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Secrecy and Security News

Newer News: October 2003

September 2003

• How Deep Is CIA Cover? by Ed Finn, Slate, September 30. "Because of their various roles, CIA employees require different levels of protective cover:"
• Dems seek CIA special counsel by Jonathan E. Kaplan and Geoff Earle, The Hill, September 30. "A phalanx of Democratic senators yesterday urged Attorney General John Ashcroft to name a special counsel to investigate whether Bush administration officials illegally leaked the identity of a CIA operative in an act of political payback."
• Leak Accusation Stirs White House by Greg Miller, Los Angeles Times, September 30 (free registration required). "The White House struggled Monday to fend off pressure for an external probe into whether administration officials deliberately � and illegally � 'outed' an undercover CIA agent."
• White House Press Briefing on Leak of CIA Officer's Name, September 29. "We don't have any information that's been brought to our attention beyond what we've seen in the media reports."
• CIA requests probe into leak of operative's identity by Mike Nartker, Global Security Newswire, September 29. "CIA Director George Tenet has requested a Justice Department investigation into charges that the White House leaked the name of the wife of former U.S. Ambassador Joseph Wilson."
• Sen. Schumer Asks for Special Counsel to Investigate Leak of CIA Officer's Identity, letter to Attorney General Ashcroft, September 29. "Leaking the identity of an undercover CIA agent is a federal crime, punishable by up to 10 years in prison."
• Condoleezza Rice Rejects Further Declassification of 9/11 Report, letter to Sen. Bob Graham, September 26. "The parts of the report which are to remain classified contain information relating to sources and methods, to ongoing investigations tied to the September 11, 2001 attacks, and to law enforcement and intelligence collection targets."
• Senior Administration Official Briefing, September 24. This "background briefing" inadvertently identifies the anonymous briefer as "Dr. Rice." The White House deleted the reference to Dr. Rice in the transcript posted on its web site.
• Darpa's Ditziness Dents Budget by Noah Shachtman, Wired News, September 16. "Under increased scrutiny for a series of controversial programs, the Pentagon's far-out research arm has had its proposed budget for next year slashed by hundreds of millions of dollars in the Senate."
• President Bush Renews Groom Lake Environmental Exemption, Presidential determination, September 16. "I find that it is in the paramount interest of the United States to exempt the United States Air Force's operating location near Groom Lake, Nevada ... from any applicable requirement for the disclosure to unauthorized persons of classified information concerning that operating location."
• Does Microsoft Give a Damn? by George Smith, SecurityFocus.com, September 15. "The software-maker's dismal security record seems to have left it immune to criticism and shame."
• Senate Intel Committee Declines to Seek Further Declassification of 9/11 Joint Inquiry, SSCI letter to Sen. Bob Graham, September 9. "It is our view that release of additional information from Part Four could adversely affect ongoing counterterrorism efforts."
• DARPA: the Dark Star of Defense by George Smith, Village Voice, September 10-16. "There's a thin line between innovation and flakiness, and DARPA is going to pay a price in skepticism," says Steven Aftergood of the Federation of American Scientists' Project on Government Secrecy.
• Surge defect forced recall of 'secure' U.S. phones by John Shiffman, Philadelphia Inquirer, September 7. "More than 6,500 "secure" telephones designed to protect the classified conversations of U.S. soldiers, diplomats and spies were recalled in late 2001 because of a defect, according to a recent court filing."
• DOE labs will scale back polygraphs by Andrea Widener, Contra Costa Times, September 5. "Under mounting pressure, the Department of Energy will scale back its massive polygraph testing program to half its previous size."
• Journalists right to reject restrictions by Mark Tapscott, Myrtle Beach Sun News, September 5. "Ask a journalist about the Patriot Act, and the response may strike you as overly suspicious or even paranoid. But those who have submitted a Freedom of Information Act request to a federal agency know better."
• FERC Amendments to Rule on Critical Energy Infrastructure Information, Federal Register, September 2. "The revisions in this final rule address instances in which the Commission's rules and regulations require companies to make information available directly to the public."

Older News: August 2003

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