SECRECY NEWS
from the FAS Project on Government Secrecy
Volume 2016, Issue No. 16
February 19, 2016

Secrecy News Blog: http://fas.org/blogs/secrecy/

"FACT OF" NUCLEAR WEAPONS ON OKINAWA DECLASSIFIED

The Department of Defense revealed this week that "The fact that U.S. nuclear weapons were deployed on Okinawa prior to Okinawa's reversion to Japan on May 15, 1972" has been declassified.

While this is indeed news concerning classification policy, it does not represent new information about Okinawa.

According to an existing Wikipedia entry, "Between 1954 and 1972, 19 different types of nuclear weapons were deployed in Okinawa, but with fewer than around 1,000 warheads at any one time" (citing research by Robert S. Norris, William M. Arkin and William Burr that was published in 1999 in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists). As often seems to be the case, declassification here followed disclosure, not the other way around.

If there is any revelation in the new DoD announcement, it is that this half-century-old historical information was still considered classified until now. As such, it has been an ongoing obstacle to the public release of records concerning the history of Okinawa and US-Japan relations.

Because this information had been classified as "Formerly Restricted Data" under the Atomic Energy Act rather than by executive order, its declassification required the concurrence of the Department of Defense, the Department of Energy, and (in this case) the Department of State. Any one of those agencies had the power to veto the decision to declassify, or to stymie it by simply refusing to participate. Instead, the information was declassified as a result of a new procedure adopted by the Obama Administration to coordinate the review of nuclear weapons-related historical material that is no longer sensitive but that has remained classified under the Atomic Energy Act by default. The new procedure had been recommended by a 2012 report from the Public Interest Declassification Board, and was adopted by the White House-led Classification Reform Committee.

Also newly declassified and affirmed this week was "The fact that prior to the reversion of Okinawa to Japan that the U.S. Government conducted internal discussion, and discussions with Japanese government officials regarding the possible re-introduction of nuclear weapons onto Okinawa in the event of an emergency or crisis situation."

Such individual declassification actions could go on indefinitely, since there are innumerable other "facts" whose continued classification cannot reasonably be justified by current circumstances. A more systemic effort to recalibrate national security classification policy government-wide is to be performed over the coming year.

GROUND TROOPS VS. THE ISLAMIC STATE, AND MORE FROM CRS

In response to calls for increased deployment of ground forces against the Islamic State, the Congressional Research Service stated this week that "There are no clear-cut answers to determining the suitability, size, and mission profile of the ground elements of any military campaign; determining the disposition of military forces is in many ways as much an art as it is a science."

"As it evaluates proposals to introduce more ground forces [to combat the Islamic State], Congress may therefore ponder five questions." See Additional U.S. Ground Troops to Counter the Islamic State? Five Questions, CRS Insight, February 17, 2016:

Other new and updated reports from the Congressional Research Service issued this week include the following.

IAEA Budget and U.S. Contributions: In Brief, February 17, 2016:

U.S. Family-Based Immigration Policy, updated February 17, 2016:

Border Security Metrics Between Ports of Entry, February 16, 2016:

Deficits and Debt: Economic Effects and Other Issues, February 17, 2016:

Domestic Food Assistance: Summary of Programs, updated February 17, 2016:

U.S. Farm Income Outlook for 2016, February 16, 2016:

The Federal Networking and Information Technology Research and Development Program: Background, Funding, and Activities, February 16, 2016:

Afghanistan: Post-Taliban Governance, Security, and U.S. Policy, updated February 17, 2016:

SUPREME COURT NOMINATION PROCESS: CRS RESOURCES

The Congressional Research Service has previously prepared reports on various aspects of U.S. Supreme Court nominations, including these:

Speed of Presidential and Senate Actions on Supreme Court Nominations, 1900-2010, August 6, 2010

Supreme Court Appointment Process: Roles of the President, Judiciary Committee, and Senate, February 19, 2010

Supreme Court Nominations Not Confirmed, 1789-August 2010, August 20, 2010

Supreme Court Nominations: Senate Floor Procedure and Practice, 1789-2011, March 11, 2011

Supreme Court Appointment Process: President's Selection of a Nominee, October 19, 2015

Supreme Court Appointment Process: Consideration by the Senate Judiciary Committee, October 19, 2015

Supreme Court Appointment Process: Senate Debate and Confirmation Vote, October 19, 2015

Questioning Supreme Court Nominees About Their Views on Legal or Constitutional Issues: A Recurring Issue, June 23, 2010

Supreme Court Justices: Demographic Characteristics, Professional Experience, and Legal Education, 1789-2010, April 9, 2010

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Secrecy News is written by Steven Aftergood and published by the Federation of American Scientists.

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