The specialized language of government information policy is itself a reflection of the intricacies and convolutions of that policy. A newly updated and substantially expanded lexicon (pdf) of information-related terms, prepared by Susan L. Maret, provides a valuable map to the language and the terrain of U.S. government information policy. Hundreds of entries, ranging from […]
The Office of Director of National Intelligence is holding a media roundtable today (pdf) to introduce “Intellipedia,” described as a Wikipedia for the Intelligence Community. The event follows on a news story about Intellipedia and related initiatives in the current issue of U.S. News and World Report. See “Wikis and Blogs, Oh My!” by David […]
Processing of applications for security clearances by the Department of Defense continues to fall far behind official targets for improvement, according to the Government Accountability Office. “Our independent analysis of timeliness data showed that industry personnel contracted to work for the federal government waited more than one year on average to receive top secret clearances,” […]
A new report (pdf) from the Congressional Research Service synthesizes what is known, believed and speculated about the recent North Korean nuclear explosive test, and sketches out the options for U.S. policy. “The most fundamental U.S. goals of the confrontation with North Korea are to prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and to […]
In an unusual investigation of improper secrecy involving unclassified information, an Inspector General report last week found that a Defense Department contractor marked records as “proprietary data,” thereby restricting their dissemination, even though the records did not qualify as proprietary. Kellogg, Brown and Root Services, Inc. (KBR), a component of Halliburton, “routinely marks almost all […]
Confronted for the first time by a congressional request to review the classification of two congressional reports, the new Public Interest Declassification Board (PIDB) has been stymied by doubts over its own authority to proceed. The PIDB was formally created by statute in 2000 to serve as an advisory body on declassification priorities and policies. […]
Some recent products of the Congressional Research Service, not made directly available to the public, include the following (all pdf). “Pakistan-U.S. Relations,” updated October 26, 2006. “Pakistan: Chronology of Recent Events,” updated October 20, 2006. “Western Sahara: Status of Settlement Efforts,” updated September 29, 2006.
Sally Lilienthal, the founder of the Ploughshares Fund, died on 24 October at age 87. All who knew her agreed that she was a force of nature. Some who have heard about the Ploughshares Fund do not realize how it actually works. It does not have an endowment. It is, itself, a fund-raising organization that […]
Keeping secrets from the press and the public may be frustrating and occasionally illegal. But executive branch secrecy directed at Congress is actually subversive to the extent that it undermines the performance of legislative oversight. Such secrecy was on vivid display at an April 6, 2006 hearing of the House Judiciary Committee on the Department […]
Secrecy in science is the subject of a series of papers in the latest issue of the Duke University Law School journal Law and Contemporary Problems. The authors consider the consequences of secret science and “propose solutions to help balance the costs and benefits of such secrecy.” See a descriptive news release here. The full […]
The Congressional Research Service has produced its latest annual report on U.S. arms sales abroad (pdf). The CRS report, authored by Richard F. Grimmett, has become a standard reference in the field since it is based on closely held official data. “This report is prepared annually to provide Congress with official, unclassified, quantitative data on […]
The Defense Industry is laying the groundwork for yet another attempt to “reform” the US arms export control system. At a briefing held at the Heritage Foundation last week, Mark Esper of the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) announced that the AIA is “fine tuning” Phase two of its campaign, which will, according to AIA’s newsletter, […]