It is nearly a decade since the Central Intelligence Agency embarked on its controversial post-9/11 program of prisoner detention and interrogation, which included “enhanced” procedures that would later be repudiated and that were widely regarded as torture. But even now, an accurate and complete account of that episode remains unavailable. It is more than two […]
Under extreme circumstances, U.S. military force may be turned against American civilians. An unusually explicit 1945 U.S. military field manual (pdf) described tactics for suppressing riots or protests when State and local officials are unable to control the situation. “Domestic disturbances are manifestations of civil unrest or tension which take the form of demonstrations or […]
U.S. officials say that aggregate numbers of the New START treaty will be made publicly available but that these may be very general numbers and a decision still has to be made. For a copy of the final START aggregate numbers, click here. . By Hans M. Kristensen The first data exchange of the New […]
Does the secrecy system function according to its own autonomous principles? Is it beyond the rule of law and outside of presidential control? Not exactly. If that were true, then there would never be involuntary changes to classification policy and there would be no compulsory declassification of classified information. Fortunately, that is not consistently the […]
The Public Interest Declassification Board, an advisory committee appointed by the President and Congressional leaders, is developing recommendations on how to transform the national security classification system. It has invited interested members of the public to comment on its emerging recommendations over the next several weeks on a new blog here. The Board itself has […]
Prosecutors in the case of the former National Security Agency official Thomas A. Drake, who is suspected of leaking classified information to a reporter, last week asked the court to block public access to two letters that were introduced as exhibits by the defense earlier this month. Late Friday, the court agreed to seal the […]
Military intelligence budget figures that were disclosed last week document the steady rise of the total U.S. intelligence budget from $63.5 billion in FY2007 up to last year’s total of $80.1 billion. The total intelligence budget is composed of two separate budget constructs: the National Intelligence Program and the Military Intelligence Program. Last October, the […]
U.S. military forces have been deployed in military conflicts abroad hundreds of times over the past two centuries — not including covert actions or training exercises. An updated tabulation is given in “Instances of Use of United States Armed Forces Abroad, 1798-2010” (pdf), Congressional Research Service, March 10, 2011. Some other noteworthy new CRS reports […]
State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley resigned yesterday facing an Obama Administration backlash against his remarks declaring the treatment of suspected leaker Pfc. Bradley E. Manning “ridiculous and counterproductive and stupid.” The conditions of Private Manning’s detention became the subject of controversy when his lawyer complained that Manning was being involuntarily forced to surrender his clothing […]
In the wake of the ongoing publication of large volumes of classified U.S. government information by WikiLeaks, executive branch agencies are taking new steps to deter, detect and prevent the unauthorized transfer of information from classified government networks, officials said at a hearing of the Senate Homeland Security Committee last week. In the majority of […]
* This is Sunshine Week, an annual celebration of open government. A National Security Archive survey of agency compliance with the Freedom of Information Act found mixed and uneven progress over the past year. * With the promotion of Information Security Oversight Office (ISOO) director William J. Bosanko to the new position of NARA Agency […]
Unauthorized disclosures of classified information are among “the major challenges” facing defense intelligence, Acting Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence Michael Vickers told Congress last month. Mr. Vickers is awaiting Senate confirmation to be the new USD(I), a post that was last held by James R. Clapper, who is now the Director of National Intelligence. The […]