In confronting the threat of terrorism, what would it mean to win? And how would one know? Terrorist and counterterrorist forces may both believe that they are succeeding in their goals. And depending on their specific objectives, they may both be right. “Progress may be defined differently by the terrorists and those who oppose them,” […]
Some new or newly updated products of the Congressional Research Service that have not been made readily available to the public include the following (all pdf). “National Security Letters in Foreign Intelligence Investigations: Legal Background and Recent Amendments,” updated March 20, 2007. “Navy Force Structure: Alternative Force Structure Studies of 2005 — Background for Congress,” […]
The Department of Defense has issued several noteworthy new policy Instructions on intelligence and national security matters, including the following (all pdf). “Joint Reserve Intelligence Program (JRIP),” DoD Instruction 3305.07, March 27, 2007. “DoD Counterintelligence (CI) Training,” DoD Instruction 3305.11, March 19, 2007. “Minimum Security Standards for Safeguarding Chemical Agents,” DoD Instruction 5210.65, March 12, […]
“Today, following over a year of coordinated effort among the Intelligence Community and the Department of Justice a bill is being submitted to Congress to request long overdue changes to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act,” according to an April 13 fact sheet (pdf) on the proposed changes issued by the Justice Department and the Office […]
When Secrecy News gained unauthorized access to a restricted U.S. Army manual on visual identification of U.S. and foreign aircraft, we supposed that it was just one more case of unnecessary and inappropriate secrecy. But it turns out to be something worse than that, since the document (pdf) contains a surprising number of technical errors. […]
(Updated May 9, 2007) At the beginning of 2007, Russia maintained approximately 5,600 operational nuclear warheads for delivery by ballistic missiles, aircraft, cruise missiles and torpedoes, according to the latest Nuclear Notebook published in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. The Russian Notebook, which is written by Hans M. Kristensen of FAS and Robert S. […]
More than 160 U.S. and foreign military aircraft are catalogued in a U.S. Army manual (large pdf) which describes their distinctive physical characteristics in order to permit visual identification of the aircraft in flight. The manual is nominally a restricted document, marked “for official use only,” and it has not been approved for public release. […]
The Central Intelligence Agency has released three of its internal personnel regulations in redacted form as part of a defense against charges that it improperly dismissed a former undercover contract employee. A 2002 regulation signed by then-DCI George Tenet established the CIA Personnel Evaluation Board (pdf), which is “the primary mechanism for reviewing employee suitability […]
Almost every day brings forceful reminders of the transience of all human endeavors, challenging us to consider our own mortality and to act with compassion, if we can. Paul Leventhal, a tireless advocate for the cause of nuclear non-proliferation, died this week of cancer. As president of the public interest Nuclear Control Institute, he was […]
In a recent report, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) attributes the looting of Iraq’s arms depots to the “ovewhelming size and number” of these depots and “prewar planning priorities and certain assumptions that proved to be invalid.” The report finds that the US military “did not adequately secure these [conventional munitions storage] sites during and […]
Contractors accompanying U.S. military forces in Iraq or elsewhere who commit crimes may be beyond the reach of law enforcement, a recent Army publication warns (pdf), because the Defense Department has not yet updated its regulations to conform to a Congressional mandate, resulting in a “gap” in legal jurisdiction. “In November 2006, Congress expanded UCMJ […]
Declassified transcripts of dozens of closed hearings of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee from 1967 have now been published. The hearings feature testimony by Director of Central Intelligence Richard Helms and other Johnson Administration officials on Soviet nuclear weapons policy, anti-ballistic missiles, Vietnam, the Middle East, and other topics of contemporary concern. See “Executive Sessions […]