Noteworthy new reports from the Congressional Research Service obtained by Secrecy News include the following (all pdf). “Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty: Updated ‘Safeguards’ and Net Assessments,” June 3, 2009. “The Role of the Department of Defense During a Flu Pandemic,” June 4, 2009. “Congressional Oversight and Related Issues Concerning International Security Agreements Concluded by […]
North Korea mistakenly believes there are U.S. nuclear weapons in South Korea. By Hans M. Kristensen The North Korean newspaper Rodong Sinmun reportedly has issued a statement saying the U.S. has 1,000 nuclear weapons in South Korea. In this regional war of rhetoric it is important to at least get one fact right: The United […]
The public has been significantly misled and misinformed concerning the practice of abusive interrogation by the U.S. government and the resulting damage to American political institutions, said Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) on the Senate floor yesterday. “I am very sorry to say this–but there has been a campaign of falsehood about this whole sorry episode. […]
Senators Joe Lieberman and Lindsey Graham said they would do their utmost to block the release under the Freedom of Information Act of photographs documenting the abuse of detainees held in U.S. custody. “Such a release would be tantamount to a death sentence to some who are serving our nation in the most dangerous and […]
Executive branch officials understandably seek to maximize their authority to regulate the distribution and disclosure of classified national security information, and they often cite historical precedents dating back to the days of President George Washington to justify their claims. But though some members of Congress seem not to realize it, Congress has an independent claim […]
One of the most successful innovations in the otherwise mostly stagnant domain of classification policy was the creation of the Interagency Security Classification Appeals Panel (ISCAP), an executive branch entity that was established by President Clinton’s 1995 executive order 12958. For over a decade, the ISCAP has maintained an astonishing record of ordering the declassification […]
One of the minor offenses of the Obama White House is its inexplicable failure to publish presidential directives — now dubbed Presidential Policy Directives — even when they are unclassified. But presidential directives from prior administrations continue to enter the public domain following repeated declassification reviews. Several National Security Decision Directives (NSDDs) issued by President […]
“The Secret Sentry” by Matthew Aid is a comprehensive new history of the National Security Agency, from its origins in World War II through its Cold War successes, failures and scandals up until the present. Aid, an independent historian who is also a visiting fellow at the National Security Archive, has synthesized a tremendous amount […]
The NASIC report dispels many web-rumors. By Hans M. Kristensen The Air Force Air and Space Intelligence Center (NASIC) has published an update to its Ballistic and Cruise Missile Threat. The document, which I obtained from NASIC, is sobering reading. The latest update continues the previous user-friendly format and describes a number of important assessments […]
An Inspector General review (pdf) of the State Department Office of the Historian (HO) last month confirmed that there were serious management defects in the Office and recommended reassignment of its Director as well as other changes. The Office of the Historian is responsible for production of the Foreign Relations of the United States (FRUS) […]
The Department of Homeland Security’s intelligence mission is to collect, analyze and disseminate intelligence to reduce the threat of domestic terrorism. The somewhat complex structure of DHS intelligence, at DHS headquarters and in six operational components, is illuminated in a new report (pdf) from the Congressional Research Service. The new report usefully examines how DHS […]
The leading presidential candidates in Afghanistan’s upcoming August 20 election are briefly profiled in a chart prepared by the DNI Open Source Center. See “Afghan Presidential Election: Potential Candidates and Powerbrokers” (pdf), May 4, 2009. Further background on elections in the region may be found in “Middle East Elections 2009: Lebanon, Iran, Afghanistan, and Iraq” […]