The U.S. intelligence community should continue to provide intelligence support to national leaders even in the event of a catastrophic emergency, according to a new Intelligence Community Directive. “IC elements shall develop and maintain COOP [continuity of operations] capabilities to ensure the uninterrupted flow of national intelligence and, through the support of COG [continuity of […]
The latest report from the Inspector General of the Intelligence Community provides an updated (and largely redacted) snapshot of the IG’s investigative agenda. During the nine-month period from July 2012 to March 2013, the IC IG internal hotline received 70 contacts or complaints from intelligence agency personnel, as well as 77 contacts from the general […]
Recent unauthorized disclosures of classified information might have been prevented if U.S. intelligence agencies “continuously evaluated the backgrounds of employees and contractors,” according to the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI). In its new report on the FY 2014 intelligence authorization bill, the Committee would require intelligence agencies to “continuously determine whether their employees […]
The Public Interest Declassification Board, which advises the President on classification and declassification policy, is proposing to recommend that certain historically significant topics and events be prioritized for expedited declassification. The Board has invited public input into the formulation of its recommendations for prioritization, which currently fall into five broad categories: Topics 25 Years Old […]
New and newly updated reports from the Congressional Research Service that Congress has declined to make available to the public online include the following. Mexico’s Oil and Gas Sector: Background, Reform Efforts, and Implications for the United States, November 18, 2013 U.S.-Mexico Water Sharing: Background and Recent Developments, November 19, 2013 Interstate Natural Gas Pipelines: […]
Newly published briefing slides from a Los Alamos history of the Russian nuclear weapons program include rare images and photographs of key personalities and facilities in the Russian (formerly Soviet) nuclear program. See History of the Russian Nuclear Weapon Program by Houston T. Hawkins, Los Alamos National Laboratory, November 19, 2013 (large PDF file).
A new review by the Inspector General of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency found that classified documents at the Agency are riddled with errors. Because the EPA has a minuscule classification program that hardly generates any classified material, it may be seen as a microcosm of the larger classification system. Only eight original classifications have […]
The Director of National Intelligence yesterday declassified and released hundreds of pages of records concerning collection under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, illuminating the origins of bulk collection of email metadata, as well as interactions with the FISA Court and Congress. “We will make the information public that we can make public, and we will […]
“In 2012, 46.5 million people were counted as poor in the United States,” according to a newly updated annual report from the Congressional Research Service. “The number, statistically unchanged over the past three years, is the largest recorded in the measure’s 54-year history.” “Poverty in the United States increased markedly from 2007 through 2010, in […]
A bill that is intended to strengthen the ability of reporters to protect their confidential sources would encourage damaging leaks of classified information, congressional opponents argue. The Free Flow of Information Act (S. 987) was approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee on September 12 by a vote of 13-5. The Committee’s report on the bill, […]
The Department of Defense budget for research and procurement of unmanned aerial systems (UAS), or drones, is on a distinctly downward slope. The FY 2014 budget request included $2.3 billion for research, development, and procurement of unmanned aerial systems, a decrease of $1.1 billion from the request for the fiscal year 2013. “Annual procurement of […]
“The increasing pace and adoption of global scientific and technological discovery heighten the risk of strategic or tactical surprise and, over time, reduce the advantages of our intelligence capabilities,” according to a new report on U.S. intelligence research and development programs prepared by a congressionally-mandated Commission. “Foreign countries’ growing expertise and proficiency in a number […]