The Defense Threat Reduction Agency announced today that it has canceled the controversial Divine Strake experiment. A 700 tons chemical explosion at the Nevada Test Site was intended to provide data for calibration of nuclear and conventional weapons against underground targets. Local fear that the explosion would kick up and disperse radioactive material from the […]
The statutes that enable the government to gain legal access to telephone records, whether for law enforcement or intelligence purposes, are examined in a newly updated report (pdf) from the Congressional Research Service. The report also discusses prohibitions on access to, or disclosure of, such records, along with exceptions to the prohibitions. See “Government Access […]
In a new study (pdf), the Coalition of Journalists for Open Government says that federal agencies have made little progress in improving their Freedom of Information Act programs, despite a year-old executive order directing them to become more requester friendly. The JASON defense science advisory panel released a slightly revised unclassified summary (pdf) of its […]
In the unprecedented prosecution of two former officials of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), a federal court last year upheld the government’s controversial claim that the Espionage Act could be used to prosecute the unauthorized receipt and transmittal of classified information by private citizens who are not engaged in espionage. But as the […]
Intelligence analysis “must be objective and independent of political considerations,” according to a new “capstone” directive (pdf) issued by the Director of National Intelligence. The directive establishes the policy framework for intelligence analysis and defines a set of methodological standards and expectations, with an emphasis on inter-agency collaboration and outreach. “The IC will seldom have […]
Some recently updated reports of the Congressional Research Service that are not readily available in the public domain include the following (all pdf). “U.S. Foreign Aid to East and South Asia: Selected Recipients,” updated January 3, 2007. “NATO’s Prague Capabilities Commitment,” updated January 24, 2007. “Ballistic Missile Defense: Historical Overview,” updated January 5, 2007. “Islamic […]
Some recent Congressional Research Service reports obtained by Secrecy News that are not readily available in the public domain include the following (all pdf). “Sharing Law Enforcement and Intelligence Information: The Congressional Role,” February 13, 2007. “India-U.S. Relations,” updated February 13, 2007. “Changes to the OMB Regulatory Review Process by Executive Order 13422,” February 5, […]
The average amount of time required by the government to conduct a background investigation and process a security clearance application has been around one year for a Top Secret clearance and 5 to 6 months for a Secret or Confidential clearance, which is “a totally unacceptable length of time,” according to a new report to […]
Soviet intelligence agencies “rarely used the polygraph, but trained some of their officers with a machine stolen in 1965 by a Counterintelligence Corps sergeant, Glen Rohrer, who defected to Czechoslovakia.” That curious factoid is just one of many intriguing nuggets contained in a new “Historical Dictionary of Cold War Counterintelligence” by British intelligence writer Nigel […]
At an unusual press briefing on Monday, U.S. military officials provided the first physical evidence of Iranian arms shipments to Iraqi extremist groups. The display, which the New York Times called “extraordinary,” consisted of explosively formed penetrators, rocket-propelled grenades, mortars, and a shoulder-fired surface-to-air missile reportedly found in Iraq and bearing Iranian markings. Notably, the […]
Though it is still too early to identify concrete results, the pace of Congressional oversight activity on secrecy and intelligence matters has already increased markedly in the new Congress. The House Intelligence Subcommittee on Intelligence Community Management said it “will monitor trends in classification of executive branch material, the costs of over-classification, the practice of […]
Military doctrine on maintaining air superiority against enemy aircraft and missiles is presented in a newly updated publication (pdf) from the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Counterair operations include both offensive counterair (OCA) to destroy enemy aircraft, missiles or other weapons before they can be used, and defensive counterair (DCA) to detect, intercept and destroy enemy […]