The President’s Daily Brief (PDB), a highly classified intelligence report prepared daily for the President of the United States, “is the quintessential predecisional, deliberative document,” the Central Intelligence Agency argued (pdf) recently in court, claiming that virtually nothing about it can be made public even after several decades have passed. But a 1970 memorandum (large […]
Last July, President Bush issued a broadly-worded executive order authorizing the government to seize the assets of “any person” who threatens the stability of Iraq and, more controversially, any person who provides assistance to such a person. The scope, objectives and precedents of the order — Executive Order 13,438, “Blocking Property of Certain Persons Who […]
New issuances on Defense Department intelligence policy include the following (all pdf). “Access to Classified Cryptographic Information,” DoD Instruction 5205.08, November 8, 2007. “Scientific and Technical Intelligence Liaison Officer (STILO) Program and Intelligence Support for the naval Research, Development, Test & Evaluation, and Acquisition Communities,” OPNAV Instruction 3880.6A, November 5, 2007. And for good measure […]
The Commonwealth of the Bahamas announced this week that it has ratified the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, according to a news release from the CTBT Organization in Vienna. The Treaty prohibits all nuclear explosions. The ratification by the Bahamas brings the total number of Treaty ratifications to 141. But the Treaty cannot take effect […]
Arguments justifying the continuing existence of the world’s nuclear arsenals are like the tired joke about the joke convention. Many of these arguments have been with us for decades. Some made sense decades ago but do no longer, now that the Cold War is history. Others never made sense even during the Cold War but […]
Classification markings will be removed from classified documents that are admitted into evidence in the upcoming trial of two former officials of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), a court ruled earlier this month. The former AIPAC officials, Steven J. Rosen and Keith Weissman, are accused of unauthorized receipt and disclosure of classified information. […]
Updated below The efficacy of intelligence oversight in the Senate has been drastically undermined by procedural hurdles that enable the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee to overrule actions taken by the Senate Intelligence Committee, Senators complained earlier this month. To remedy this concern, a new bill has been introduced that would transfer budget appropriations authority to the […]
Noteworthy new reports from the Congressional Research Service obtained by Secrecy News include the following (all pdf). “Weak and Failing States: Evolving Security Threats and U.S. Policy,” November 15, 2007. “Pakistan’s Nuclear Weapons: Proliferation and Security Issues,” updated November 14, 2007. “The Cost of Iraq, Afghanistan, and Other Global War on Terror Operations Since 9/11,” […]
Italian news reports regarding upheaval in the organization of the Sicilian mafia were synthesized and summarized in a new analysis from the Open Source Center, a component of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. “The recent arrest of mafia fugitive Salvatore Lo Piccolo and the April 2006 capture of Bernardo Provenzano, the Sicilian […]
Recent reports of interest from the Congressional Research Service include the following (all pdf): U.S. Arms Sales to Pakistan, November 8, 2007. Nuclear Weapons: The Reliable Replacement Warhead Program, updated November 8, 2007. Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia: Political Developments and Implications for U.S. Interests, updated November 7, 2007. China and Proliferation of Weapons of Mass […]
A new Congressional Research Service report on “U.S. Arms Sales to Pakistan” recently obtained by the FAS provides a succinct overview of recent U.S. arms sales to General Pervez Musharraf’s regime, the tumultous fifty-year history of US security assistance to Pakistan, and presidential authority to stop such sales. The release of the report coincides with […]
Nonlethal weapons “can provide a forgiving means of imposing our will on adversaries,” according to a new U.S. military manual (pdf). Nonlethal weapons (NLW), which do not normally cause fatal injuries, are intended to provide combatants with tools to disable, apprehend or deter an opponent by means short of lethal force. They may be deemed […]