As Director of Central Intelligence from 1991-1993, Robert M. Gates, the nominee to be the next Secretary of Defense, grappled with questions of government secrecy more than almost any other agency head and helped to inaugurate a decade of increasing openness in intelligence and elsewhere. Though he said the term “CIA openness” was “an oxymoron,” […]
B83 thermonuclear bombs at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. Image © Paul Shambroom Ever wondered where all those nukes are stored? A new review published in the November/December issue of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists shows that the United States stores its nearly 10,000 nuclear warheads at 18 locations in 12 states and six European […]
The role of special operations forces in the U.S. military is steadily increasing but relatively little is publicly known about the activities and performance of these specialized units. A new U.S. Army manual (pdf) fills in some of the gaps in the public record with a description of the structure, capabilities and missions of U.S. […]
A former Federal Air Marshal who was fired by the Transportation Security Administration last April for disclosing “sensitive security information” (SSI) to the press has filed suit against the government arguing that his disclosure was protected under the Whistleblower Protection Act. SSI is unclassified information regarding transportation security that is protected from disclosure by statute. […]
U.S. intelligence policy on covert action, including presidential authorization and congressional notification requirements, is “less than clear,” according to a new report (pdf) from the Congressional Research Service, and may need to be updated to encompass activities performed by the Department of Defense. Covert action generally refers to CIA operations undertaken abroad against foreign targets […]
U.S. Army intelligence (G2) has developed a new methodology (pdf) for applying national security classification controls and for training personnel in the proper use of classification restrictions. Failure to classify correctly has consequences, a tutorial on the new approach points out. “Over-classification is costly, inefficient and can cause slow downs to development/operation. Under-classification can cause […]
The U.S. Government suspended public access to an online database of captured Iraqi documents after the New York Times presented claims from some nuclear experts that the documents included sensitive nuclear weapons design information. The documents had already been reviewed and cleared for public release, but the experts consulted by the Times said they should […]
Rep. Jim Gibbons (R-Nevada) helped to direct millions of dollars of classified contracts to one of his major campaign contributors, according to an astonishing account in the Wall Street Journal. (“Congressman’s Favors for Friend Include Help in Secret Budget,” by John R. Wilke, Wall Street Journal, November 1, sub. req’d.). Coming in the wake of […]
The specialized language of government information policy is itself a reflection of the intricacies and convolutions of that policy. A newly updated and substantially expanded lexicon (pdf) of information-related terms, prepared by Susan L. Maret, provides a valuable map to the language and the terrain of U.S. government information policy. Hundreds of entries, ranging from […]
The Office of Director of National Intelligence is holding a media roundtable today (pdf) to introduce “Intellipedia,” described as a Wikipedia for the Intelligence Community. The event follows on a news story about Intellipedia and related initiatives in the current issue of U.S. News and World Report. See “Wikis and Blogs, Oh My!” by David […]
Processing of applications for security clearances by the Department of Defense continues to fall far behind official targets for improvement, according to the Government Accountability Office. “Our independent analysis of timeliness data showed that industry personnel contracted to work for the federal government waited more than one year on average to receive top secret clearances,” […]
A new report (pdf) from the Congressional Research Service synthesizes what is known, believed and speculated about the recent North Korean nuclear explosive test, and sketches out the options for U.S. policy. “The most fundamental U.S. goals of the confrontation with North Korea are to prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and to […]