A long-simmering dispute over the role and character of the Congressional Research Service now threatens to boil over in the form of a clash between CRS management and CRS analyst Louis Fisher. Fisher, a specialist in American government and separation of powers issues, is one of the superstars of the CRS, whose work is widely […]
The Central Intelligence Agency continues to make a mockery of its legal obligations under the Freedom of Information Act and the national security classification system. The Project on Government Oversight recently asked the CIA to undertake a declassification review of the Iraqi declaration on weapons of mass destruction that was presented to the United Nations […]
Navy personnel are forbidden to disclose or even discuss the presence or absence of nuclear weapons aboard any U.S. Navy vessel, according to a new Navy Instruction. “Military members and civilian employees of the Department of the Navy shall not reveal, purport to reveal, or cause to be revealed any information, rumor, or speculation with […]
The Logan Act, which became law in 1799, generally prohibits U.S. citizens from engaging in freelance diplomacy with foreign governments. The Act is the subject of a new report from the Congressional Research Service. “Although it appears that there has never been a prosecution under the Logan Act, there have been several judicial references to […]
The US Chief of Naval Operations has publicly issued an Instruction that orders US Navy personnel not to tell anyone that US warships do not carry nuclear weapons. Yet the same Instruction states that it is US policy not to deploy nuclear weapons on the ships. The new Instruction, “Release of Information on Nuclear Weapons […]
At a time when the legality of U.S. intelligence activities such as the NSA surveillance program is a live issue, President Bush announced that he would name three individuals to the Intelligence Oversight Board, which is supposed to notify the President of any unlawful activities performed by U.S. intelligence agencies. The three appointees are Adm. […]
The terms “probable cause” and “reasonable suspicion” have almost become household words by now due to continuing public controversy over the legality of the NSA surveillance program. The legal definitions of these terms were examined in a new memorandum prepared by the Congressional Research Service for the Senate Intelligence Committee. A copy was obtained by […]
The National Reconnaissance Office has published a new Journal in unclassified format. “National Reconnaissance: Journal of the Discipline and Practice” is intended “for the education and information of the NRO community” and to promote “the study, dialogue, and understanding of the discipline, practice, and history of national reconnaissance.” The centerpiece of the first issue is […]
For several decades the Naval Security Group (NAVSECGRU) Command has been the Navy’s cryptologic organization, with responsibility for signals intelligence and communications security and with NAVSECGRU Activities scattered around much of the world. But now the NAVSECGRU Command has been disestablished and all NAVSECGRU Activities and Detachments have been renamed as Navy Information Operations Commands […]
Air Force personnel are warned in a recent instruction not to track low observable (LO) or “sight sensitive” aircraft during test flights at Edwards Air Force Base. “Low observable” is another term for stealth, and “sight sensitive” refers to objects that yield sensitive information simply by visual inspection. “It is strictly forbidden to train tracking […]
A resolution introduced in the German Parliament last week calls for the withdrawal of U.S. nuclear weapons from Germany. The resolution, which was submitted by nine parliamentarians from the newly formed party Die Linken, also calls for the German Air Force to end its controversial NATO mission to deliver U.S. nuclear bombs in times of […]
After nearly a decade of pressure from openness advocates inside and outside of government, the Department of Energy has finally released its landmark history of the production of highly enriched uranium (HEU). The study “was commissioned [in 1996] to facilitate discussions of HEU storage, safety, and security with stakeholders, to encourage other nations to declassify […]