiles: Background and Issues, February 13, 2012 Keeping America’s Pipelines Safe and Secure: […]
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. […]