A recent Senate hearing on the subject of “secret law” drew an appreciative review today from syndicated columnist and first amendment champion Nat Hentoff. “So important was an April 30 hearing before the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution that it should have been on front pages around the country,” he wrote. “Titled ‘Secret Law […]
In January 2008, the ODNI Open Source Center (OSC) published a report on “Recent Worldwide Research on Animal Pox Viruses” principally authored by Dr. Alfred D. Steinberg of the MITRE Corporation. Secrecy News has been trying unsuccessfully to obtain a releasable copy of the document. A request to ODNI was forwarded to the Central Intelligence […]
Noteworthy new reports from the Congressional Research Service that have not been made publicly accessible online include the following (all pdf). “Defense: FY2009 Authorization and Appropriations,” May 5, 2008. “Second FY2008 Supplemental Appropriations for Military Operations, International Affairs, and Other Purposes,” updated May 8, 2008. “Director of National Intelligence Statutory Authorities: Status and Proposals,” updated […]
An interagency program established in 2006 by a classified Presidential directive is working to gather information on the status and security of nuclear materials around the world and to characterize them for forensic purposes. Remarkably, such a thing had never been done before in a rigorous way. “On August 28, 2006, the national-level Nuclear Materials […]
It is impossible to entirely separate a civilian nuclear power program from a potential nuclear weapons program. President Bush knows this, which is why he is so concerned about Iran’s nuclear energy program. And this is why our country should not undercut nonproliferation goals by restarting a domestic reprocessing program, now called the Global Nuclear […]
A bill introduced in the House of Representatives would require U.S. intelligence agencies to report to Congress on the total number and cost of contractors that they employ and to provide detailed information on the services that contractors perform. Some controversial intelligence contractor activities would be prohibited outright, including arrest, interrogation and detention. “Contracting in […]
The Director of National Intelligence last week issued several new Intelligence Community Directives (ICDs) that implement new community-wide personnel practices, including a performance-based compensation policy that rewards superior job performance. The new payment policy “links performance-based pay increases and bonuses to individual accomplishments, demonstrated competencies, and contributions to organizational results.” “Higher performance and greater contribution […]
The Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) generates some of the most sensitive and most consequential records in the U.S. Government, along with an enormous volume of ephemeral material. Managing this endless flow of records efficiently and effectively is a challenge. Close students of OSD records management policy will find useful reference data in […]
China’s foreign policy goals and actions in Asia, Africa and Latin America are assessed in a new report to Congress (pdf) from the Congressional Research Service. “The study opens with an overview section discussing China’s presumed foreign policy goals, the attractions and limitations of China’s ‘soft power,’ and the implications and options for the United […]
“The number of DEA intelligence analysts has grown from 11 since the DEA’s inception in 1973 to 710 stationed around the world as of March 15, 2008,” according to a new report from the Justice Department Inspector General (IG) on the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) as an intelligence agency. The new report (pdf) provides the […]
Secret law that governs the conduct of government activities but is inaccessible to the public is “a particularly sinister” phenomenon that is “increasingly prevalent,” said Senator Russ Feingold today at a hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on the Constitution. The hearing produced a particularly rich record on the subject of secret law from […]
The House Judiciary Committee has asked the Attorney General (pdf) to report on the classification status of all written opinions of the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel issued since 2001 that deal with national security, terrorism, civil or constitutional rights of U.S. citizens, or presidential, judicial or congressional power. “While we appreciate the need […]