Noteworthy new reports from the Congressional Research Service that have not been made readily available to the public include the following (all pdf). “The Gulf Security Dialogue and Related Arms Sale Proposals,” January 14, 2008. “Foreign Ownership of U.S. Financial Assets: Implications of a Withdrawal,” January 14, 2008. “Laos: Background and U.S. Relations,” January 7, […]
Much of the criticism directed at government secrecy is predicated on the idea that secrecy impedes government accountability and degrades public participation in the deliberative process. But the secrecy system is also subject to growing internal criticism on altogether different grounds (pdf): namely, that it “has become dysfunctional in the face of current needs of […]
The growing use of the state secrets privilege could threaten basic constitutional rights, according to one recent critical analysis. If current trends in government reliance on the state secrets privilege are allowed to continue, “it is questionable whether any constitutional complaint against the government involving classified information will ever be allowed to be adjudicated,” concluded […]
Noteworthy new reports from the Congressional Research Service obtained by Secrecy News include the following (all pdf). “Emerging Trends in the Security Architecture in Asia: Bilateral and Multilateral Ties Among the United States, Japan, Australia, and India,” January 7, 2008. “Trafficking in Persons: U.S. Policy and Issues for Congress,” January 10, 2008. “Perjury Under Federal […]
Only the President of the United States may authorize the use of riot control agents in war, even for defensive purposes, according to official U.S. military doctrine (pdf), although the Secretary of Defense may authorize their use for the protection or recovery of nuclear weapons. So it was anomalous to say the least when employees […]
Noteworthy new publications from the Congressional Research Service include the following (all pdf): “China’s ‘Soft Power’ in Southeast Asia,” January 4, 2008. “How Crime in the United States Is Measured,” January 3, 2008. “Democracy Promotion: Cornerstone of U.S. Foreign Policy?,” December 26, 2007.
In a report (pdf) issued today, a Presidential advisory board proposed dozens of steps to promote a more rational, uniform and productive process for declassification of historical records. Declassification policy must “take into account the interest of ordinary citizens in having as ‘thorough, accurate, and reliable’ a record of their country’s history as soon as […]
In a recently declassified 1983 directive (pdf), President Reagan ordered steps to improve the security of government communications. “Mobile and fixed communications systems used by key U.S. Government officials in the Nation’s capital and surrounding areas are especially vulnerable to intercept and exploitation by foreign intelligence services,” the President wrote. National Security Decision Directive (NSDD) […]
By Hans M. Kristensen China’s entire fleet of approximately 55 general-purpose submarines conducted a total of six patrols during 2007, slightly better than the two patrols conducted in 2006 and zero in 2005. The 2007 performance matches China’s all-time high of six patrols conducted in 2000, the only two years since 1981 that Chinese submarines […]
[updated to clarify paragraph on Tonkin Gulf Incident] During the Vietnam War, North Vietnamese intelligence units sometimes succeeded in penetrating Allied communications systems, and they could monitor Allied message traffic from within. But sometimes they did more than that. On several occasions “the communists were able, by communicating on Allied radio nets, to call in […]
A Russian satellite tracking facility in Siberia called the Altay Optical Laser Research Center is profiled in a newly updated document collection (pdf). A proposed expansion of the facility calls for a high-resolution satellite imaging telescope with an aperture of 3.12 meters and angular resolution of 0.044 arc seconds. “This is diffraction-limited performance, indicating serious […]
Noteworthy new and updated reports from the Congressional Research Service that have not been made readily available to the public online include these (all pdf). “Obstruction of Justice: an Overview of Some of the Federal Statutes that Prohibit Interference with Judicial, Executive, or Legislative Activities,” December 27, 2007. “Obstruction of Congress: a Brief Overview of […]