Congress continues to instruct the Congressional Research Service not to make its products directly available to the public without prior approval. “No funds in the Congressional Research Service can be used to publish or prepare material to be issued by the Library of Congress unless approved by the appropriate committees,” according to language in the […]
Updated below The Office of the Director of National Intelligence is attempting to conceal unclassified information about the structure and function of U.S. intelligence agencies, including the leading role of the Central Intelligence Agency in collecting human intelligence. Last month, ODNI issued a heavily redacted version of its Intelligence Community Directive 304 on “Human Intelligence.” […]
Noteworthy new and updated reports from the Congressional Research Service that Congress has withheld from online public distribution include the following. Achievements of and Outlook for Sanctions on Iran, April 22, 2014 The Target Data Breach: Frequently Asked Questions, April 22, 2014 The Republic of the Philippines and U.S. Interests–2014, April 23, 2014 Malaysia: Background […]
The Director of National Intelligence has forbidden most intelligence community employees from discussing “intelligence-related information” with a reporter unless they have specific authorization to do so, according to an Intelligence Community Directive that was issued last month. “IC employees… must obtain authorization for contacts with the media” on intelligence-related matters, and “must also report… unplanned […]
The executive branch today provides less unclassified information to Congress concerning proliferation of weapons mass destruction than it used to do, a new report from the Congressional Research Service observes. “The number of unclassified reports to Congress on WMD-related issues has decreased considerably in recent years,” the report said. “Congress may wish to consider requiring […]
In 1989, the Department of State published a notorious volume that purported to document U.S. foreign policy towards Iran in the early Eisenhower Administration. The volume triggered an avalanche of criticism because it omitted any mention of the CIA’s role in a 1953 covert action that helped overthrow the government of Iran. Later this year, […]
The U.S. federal prison population has been growing steadily for decades, and it now exceeds the capacity of the prison system to properly house and maintain it, according to an updated report from the Congressional Research Service on the Bureau of Prisons [BOP]. “The number of inmates under the BOP’s jurisdiction has increased nearly eight-fold […]
Last week the Senate Intelligence Committee voted to submit the 480-page executive summary, findings and conclusions of its five-year investigation into the post-9/11 CIA Detention and Interrogation Program for declassification review. But in an obvious conflict of interest, the review is expected to be performed by the CIA itself. “The report exposes brutality that stands […]
After the Central Intelligence Agency refused to release records requested under the Freedom of Information Act in softcopy format, requester Jeffrey Scudder filed a lawsuit against the Agency demanding that it comply, and he received a rather sympathetic hearing from the judge. (CIA’s Refusal to Release Softcopy Records Challenged in Court, Secrecy News, March 17, […]
Physicist and problem solver extraordinaire Richard L. Garwin is the subject of a new documentary film, Garwin. A screening of the film, sponsored by FAS and the American Association for the Advancement of Science, will be held on April 22 in Washington, DC.
Secrets and Leaks: The Dilemma of State Secrecy is the title of a new (2013) book by Princeton political scientist Rahul Sagar. The book has many interesting features and develops some novel arguments on leaks. I reviewed it for the Lawfare blog.
U.S. nuclear weapons strategy evolved during the Nixon administration from a reflexive policy of massive retaliation against a Soviet attack to a diverse range of options for more limited nuclear strikes. The transition was not without some bumps. A declassified 1974 memo recorded that National Security Adviser Henry Kissinger at first needed some persuading about […]