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FBI Seeks Access to Jack Anderson Files

The Federal Bureau of Investigation wants to review the files of the late muckraking journalist Jack Anderson and confiscate any documents it believes are classified before they are opened to the public. This amazing story was first reported yesterday by the Chronicle of Higher Education (see Update below). There has long been an unwritten agreement […]

04.19.06 | 1 min read
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FAS
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DoD Seeks New FOIA Exemption for Unclassified WMD Info

The Department of Defense is seeking a broad new exemption from the Freedom of Information Act for unclassified information relating to weapons of mass destruction. According to the proposed legislation, “Examples of such information could include … formulas and design descriptions of lethal and incapacitating materials; maps, designs, security/emergency response plans, and vulnerability assessments for […]

04.18.06 | 1 min read
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FAS
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GAO Views Sensitive But Unclassified Info

The challenges posed by the use of “sensitive but unclassified” control markings were examined in a comprehensive new report (pdf) from the Government Accountability Office. “The agencies that GAO reviewed are using 56 different sensitive but unclassified designations (16 of which belong to one agency) to protect information that they deem critical to their missions […]

04.18.06 | 1 min read
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FAS
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The AIPAC Case: The Defense Strikes Back

Attorneys for two former officials of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee accused of mishandling classified information vigorously rebutted the latest prosecution arguments against their clients in an April 6 pleading (pdf). “In the history of the Espionage Act, the government has never embarked on a prosecution like this one — of private citizens outside […]

04.18.06 | 1 min read
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FAS
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Air Force Issues Doctrine on Homeland Operations

The U.S. Air Force has produced a new doctrinal document (pdf) that articulates its role in “homeland operations.” “This document describes how our Air Force organizes and employs air and space power in operations in the homeland.” “It focuses on how we support civilian agencies through the appropriate combatant commander in a variety of operations, […]

04.18.06 | 1 min read
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FAS
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Reverence for the Law, and Statutory Interpretation

The best way to ensure the perpetuation of democratic institutions in turbulent times, said Abraham Lincoln in an 1838 speech, is to cultivate a sense of reverence for the law. “Let reverence for the laws be breathed by every American mother to the lisping babe that prattles on her lap — let it be taught […]

04.18.06 | 1 min read
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FAS
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NARA Releases Second Memo on Document Reclassification

The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) today released a second newly declassified Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on the withdrawal of government records from its public collections. National Archivist Allen Weinstein said that he discovered the existence of the second MOU (pdf), which was signed by the Central Intelligence Agency and NARA in October 2001, […]

04.17.06 | 2 min read
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FAS
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DoE Intelligence Embraces Discredited Budget Secrecy Policy

The Department of Energy Office of Intelligence has reverted to a policy of budget secrecy that it rejected more than a decade ago. For as long as anyone can remember, the small DOE intelligence unit always had an unclassified budget (around $40 million in recent years). “The size of the DOE intelligence budget is not […]

04.17.06 | 2 min read
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Global Risk
Blog
New Uranium Enrichment Calculator

Our ace FAS researcher, Lucas Royland, has developed a simple calculator that allows prediction of when Iran will first have enough highly enriched uranium to build a simple gun-assembled nuclear bomb. We must emphasize that the calculator gives the best case (from the Iranian point of view, the worst case from the rest of the […]

04.13.06 | 2 min read
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FAS
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House Intel Committee Urges New Action Against Leaks

Existing laws prohibiting unauthorized disclosures of classified information have not been effective, the House Intelligence Committee stated in a new report on the 2007 intelligence authorization act published today. “Additional and more creative steps to deter unauthorized disclosures are warranted,” the report said. Towards that end, the Committee asked the Director of National Intelligence to […]

04.07.06 | 2 min read
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FAS
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DCIA Goss Invokes State Secrets Privilege

Director of Central Intelligence Agency Porter J. Goss invoked the state secrets privilege last month to block litigation filed against the CIA and another U.S. Government agency. The likely effect is to terminate the case, for reasons that DCIA Goss said cannot be explained on the public record. “After deliberation and personal consideration, I have […]

04.07.06 | 2 min read
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FAS
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The Secret History of the JASONs

One of the lacunae in the history of defense policy and science advice to government concerns the role of the JASON advisory panel. A fascinating new book on the JASONs helps to fill in that mysterious gap. Established in 1960, the JASONs first gained unwelcome public attention as the result of a reference in the […]

04.06.06 | 1 min read
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