The fortieth anniversary of the Freedom of Information Act, signed into law by President Johnson on July 4, 1966, was marked with the release of several interesting and informative publications. The colorful and contentious history behind the adoption of the Act was described by Tom Blanton of the National Security Archive based on documents obtained […]
Three years into the war in Iraq, the U.S. Army has nearly completed a thorough revision and update of its official doctrine on counterinsurgency (pdf). “It has been 20 years since the U.S. Army published a manual devoted to counterinsurgency operations, and 25 since the Marine Corps published its last such manual. With our Soldiers […]
Some notable new reports of the Congressional Research Service not readily available to the public include the following. “Nonproliferation and Threat Reduction Assistance: U.S. Programs in the Former Soviet Union” (pdf), updated June 26, 2006. “Syria: U.S. Relations and Bilateral Issues” (pdf), June 22, 2006. “Pakistan-U.S. Relations” (pdf), June 21, 2006. “Iraq: Recent Developments in […]
The House of Representatives last week condemned the unauthorized disclosure of classified information concerning a government program to track terrorist financing that was reported in the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times and other news outlets on June 23. The June 29 resolution, approved 227-183, included a veiled rebuke to the press, stating that […]
One reason why classification is an unreliable guide as to what should or should not be published by the press is that classification policy is implemented erratically by the government. In a new report for Congress, the Government Accountability Office found numerous problems in classification activity at the Department of Defense. “Our review of a […]
Stanley Moskowitz, a Central Intelligence Agency official who recently played a leading role in winning declassification of intelligence records on Nazi war criminals, died last week. “Stan Moskowitz deserves a lot of credit for the Nazi records release, which he managed to accomplish despite a lot of opposition from a directorate which shall not be […]
The global war on terror has cost the U.S. $437 billion since September 11, the Congressional Research Service estimated last month, including $319 billion for the war in Iraq. (The Pentagon claims the latter figure should be $210 billion.) The CRS cost estimate has been widely reported, but the underlying report has not been widely […]
Although the British government has promised a full and open public debate about the future of Britain’s nuclear deterrent, it has so far failed to explain what decisions need to be made, failed to provide a timetable for those decisions, and has refused to participate in a House of Commons Defence Committee inquiry on the […]
The Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation has released their analysis of US Federal Spending on Biodefense from 2001-2007. The numbers are staggering: Since 2001 the U.S. government has spent or allocated over $36 billion among 11 federal departments and agencies on biodefense. The Bush Administration has proposed $8 billion in biodefense spending for FY […]
Earlier this month, Representative Mike Rogers (R-MI) submitted the House version (H.R.5533) of the `Biodefense and Pandemic Vaccine and Drug Development Act of 2006′ (BARDA). The bill was introduced in the Senate by Senator Richard Burr (R-NC) (S.2564). The two bills are essentially the same with the exception of two controversial sections included in the […]
The government’s increasing use of the “state secrets privilege” to resist civil litigation on national security matters has often been met by courts with uncritical, even abject deference to the executive agencies that invoke the privilege. But another, more assertive response is possible. “The state secrets privilege is absolute,” wrote Judge Royce C. Lamberth categorically […]
One of the most vivid allegations made by the U.S. government regarding Iraqi weapons of mass destruction was the claim that Iraqi had developed mobile laboratories for the production of biological weapons. The allegation, based on reports from a source known as “Curveball,” proved to be false. But the U.S. intelligence assessment of the supposed […]