There is no excuse for unauthorized disclosures of classified information, it is argued, because whistleblowers who have legitimate complaints about classified government misconduct can use official channels to convey those concerns on a classified basis. But as a practical matter, those channels are often blocked or ineffectual. That is what former National Security Agency employee […]
Some notable recent reports of the Congressional Research Service that have not been readily available to the public include the following: “China and Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction and Missiles: Policy Issues” (pdf), updated April 6, 2006. “Protection of Classified Information by Congress: Practices and Proposals” (pdf), updated April 5, 2006. “Navy Ship Propulsion […]
The Chinese nuclear stockpile appears to be only half as big as previously thought, according to a new overview published in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. Up to 130 warheads may be deployed out of a total stockpile of some 200 warheads. Several new weapon systems are under development which the Pentagon says could […]
We have just posted a recent report from CRS on Dual Use Biological research and the role and activities of the National Science Advisory Board on Biosecurity (NSABB). The report is a summary of the history and role of the NSABB and outlines some of their activities. View the report at /sgp/crs/natsec/RL33342.pdf
U.S. News and World Report reported last January that at least three publications of the CIA’s Center for the Study of Intelligence, all critical of the Agency, had been withheld from the CIA web site (“A Tangled Web Woven,” by David E. Kaplan, U.S. News, January 30, 2006). Now two of those disfavored publications are […]
When the government revoked the security clearance of J. Robert Oppenheimer on purported national security grounds in April 1954, it sent shock waves through the scientific community and elsewhere. If Oppenheimer, the man who had done more than any other individual to advance the development of the atomic bomb, was a security risk to the […]
Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) filed an amendment that would prohibit all funding for the NSA domestic surveillance program unless and until the Bush Administration keeps Congress fully and currently informed of the program as required by law. The Bush Administration welcomed the House version of the 2007 Intelligence Authorization Act for the most part, but […]
Some notable new reports of the Congressional Research Service include the following: “The Cost of Iraq, Afghanistan, and Other Global War on Terror Operations Since 9/11” (pdf), April 24, 2006. “Arab League Boycott of Israel” (pdf), April 19, 2006. “U.S. Special Operations Forces (SOF): Background and Issues for Congress” (pdf), updated April 17, 2006. “Sudan: […]
A large fraction of the documents that were withdrawn from public access at the National Archives on purported national security grounds over the past several years did not meet the standard for classification and should not have been removed, according to an official audit of the activity released yesterday. “This audit identified a significant number […]
In 1970, the U.S. spent $6 billion on intelligence, according to a newly published account of a meeting that President Richard M. Nixon held with his Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board in July 1970. “The President stated that the US is spending $6 billion per year on intelligence and deserves to receive a lot more for […]
House Republicans foreclosed Democratic efforts to offer amendments on warrantless domestic surveillance and other controversial intelligence topics when the FY 2007 Intelligence Authorization Act was brought to the floor yesterday. Instead, the House approved by a vote of 327-96 what Rep. Leonard Boswell (R-Iowa) described as “the largest intelligence budget in our history.” Democratic amendments, […]
In the Senate, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) yesterday introduced a bill to require the White House to notify Congress when it declassifies intelligence information. The bill was prompted by recent reports that the President selectively authorized certain disclosures by Vice Presidential aide Scooter Libby without informing the originating agency or other interested persons that the […]