As the missions and budgets for U.S. Special Operations Command steadily expand, a new official history (large pdf) looks back at the origins and development of SOCOM. “Since its creation in 1987, USSOCOM has supported conventional forces and conducted independent special operations throughout the world, participating in all major combat operations,” writes SOCOM Commander General […]
In a heated debate April 16, the Senate failed to achieve cloture on the FY2007 Intelligence Authorization Act, leaving it open for further amendment today. One of the points that now seems beyond debate, however, is the need to disclose the total intelligence budget figure. “The chairman [Sen. Rockefeller] and I have agreed it makes […]
The role of air and space power in U.S. military operations was addressed in a newly updated U.S. Air Force publication. See Air Force Doctrine Document 2, “Operations and Organization” (pdf), 3 April 2007. In response to a Freedom of Information Act request from the Federation of American Scientists, the Office of the Director of […]
The politicization of the Department of Justice, the erosion of professional values and the state of Freedom of Information Act policy were discussed with unusual candor by Daniel J. Metcalfe, former director of the DoJ Office of Information and Policy, in an interview with Tony Mauro of Legal Times. NASA secretly paid $26.6 million several […]
In confronting the threat of terrorism, what would it mean to win? And how would one know? Terrorist and counterterrorist forces may both believe that they are succeeding in their goals. And depending on their specific objectives, they may both be right. “Progress may be defined differently by the terrorists and those who oppose them,” […]
Some new or newly updated products of the Congressional Research Service that have not been made readily available to the public include the following (all pdf). “National Security Letters in Foreign Intelligence Investigations: Legal Background and Recent Amendments,” updated March 20, 2007. “Navy Force Structure: Alternative Force Structure Studies of 2005 — Background for Congress,” […]
The Department of Defense has issued several noteworthy new policy Instructions on intelligence and national security matters, including the following (all pdf). “Joint Reserve Intelligence Program (JRIP),” DoD Instruction 3305.07, March 27, 2007. “DoD Counterintelligence (CI) Training,” DoD Instruction 3305.11, March 19, 2007. “Minimum Security Standards for Safeguarding Chemical Agents,” DoD Instruction 5210.65, March 12, […]
“Today, following over a year of coordinated effort among the Intelligence Community and the Department of Justice a bill is being submitted to Congress to request long overdue changes to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act,” according to an April 13 fact sheet (pdf) on the proposed changes issued by the Justice Department and the Office […]
When Secrecy News gained unauthorized access to a restricted U.S. Army manual on visual identification of U.S. and foreign aircraft, we supposed that it was just one more case of unnecessary and inappropriate secrecy. But it turns out to be something worse than that, since the document (pdf) contains a surprising number of technical errors. […]
(Updated May 9, 2007) At the beginning of 2007, Russia maintained approximately 5,600 operational nuclear warheads for delivery by ballistic missiles, aircraft, cruise missiles and torpedoes, according to the latest Nuclear Notebook published in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. The Russian Notebook, which is written by Hans M. Kristensen of FAS and Robert S. […]
More than 160 U.S. and foreign military aircraft are catalogued in a U.S. Army manual (large pdf) which describes their distinctive physical characteristics in order to permit visual identification of the aircraft in flight. The manual is nominally a restricted document, marked “for official use only,” and it has not been approved for public release. […]
The Central Intelligence Agency has released three of its internal personnel regulations in redacted form as part of a defense against charges that it improperly dismissed a former undercover contract employee. A 2002 regulation signed by then-DCI George Tenet established the CIA Personnel Evaluation Board (pdf), which is “the primary mechanism for reviewing employee suitability […]