The complexities of U.S. defense contracting in Iraq and some of the resulting irregularities are reviewed in a newly updated report from the Congressional Research Service. “Given the size and scope of the contracts in Iraq, and the challenge of managing billions of DOD-appropriated dollars, many have suggested it appropriate to inquire whether these types […]
In an unusual policy pirouette, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence yesterday published the key judgments (pdf) of a National Intelligence Estimate on Iran’s nuclear weapons program little more than a month after the DNI issued guidance declaring that “It is the policy of the Director of National Intelligence that KJs [key judgments] […]
The National Research Council (NRC) just released a report that finds that “a National Institutes of Health draft assessment of the risks associated with a proposed biocontainment laboratory at Boston University is “not sound and credible.”” The NRC report came in response to a request by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for technical input into the […]
According to a recent report from AP, Slovak police arrested people trying to sell highly enriched uranium to undercover agents. According to the police, the material, said to be about a kilogram of uranium, could be used for a dirty bomb. This is a replay of the Padilla case, the so-called “Dirty Bomber,” who was […]
The Central Intelligence Agency anticipates declining productivity in its declassification program, according to a newly disclosed declassification plan (pdf). Between 1995 and 2006, CIA reviewed nearly 97 million pages of 25 year old documents and released 30 million pages, the Agency reported. But that level of activity is unlikely to be sustained. “Resource constraints limit […]
The President’s Daily Brief (PDB), a highly classified intelligence report prepared daily for the President of the United States, “is the quintessential predecisional, deliberative document,” the Central Intelligence Agency argued (pdf) recently in court, claiming that virtually nothing about it can be made public even after several decades have passed. But a 1970 memorandum (large […]
Last July, President Bush issued a broadly-worded executive order authorizing the government to seize the assets of “any person” who threatens the stability of Iraq and, more controversially, any person who provides assistance to such a person. The scope, objectives and precedents of the order — Executive Order 13,438, “Blocking Property of Certain Persons Who […]
New issuances on Defense Department intelligence policy include the following (all pdf). “Access to Classified Cryptographic Information,” DoD Instruction 5205.08, November 8, 2007. “Scientific and Technical Intelligence Liaison Officer (STILO) Program and Intelligence Support for the naval Research, Development, Test & Evaluation, and Acquisition Communities,” OPNAV Instruction 3880.6A, November 5, 2007. And for good measure […]
The Commonwealth of the Bahamas announced this week that it has ratified the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, according to a news release from the CTBT Organization in Vienna. The Treaty prohibits all nuclear explosions. The ratification by the Bahamas brings the total number of Treaty ratifications to 141. But the Treaty cannot take effect […]
Arguments justifying the continuing existence of the world’s nuclear arsenals are like the tired joke about the joke convention. Many of these arguments have been with us for decades. Some made sense decades ago but do no longer, now that the Cold War is history. Others never made sense even during the Cold War but […]
Classification markings will be removed from classified documents that are admitted into evidence in the upcoming trial of two former officials of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), a court ruled earlier this month. The former AIPAC officials, Steven J. Rosen and Keith Weissman, are accused of unauthorized receipt and disclosure of classified information. […]
Updated below The efficacy of intelligence oversight in the Senate has been drastically undermined by procedural hurdles that enable the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee to overrule actions taken by the Senate Intelligence Committee, Senators complained earlier this month. To remedy this concern, a new bill has been introduced that would transfer budget appropriations authority to the […]