The growing military presence at U.S. embassies abroad is arousing suspicion among some foreign officials and producing friction between civilian foreign service officers and military personnel, according to a new staff report from the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. “There is evidence that some host countries are questioning the increasingly military component of America’s profile overseas,” […]
A recent Presidential signing statement on the Postal Reform Act “has resulted in considerable confusion and widespread concern about the President’s commitment to abide by the basic privacy protections afforded sealed domestic mail,” said Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine). “For some, it raised the specter of the Government unlawfully monitoring our mail in the name of […]
A redacted version of the National Reconnaissance Office Congressional Budget Justification Book for Fiscal Year 2006 was released to the Federation of American Scientists last week in response to a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit and in compliance with a court order. The more intelligible portions of the document are now posted here (pdf). Jargon-heavy […]
The recovery of American personnel who are lost or captured in the course of military operations abroad is the subject of a new Department of Defense doctrinal publication (pdf). “The President of the United States can choose to exercise military, diplomatic, or civil options, or a combination thereof, to recover isolated personnel” and each of […]
Some recent products of the Congressional Research Service obtained by Secrecy News and not readily available in the public domain include the following (all pdf). “Maritime Security: Potential Terrorist Attacks and Protection Priorities,” January 9, 2007. “The Protection of Classified Information: The Legal Framework,” updated December 21, 2006. “Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of […]
With the war against Islamist fighters drawing to a close, Somalia’s transitional government and its foreign allies now face several Herculean tasks: bringing to heel the warlords and militias that have terrorized the country for fifteen years, winning over the various clans and sub-clans that dominate Somali politics, rebuilding the nation’s devastated infrastructure, etc, etc, […]
The December 31, 2006 deadline for automatic declassification of historically valuable 25 year old classified records has come and gone. Was anything automatically declassified? Yes, said Bill Leonard, director of the Information Security Oversight Office. “Hundreds of millions of pages of records were automatically declassified at the FBI alone,” he said yesterday. Numerous other records […]
In response to a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit, the National Reconnaissance Office last week released to the Federation of American Scientists the unclassified portions of the NRO Congressional Budget Justification Book for Fiscal Year 2006. “You have joined a very exclusive club of people who not only win FOIA cases but actually get some […]
Several noteworthy pieces of legislation on intelligence and national security have already been introduced (or in some cases re-introduced) in the new Congress, including these. A Resolution to Enhance Intelligence Oversight (H.Res. 35) by Rep. Obey, January 5. Implementing the 9/11 Commission Recommendations Act of 2007 (H.R. 1), January 5. NSA Oversight Act (pdf) (H.R. […]
The Department of Energy has published a new draft manual to help authorized personnel identify information that is classified by executive order or under the Atomic Energy Act. See “Manual for Identifying Classified Information” (draft), DOE M 475.1-1B, published January 8, 2007 (1.3 MB PDF).
Some recent reports of the Congressional Research Service that are not readily available in the public domain include the following (all pdf). “Department of Homeland Security Grants to State and Local Governments: FY2003 to FY2006,” December 22, 2006. “International Crises and Disasters: U.S. Humanitarian Assistance, Budget Trends, and Issues for Congress,” December 21, 2006. “Cuba: […]
Declaring that the need to protect government secrets overrides all other considerations, a federal court yesterday dismissed (pdf) a lawsuit against the Central Intelligence Agency filed by family members of a former CIA clandestine officer who alleged injuries that are largely classified. The CIA invoked the state secrets privilege in its motion for dismissal, and […]