A Taliban video distributed last month documented the purported seizure of an abandoned U.S. military base by Taliban forces in a remote province of Afghanistan. The 7-minute video was analyzed in a recent report (pdf) from the DNI Open Source Center. The video “glorifies the Taliban victory by highlighting the group’s triumphant entry into the […]
Our article “A Technical Evaluation of the Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant” published in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists on November 23 and its technical appendix, an Issue Brief, “Calculating the Capacity of Fordow”, published on the FAS website, have sparked quite a discussion among the small community that follows the technical details of Iran’s […]
The government should replace the more than 100 different control markings that are now used to limit the distribution of sensitive but unclassified (SBU) information and should establish a single “controlled unclassified information” (CUI) policy for all such information in government, according to an interagency task force report (pdf) that was released by the Obama […]
Noteworthy new congressional reports and hearing volumes include the following: “Report on Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act of 2009,” Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, Report No. 111-101, December 3, 2009. “Report on the USA PATRIOT Act Sunset Extension Act of 2009,” Senate Judiciary Committee report 111-92, October 28, 2009. “National Industrial Security Program: Addressing […]
The U.S. intelligence community is not exempt from the requirements of the Obama Administration’s December 8 Open Government Directive, and agency officials are now trying to figure out how to comply with it. “As you can imagine, there is some scrambling going on,” one official said. “I think it’s a good sign.” See “Open government […]
The Congressional Research Service, which performs policy research and analysis for Congress, is “not a happy place these days,” said a CRS staffer. The staffer was referring to the fact that a respected CRS division chief, Morris Davis, had been abruptly fired from his position for publicly expressing some of his private opinions. (“CRS Fires […]
The Obama Administration is expected to provide some new insight this week into its emerging policy on “controlled unclassified information” (CUI), referring to unclassified information that is withheld from disclosure for reasons of law or regulation. Because of the indiscriminate use of such controls, information is often withheld unnecessarily from the public and information sharing […]
The Obama Administration’s new open government policy has begun to elicit a response from executive branch agencies. The Department of Defense, the Department of Justice, and other agencies issued news releases yesterday outlining the initial steps they are taking to fulfill the December 8 White House Open Government Directive (pdf). The White House Office of […]
The inadvertent disclosure of a “sensitive” Transportation Security Administration manual on procedures for screening airline passengers has prompted renewed interest in legal remedies and penalties that may be available to the government to minimize the impact of such unauthorized disclosures. In a letter (pdf) to the Department of Homeland Security yesterday, several Republican lawmakers asked: […]
While the construction and the announcement of Iran’s Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant, does not prove an intention to deceive the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), it raises troubling questions.
by Ivanka Barzashka We have posted an updated version of our latest Issue Brief “Calculating the Capacity of Fordow” – the technical appendix to our November 23 article “A Technical Evaluation of the Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant” published in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. This is the document summary: This brief serves as a […]
In a conscious and far-reaching attempt to change the culture of secrecy that prevails within many government agencies, the Obama Administration today issued a directive (pdf) that orders each federal agency to establish an open government program with mandatory new information disclosure obligations as well as opportunities for public participation. Moving beyond the familiar rhetoric […]