Eric R. Biel served as Staff Director, bringing to his interminably complex and sensitive task the finest of legal skills, combined with the legislative experience acquired on the staff of the Senate Finance Committee which the finest law schools and even the finest Washington law firms simply cannot provide. The Commission could not have produced a unanimous report without his tireless attention to detail and indefatigable pursuit of consensus.
Jacques A. Rondeau, Deputy Staff Director, brought to his complementary duties the rigor and discipline of past service as Colonel in the United States Air Force, a career pilot, with exceptional experience in international affairs, including a tour as Military Assistant to the Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs. A distinctive feature of military affairs in the present age is the unprecedented importance of cooperation: between pilot and crew, squadron and wing, ally with ally, and not least, in a nuclear age, cooperation with adversaries. Colonel Rondeau brought these mature skills to work on the Commission's behalf, and the result is evident.
Sheryl L. Walter, General Counsel to the Commission, brought to our work the unique experience of General Counsel to the Assassination Records Review Board, the first systematic effort by the United States Government to declassify documents of great sensitivity to which, even so, the public urgently required access. She brought to the Commission a rare sense of the need to balance legitimately competing and, at times, conflicting interests--all this informed by her earlier experience within the Federal Judiciary.
Joan Vail Grimson, Counsel for Security Policy, brought to the Commission singular insights acquired in the course of her service on the Staff of the National Security Council, and later with the Office of National Drug Control Policy. She was at the heart of the policymaking process in the Executive Office of the President, with the most intimate understanding of the need for protecting as well as reducing secrecy in government.
Thomas L. Becherer brought great skill and experience gained in both the Executive and Legislative Branches to his responsibilities as the Commission staff's Research and Policy Director. In addition, in his important role as the staff's legislative liaison, he ensured close communication with key congressional staff.
The Commission's efforts were hugely strengthened by the willingness of the Departments of State and Defense, the Central Intelligence Agency, and the National Security Agency to detail senior career officials to work on the staff of the Commission. The eight individuals from these agencies and departments--Cathy A. Bowers, Carole J. Faulk, John R. Hancock, Gary H. Gower, Michael J. White, Michael D. Smith, Paul A. Stratton, and Sally H. Wallace--who served so ably as senior members of the Commission staff brought substantial experience in classification, personnel security, and related security matters and a wealth of expertise to their varied staff responsibilities. In her capacity as Administrative Officer, Carole Faulk handled all of the critical tasks necessary to keep the Commission functioning; without her efforts, it simply would not have been possible to produce this report.
In a similar vein, the success of this report was greatly dependent upon the superb work of the Commission staff's three outstanding Research Associates: Maureen Lenihan, Terence P. Szuplat, and Pauline M. Treviso. In addition to mastering the substance of numerous complex issues, the three were integral to the process of researching, writing, and producing this report. The Commission also benefited from the fine work of two staff interns: Jesse C. Watson, who worked with the Commission from June-August 1996; and Caleb H. Elfenbein, who worked with the Commission from October-December 1996. Michael G. Vogel and Cameron Burks also provided valuable help during shorter internships. Gerald Mann and Judith Thorn provided excellent editorial and proofreading assistance during preparation of the final report.
Robert A. Katzmann of the Brookings Institution and the Georgetown University Law Center aided the Commission by acting "of counsel" on a pro bono basis. He contributed immeasurably to our understanding of the American experience of regulation and of the Administrative Procedure Act, subjects at the heart of our theoretical analysis. His quiet wisdom, indeed his general calm, more than once kept our proceedings from mayhem.
Genie M. Norris, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Operations, promptly took the Commission in from the cold, providing offices in a wing of the State Department complex on Navy Hill, possibly the most beautiful public square in Washington. This, of course, is a secret of sorts, for the public is not allowed in. A further secret, here revealed for the first time, is that the Commis-sion occupied space where the Central Intelligence Agency had begun its work in the late 1940s. Students of organizational behavior will note that relations with the Department of State were never quite the same once the Agency crossed the river and acquired a building, now buildings, of its own. Students of this Commission, if there should be any, will record that the work could never have been finished save for the indomitable good cheer and great help of Ms. Norris and her colleagues at the Department of State, several of whom are cited below.
The Commissioners and Commission staff benefited greatly over the past two years from exceptional assistance provided by numerous individuals with expertise covering a wide range of areas. In addition to those who took the time to meet with us and are listed in Appendix F, the Commission wishes to recognize the individuals listed below. This report would not have been possible without their generous willingness to devote considerable time and energy to a variety of important tasks on our behalf.
The Commission acknowledges with gratitude the help of those who reviewed and evaluated portions of earlier drafts of the report: Maynard C. Anderson, James J. Bagley, Roger P. Denk, Steven L. Katz, Ronald Knecht, F. Lynn McNulty, Peter R. Nelson, John D. Tippit, N. McDonnell Ulsch, David E. Whitman, Ira S. Winkler, and others who requested anonymity. The Commission is also deeply grateful to Idris Rhea Traylor of Texas Tech University, who read and commented on an earlier draft. Their assistance was extremely helpful; at the same time, we emphasize that they should bear no responsibility for the content of this report.
