The constitutional allocation of war powers between Congress and the President and the authority of Congress to restrict ongoing military operations are considered in a new report from the Congressional Research Service. See “Congressional Authority To Limit U.S. Military Operations in Iraq” (pdf), January 29, 2007. A related study on “Congressional Use of Funding Cutoffs […]
The Office of the Vice President under Dick Cheney seems to cultivate secrecy as an end in itself, and not simply to protect national security or personal privacy. The OVP will not even confirm how many staff people work there, who they are, or much of anything else. “Cheney’s office refuses to give any details […]
Attorneys for former government scientist Steven J. Hatfill, who is suing the New York Times for linking him to the 2001 anthrax attacks, filed a vigorous rebuttal (pdf) earlier this month against a Times argument that the “state secrets” doctrine should dictate dismissal of the lawsuit. The Hatfill rebuttal was filed in sealed form on […]
Some noteworthy new reports of the Congressional Research Service that are not readily available to the public include the following, obtained by Secrecy News (all pdf). “Congressional Restrictions on U.S. Military Operations in Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Somalia, and Kosovo: Funding and Non-Funding Approaches,” January 16, 2007. “Defense Contracting in Iraq: Issues and Options for Congress,” […]
After two years without an annual intelligence authorization and more than three months into Fiscal Year 2007, the FY 2007 intelligence authorization bill (S. 372) has been reintroduced in the Senate and reported out of the Senate Intelligence Committee. See the January 24 Committee report here. “This is a critically important piece of national security […]
The safe performance of parachute entries into hostile territory by Special Forces personnel is addressed in a U.S. Army manual (large pdf). Military free-fall (MFF) parachute operations “are used when enemy air defense systems, terrain restrictions, or politically sensitive environments prevent low altitude penetration or when mission needs require a clandestine insertion.” “This field manual […]
“Civil Affairs” has recently been elevated to a branch of the U.S. Army by order of Army Secretary Francis J. Harvey on January 12, 2007. The role of civil affairs is to support “the interaction of military forces with the civilian populace [in or around the battlefield] to facilitate military operations and consolidate operational objectives.” […]
In the latest ruling (pdf) in the prosecution of two former officials of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee for allegedly mishandling classified information, Judge T.S. Ellis III said that press leaks regarding the case did not constitute a violation of court rules because the leaks apparently derived from law enforcement sources and not from […]
(Updated January 26, 2007) British Vanguard-class ballistic missile submarines have at least 15 years more service life in them, and the U.K. government does not have to make a decision now on whether to replace them with a new class of submarines, Richard Garwin told BBC radio Tuesday. Garwin, who is a member of the […]
A new U.S. Army Field Manual is intended to advance the development and use of open source intelligence (OSINT), which is intelligence that is derived from publicly available data legally obtained. “The value of publicly available information as a source of intelligence has… often been overlooked in Army intelligence operations. This manual (pdf) provides a […]
Several recent Intelligence Community Directives (ICDs) were released by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence on January 22 in response to a Freedom of Information Act request from the Federation of American Scientists. Though mostly dry and uninformative, they are nevertheless important as expressions of bureaucratic definition and control. The newly released directives […]
U.S. special operations forces typically make use of some of the most sophisticated military and intelligence gear available. But sometimes a “no tech” solution is the right one. So, for example, Special Forces “may find themselves involved in operations in rural or remote environments… using pack animals,” including horses, donkeys and mules. “Pack animal operations […]