Books sent to Secrecy News recently include these: “Snake Fish: The Chi Mak Spy Ring” by Edward M. Roche. “The Great Cold War: A Journey Through the Hall of Mirrors” by Gordon S. Barrass, Stanford University Press, March 2009. “The Contractor,” a novel by Colin MacKinnon, St. Martin’s Press, February 2009.
Yesterday Interfax news agency reported that experts estimate that over 30 nations have the capability to rapidly deploy biological weapons. The remarks were made by Natalya Kaverina of the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Global Economy and International Relations during a presentation for the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute on March 3. Kaverina suggested […]
In its clearest departure to date from the uncompromising secrecy of the previous administration, the Justice Department yesterday released several controversial and discredited opinions produced by the Bush Administration Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) regarding detention of U.S. citizens, the domestic use of military force, and other topics. Legal conclusions advanced in those opinions “do […]
Many current debates in intelligence policy are prefigured in a 1975 “Intelligence Community Decision Book for the President” that was prepared for President Gerald R. Ford. The 243-page document (pdf) addresses basic questions of executive authority, congressional oversight of intelligence, covert action, domestic surveillance, budget secrecy and more. The briefing book was completed after the […]
The DNI Open Source Center recently published an extended account of Turkey’s military presence online. “The military uses [the website of the General Staff of the Turkish Armed Forces] to inform the public of its counterterrorism activities, to expound its views as the upholder of Ataturk’s legacy and the foundations of the Turkish Republic, and […]
The General Services Administration has refused to divulge a complete list of U.S. government internet domain names, claiming that they would be vulnerable to cyberattack. See “Government Keeping Its .Gov Domain Names Secret” by Thomas Claburn, Information Week, March 2, 2009. I discussed the latest developments in the prosecution of two former AIPAC employees for […]
A federal court this week said that litigants have a First Amendment right to provide classified information to their attorneys when doing so is necessary to protect their interests. The ruling is implicitly at odds with a common government practice of denying attorneys access to classified information in Freedom of Information Act cases, pre-publication review […]
The Department of Homeland Security has produced a new “Concept of Operations” (pdf) to define how the Department will support and oversee the network of dozens of “fusion centers” that have been established around the country. The fusion centers are intended to promote a collaborative approach among federal, state and local authorities to combating terrorism […]
The release of President Obama’s first Presidential Policy Directive on “Organization of the National Security System” was reported by Karen DeYoung in the Washington Post and by Josh Gerstein in Politico. “Secretary of Defense Robert Gates lifted a blanket ban on news media coverage of the honor guard ceremonies that mark the return of military […]
Noteworthy new and updated reports from the Congressional Research Service that have not been made readily available to the public include the following (all pdf). “Presidential Records: Issues for the 111th Congress,” February 17, 2009. “F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) Program: Background, Status, and Issues,” updated February 17, 2009. “Strategic Arms Control After […]
A federal appeals court dealt another setback to prosecutors in the case of two former employees of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) who are charged under the Espionage Act with improperly receiving and transmitting national defense information. The appeals court rejected (pdf) a pre-trial appeal by the prosecution and affirmed the lower court […]
The Obama Administration has launched two new series of Presidential directives on national security policy. Presidential Policy Directives (PPDs) will define and direct the implementation of new presidential policies. Presidential Study Directives (PSDs) will initiate policy review and development procedures. Presidential Study Directive-1 (pdf), issued February 23, 2009, is entitled “Organizing for Homeland Security and […]