Congressional oversight of intelligence is “dysfunctional,” according to a new report from the liberal Center for American Progress. Some of the most urgent and fundamental policy issues facing the nation are matters of intelligence policy: What are the proper boundaries of domestic intelligence surveillance? What is the legal framework for interrogation of enemy detainees? Why […]
The National Security Archive filed suit against the Central Intelligence Agency after the CIA began imposing costs to process Freedom of Information Act requests that it said were not “newsworthy” and therefore not entitled to a fee waiver. By interposing its own editorial judgment in the FOIA process, the CIA in effect is “trying to […]
The organization and management of U.S. Air Force space activities from pre-launch to post-operational disposal are described in a new AF Space Command Instruction (pdf) on “satellite operations.” “The objective of satellite disposal is to reduce the potential for spacecraft collisions and frequency interference, to mitigate the creation of additional space debris and to open […]
Some random reports of the Congressional Research Service that are not otherwise readily available in the public domain include the following: “Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education Issues and Legislative Options” (pdf), May 22, 2006. “Australia: Background and U.S. Relations” (pdf), April 20, 2006. “China’s Impact on the U.S. Automotive Industry” (pdf), April 4, […]
An interagency report on proposals to streamline controls on so-called “sensitive but unclassified” (SBU) information is due to be presented to the White House this month. Efforts to promote information sharing among government agencies and others involved in homeland security have been stymied by the growing use of over sixty different types of access controls […]
Some agencies treat oversight of their programs as a burden or a threat to be avoided or evaded. But that is a shortsighted view. The paradox of oversight is that when properly performed it actually serves the interests of the overseen program by building confidence in its legitimacy and integrity. Perhaps with that in mind, […]
“The National Security Agency is committed to declassifying national security information as instructed in Executive Order 12958, as amended,” the NSA declared in a 2005 declassification plan (pdf). “The Agency will use all available resources to successfully accomplish the provisions of the E.O. within the required time.” See “NSA Declassification Plan for Executive Order 12958, […]
“Is New York City adequately prepared for a ‘dirty bomb’ attack?” asked John Sudnik, a deputy chief at the New York Fire Department in a recent master’s thesis (pdf) on the prospects of a terrorist incident involving a radiological weapon. In response to this question, the author provided an assessment of the threat, the consequences […]
“Why does The Washington Post willingly publish ‘classified’ information affecting national security?” wrote former Post editor Robert G. Kaiser in a Sunday Outlook piece. “Should Post journalists and others who reveal the government’s secrets be subject to criminal prosecution for doing so? These questions, raised with new urgency of late, deserve careful answers.” He proposed […]
The Council on Foreign Relations just released a “Special Report,” U.S.-India Nuclear Cooperation by Michael Levi and Charles Ferguson. Mike and Charles are first rate thinkers but I disagree with almost every aspect of their report. The report is seductively misleading because many of the recommendations make good sense given the presumptions and context of […]
Almost 70 percent of people in European countries that currently store U.S. nuclear weapons want a Europe free of nuclear weapons, according to an opinion poll published by Greenpeace International. In contrast, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld suggested in an interview with Der Spiegel last November that the Europeans want to keep U.S. nuclear weapons. Question: […]
U.S. Navy Admiral (ret.) William O. Studeman was appointed this week by Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert (R-IL) to serve on the Public Interest Declassification Board. Adm. Studeman is a former Deputy Director of Central Intelligence and a former Director of the National Security Agency. As a member of the Board, he is now […]