The Government Accountability Office is among the most potent and productive tools of government oversight available. Perhaps for that reason, U.S. intelligence agencies have been reluctant to cooperate with GAO investigations. Sen. Daniel Akaka introduced legislation last year to reaffirm GAO authority to investigate intelligence agency activities, and that legislation was the subject of a […]
Almost everything about the Comprehensive National Cyber Security Initiative (CNCI), established by National Security Presidential Directive 54 and Homeland Security Presidential Directive 23, is classified. But following a classified March 2008 hearing on the subject, Senators Joe Lieberman and Susan Collins of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee teased out a few unclassified […]
The Department of Justice National Security Division (NSD) “has dramatically broadened the scope of its national security oversight role,” according to a Department news release. “The National Security Division plays a vital role in ensuring that national security investigations are conducted properly and with respect for the civil liberties and privacy interests of Americans,” said […]
A bill introduced by Sen. Dianne Feinstein and several Senate colleagues last week would “end coercive interrogations and secret detentions by the Central Intelligence Agency.” “These practices have brought shame to our Nation, have harmed our ability to fight the war on terror, and, I believe, violate U.S. law and international treaty obligations,” Sen. Feinstein […]
The Xia-class SSBN appears to have completed a multi-year overhaul. The submarine has been in dry dock at least since 2005. Click on image to download large version. . By Hans M. Kristensen China’s single Xia-class nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine has been launched from the dry dock at the Jianggezhuang Naval Base where it has […]
The President would no longer be able to secretly modify or revoke a published executive order if a new bill introduced in the Senate yesterday becomes law. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Russ Feingold and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, responds to a Justice Department Office of Legal Counsel opinion that was revealed last year by Senator […]
Following a lengthy interagency review process, the White House yesterday unveiled its amendments to Executive Order 12333, the foundational document on “United States Intelligence Activities” that was originally issued by President Reagan in 1981. The new executive order reflects institutional changes that have occurred in recent years. In particular, it reinforces the authority of the […]
It was reported today in the Los Angeles Times that Bruce E. Ivins, a bioweapons scientist at Ft. Detrick MD has died of an apparent suicide. Ivins died on Tuesday, July 29, 2008 according to an obituary published in the Frederick News-Post. According to the LA Times, Ivins was under investigation in connection with the […]
In a new directive that challenges the insular culture of U.S. intelligence agencies, Director of National Intelligence J. Michael McConnell has ordered analysts to cultivate relationships with outside experts “whenever possible” in order to improve the quality of intelligence analysis. The DNI’s July 16 directive on “Analytic Outreach” (pdf) establishes procedures for implementing such outreach, […]
Though rarely discussed, interpersonal trust is frequently a prerequisite for voluntary information sharing not only between government officials and members of the public, but even among government officials themselves. “The effective flow of information and knowledge is facilitated through networks of trust,” a new report from the congressionally mandated Project on National Security Reform nicely […]
The Department of Defense has embarked on a significant modification of its intelligence apparatus, creating a new human intelligence center within the DIA, abolishing a controversial counterintelligence agency, and reorganizing the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence. A new Defense Counterintelligence and Human Intelligence Center (DCHC) is being established at the Defense […]
By Hans M. Kristensen and Ivan Oelrich Barack Obama has put forward an inspiring nuclear security policy that promises to reinstate nuclear disarmament as a central goal of U.S. national security and foreign policy. This vision has been shared by all presidents since the Cuban Missile Crisis, except for George W. Bush. If he is […]