Blog Profile / Secrecy News
| URL : | http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/ | |
|---|---|---|
| Filed Under: | Military / US Military | |
| Posts on Regator: | 2639 | |
| Posts / Week: | 10.1 | |
| Archived Since: | June 12, 2008 | |
Blog Post Archive
A Candid Look at the Senate Intelligence Committee
Much of the continuing controversy over intelligence surveillance policy revolves around whether the sweeping collection of U.S. telephone data by intelligence agencies violates constitutional norms. But it is also an occasion to assess...Show More Summary
Armed Conflict in Syria, and More from CRS
Newly updated reports from the Congressional Research Service include the following. Armed Conflict in Syria: U.S. and International Response, June 14, 2013 Syria’s Chemical Weapons: Issues for Congress, June 14, 2013 U.S. StrategicShow More Summary
Hundreds of Classified Leaks Under Review by IC Inspector General
Hundreds of cases of unauthorized disclosures of classified information were under review by the Office of the Inspector General of the U.S. Intelligence Community as of last year, according to a 2012 report that was recently declassified. “The Investigations Division [of the IC Office of the Inspector General] is reviewing 375 unauthorized disclosure case files,” [...]Show More Summary
National Security Secrecy and the Right to Know
While almost everyone would agree that national security secrecy has a role to play in an open society, such secrecy must be carefully circumscribed if robust public access to government information is to be preserved. A set of principles that open societies around the world can use to help guide and limit the application of [...]Show More Summary
NASA Releases Online Library on Risk Mitigation
NASA has produced a library of “knowledge bundles” describing how various technical problems that arose in the course of its space technology programs were successfully resolved. Last week, the library was posted online. If you want to know how a solar array was repaired in orbit, or how an astronaut dealt with a punctured glove, [...]Show More Summary
Responding to Change in the Middle East, and More from CRS
New and updated reports from the Congressional Research Service that have been withheld by Congress from public distribution online include the following. The United States and Europe: Responding to Change in the Middle East and North Africa, June 12, 2013 Israel: Background and U.S. Relations, June 12, 2013 U.S.-Mexican Security Cooperation: the Merida Initiative and [...]Show More Summary
DoD Warns Employees of Classified Info in Public Domain
As a new wave of classified documents published by news organizations appeared online over the past week, the Department of Defense instructed employees and contractors that they must neither seek out nor download classified material that is in the public domain. “Classified information, whether or not already posted on public websites, disclosed to the media, [...]Show More Summary
Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, and More from CRS
New and updated reports from the Congressional Research Service that have not been made readily available to the public include the following. Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty: Background and Current Developments, June 10, 2013Show More Summary
Secrecy News in the News
“If President Obama really welcomed a debate [on intelligence surveillance policy], there are all kinds of things he could do in terms of declassification and disclosure to foster it. But he’s not doing any of them.” At least that’s my perception. See Debate on Secret Data Looks Unlikely, Partly Due to Secrecy by Scott Shane [...]Show More Summary
Secret Surveillance and the Crisis of Legitimacy
In December 1974, when a previous program of secret government surveillance was revealed by Seymour Hersh in the New York Times, the ensuing public uproar led directly to extensive congressional investigations and the creation of new...Show More Summary
FISA Court Says It Cannot Easily Summarize Opinions
The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) told the Senate Intelligence Committee last March that there are “serious obstacles” that would prevent it from preparing summaries of Court opinions for declassification and public disclosure. The Court was responding to a February 13, 2013 letter from Senators Dianne Feinstein, Jeff Merkley, Ron Wyden and Mark Udall. They [...]Show More Summary
Edward Snowden, Source of NSA Leaks, Steps Forward
A former CIA employee and NSA contractor named Edward Snowden identified himself as the source of the the serial revelations of classified documents concerning U.S. intelligence surveillance activities that were disclosed last week. “I have no intention of hiding who I am because I know I have done nothing wrong,” he told The Guardian newspaper. [...]Show More Summary
DoD Releases Doctrine on Mass Atrocity Response Operations
The Department of Defense this week released the 2012 update of its doctrine on “Peace Operations” including new guidance on so-called Mass Atrocity Response Operations that are designed to prevent or halt genocide or other large-scale acts of violence directed at civilian populations. A mass atrocity consists of “widespread and often systematic acts of violence [...]Show More Summary
Identity of Fox News Reporter James Rosen Declassified
The government declared today that the identity of the reporter to whom accused leaker Stephen Kim allegedly disclosed classified information is James Rosen of Fox News. Mr. Rosen’s association with the case was publicly known for years. But it was still classified. Now it’s not. “The United States hereby gives notice to the Court, defense [...]Show More Summary
Government Gathers Phone Records of Verizon Customers
At the request of the FBI, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court ordered a Verizon subsidiary to surrender the telephone records of its U.S. business customers to the National Security Agency for at least a three month period beginning last April 25. The startling disclosure was reported last night by Glenn Greenwald of the Guardian. A [...]Show More Summary
Crime and Forfeiture, and More from CRS
The latest updates from the Congressional Research Service include the following items. The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA): An Overview, June 4, 2013 International Climate Change Financing: The Climate Investment Funds (CIFs), JuneShow More Summary
Inspectors General Assess Agency Classification Activity
The Inspector General at each government agency that classifies national security information is required by the Reducing Over-Classification Act of 2010 to review the agency’s classification program as part of an effort to combat overclassification. ...Show More Summary
Legal Issues in Closing Guantanamo, and More from CRS
New and updated reports from the Congressional Research Service that CRS is not authorized to release to the public include the following. Closing the Guantanamo Detention Center: Legal Issues, May 30, 2013 “This report provides an overview of major legal issues likely to arise as a result of executive and legislative action to close the [...]Show More Summary
The Role of Contractors in Military Operations, and More from CRS
The Pentagon’s reliance on contractors to support military operations has now become so extensive that some argue it should be… even more extensive! These advocates “believe that DOD should be prepared to effectively award and manage contracts at a moment’s notice, anywhere in the world, in unknown environments, and on a scale that may exceed [...]Show More Summary
Surveillance Court Orders Govt to Respond to EFF Motion
The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court issued an order on Friday directing the Department of Justice to respond no later than June 7 to a motion filed on May 23 by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF). The order was signed by Judge Reggie B. Walton, presiding judge of the surveillance court. EFF had asked the Court [...]Show More Summary