The Commission worked closely throughout its tenure with the following individuals, who served as the primary points of contact with individual Commissioners: Michael J. Lostumbo, Joshua A. Brook, and Eleanor Ann Suntum of Senator Moynihan's staff, who aided greatly in the preparation of the Chairman's Foreword and the history, Secrecy: A Brief Account of the American Experience; Louis H. Dupart, Senior Counsel to the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, and Lynn E. Cowart of Vice Chairman Combest's office; Admiral James W. Nance, Patricia A. McNerney, Christopher J. Walker, and Thomas J. Callahan of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee staff; David A. Weiner of the House International Relations Committee staff; Richard L. Haver and Ronald D. Lee of the Central Intelligence Agency; Gloria J. Carrier of MITRE Corporation; Mary E. Abdellah of PBS Corporation; Carol J. Edwards of The Olin Institute at Harvard University; and Monica Francesco and Hannah H. Lee of Commissioner Sonnenberg's office. We also wish to thank Thomas G. Moore for assisting in the preparation of the Vice Chairman's Foreword.
As noted above, from the inception of its operations the Commission maintained a close working relationship with the Department of State. Under arrangements developed during consideration of the Commission's authorizing legislation in 1994, the Department provided the Commission with office space and supplied it with equipment. During the first several months of the Commission's operations, the Department of State provided several excellent professionals who assisted with secretarial and other administrative duties: Althea Castellano, Karen D. Smith, Deborah Seals, and Mary L. Lark. In addition to Deputy Assistant Secretary Norris, the Commission also benefited from the interest and support of senior Department officials and their staffs, including: Acting Under Secretary for Management and former Assistant Secretary for Administration Patrick K. Kennedy, and former Under Secretary for Management Richard M. Moose; Assistant Secretary for Diplomatic Security Eric J. Boswell, and his predecessor, Anthony C.E. Quainton, currently Director General of the Foreign Service; and Department Historian William Z. Slany.
We also thank Mark M. Stafford and Sarah C. Brennan in the Department's Publishing Services for their work in designing the cover of this report. The Commission also was aided by numerous officials in the following State Department organizations: the Publishing Services Group, the Bureau of Public Affairs, Office of the Legal Adviser, Bureau of Intelligence and Research, Bureau of Finance and Management Policy, and the Department's Library staff. In particular, James L. Millette of the Bureau of Finance and Management Policy provided invaluable assistance on budgetary matters. Finally, Thomas J. Low, Fred W. Albertson, Jr., John J. O'Brien, and Casimir L. Garczynski of the Contingency Group, who worked adjacent to the Commission offices, regularly provided much-needed help with the office computers and other equipment; their emergency assistance frequently was vital to keeping the Commission's day-to-day operations functioning, and the Commission staff is very grateful. In addition, the staff of the Agency Liaison Division of the General Services Administration, under the direction of Calvin R. Snowden, also assisted the Commission throughout its operations, including on budget and personnel matters. We wish to thank Fred Porter and Edna Span in particular for their help.
The Commission benefited greatly from the input received from the industry representatives with whom the Commission staff met on an individual company basis, as well as those who attended the Commission's Industry Roundtables in March 1996 at E-Systems, Inc. in Garland, Texas and April 1996 at Loral Federal Systems in Gaithersburg, Maryland. We would especially like to thank John E. Puckett and his colleagues at E-Systems and Chris Murray, Peter Grau, and their colleagues at Loral for hosting the two Roundtable programs, and Gregory A. Gwash and Joseph R. DeGregorio of the Defense Investigative Service for their assistance with the industry meetings. The Commission is also grateful for the active participation of the historians, scientists, journalists, present and former agency officials, and others who attended its May 1996 Public Access Roundtable at the National Archives and Records Administration in Washington. Elizabeth A. Pugh, Miriam M. Nisbet, Pat El-Ashry, and Thomas Nastick of the Archives provided valuable assistance in planning that program. Howard Gaidsieck, Phyllis Smith, Joseph Flood, and Delores Colbert of the State Department's Customer Service Division provided technical support for the Commission Roundtables, as well as in connection with earlier drafts of this report. The Commission also thanks all of the individuals in other agencies and departments, Congress, industry, public interest organizations, journalism, and academia who arranged and participated in the numerous Commission meetings listed in Appendix F and also responded to our frequent requests for information. We would like to single out James R. Oliver, Robert J. Hallman, Claudia C. Collins, Alison E. Bolt, and Jeffrey A. Rank for their exceptional support. We also appreciate the willingness of Steven Garfinkel, Laura L.S. Kimberly, and the staff of the Information Security Oversight Office and Peter D. Saderholm, Dan L. Jacobson, and the staff of the Security Policy Board to keep the Commission staff closely informed of a broad range of information management and security policy matters. Harold C. Relyea of the Congressional Research Service, a leading scholar on government secrecy, was a great source of information on security classification and related issues. David G. Major regularly shared his extensive understanding of the history of counterintelligence and other security matters. John Earl Haynes from the Library of Congress' Manuscript Division, Robert Louis Benson of the National Security Agency, and Michael Warner of the Central Intelligence Agency each provided extremely helpful historical information on several occasions. Christopher D. Glyn-Jones and Stephanie Daman from the British Embassy in Washington regularly informed the Commission staff of pertinent developments. Finally, members of the staffs of the Joint Committee on Printing, Committee on Rules and Administration of the Senate, and Committee on House Oversight of the House of Representatives worked to ensure that funds would be available for the printing of this report.
To all of the individuals listed above, and any others whose important contributions we may have failed to mention, the Commission is profoundly grateful.
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