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Secrecy and Security News

Newer News: February 2007

January 2007

• Scientists Unpeel Cheney Veil of Secrecy by Chitra Ragavan, U.S. News and World Report, January 31. "After numerous reporters complained about the secrecy of Vice President Dick Cheney's office, the Federation of American Scientists has posted a link in its bulletin, Secrecy News, to the telephone directory for the vice president's office."
• In Aipac Case, Judge Declines Probe Into Leaks by Josh Gerstein, New York Sun, January 30. "A federal judge overseeing a criminal case against two former pro-Israel lobbyists has declined to order an investigation into what the defense alleged were repeated leaks of grand jury information by government officials."
• Military Tells Forces: Use Low-Tech Animals by Chitra Ragavan, U.S. News and World Report, January 24. "A previously unreleased Army field manual made public today says the U.S. Special Forces should remember that there are some low-tech options that may be equally effective. Options such as the lowly pack animal."
• Group Attempting to Simplify Byzantine Terror-Alert System by Elizabeth Williamson, Washington Post, January 24. "In coming days, the group will send the president its recommendations for taming an explosion of 'sensitive but unclassified' (SBU) documents."
• A Wiki for Whistleblowers by Tracy Samantha Schmidt, Time, January 22. "By March, more than one million leaked documents from governments and corporations in Asia, the Middle East, sub-Saharan Africa and the former Soviet Bloc will be available online in a bold new collective experiment in whistleblowing."
• Video Flaps Show Challenge of Controlling Online Info by Anick Jesdanun, Associated Press, January 17. "There are more and more ways to distribute information, but very few new approaches to keeping information secret," said Steven Aftergood, senior research analyst at the Federation of American Scientists' Project on Government Secrecy.
• How to Bury a Secret: Turn It Into Paperwork by Lynne Duke, Washington Post, January 16. "At the stroke of midnight on Dec. 31, something profound happened in the government secrecy system. With little fanfare, the paradigm of secrecy shifted."
• Interrogation Research Is Lacking, Report Says by Josh White, Washington Post, January 16. "There is almost no scientific evidence to back up the U.S. intelligence community's use of controversial interrogation techniques in the fight against terrorism, and experts believe some painful and coercive approaches could hinder the ability to get good information, according to a new report from an intelligence advisory group."
• Freedom of Information, the Wiki Way by Elizabeth Williamson, Washington Post, January 15. "Wikileaks.org is a Web-based way for people with damning, potentially helpful or just plain embarrassing government documents to make them public without leaving fingerprints."
• Deletions in Army Manual Raise Wiretapping Concerns by Eric Lichtblau and Mark Mazzetti, New York Times, January 14. "Deep into an updated Army manual, the deletion of 10 words has left some national security experts wondering whether government lawyers are again asserting the executive branch’s right to wiretap Americans without a court warrant."
• Watchdog wins release of National Reconnaissance Office documents by Daniel Friedman, Federal Times, January 9. "The National Reconnaissance Office is releasing unclassified budget documents that it previously declined to publicize, in an apparent legal victory for a government transparency advocate."
• Unusual vapor trail causes speculation by Jim DeBrosse, Dayton Daily News, January 8. "A Beavercreek man's photograph of an unusual aircraft condensation trail has sparked a high-flying debate among scientists and aviation fans over whether the Air Force or NASA is flying an aerospace vehicle with an exotic new propulsion system."
• White House Visitor Records Closed, Associated Press, January 5. "The White House and the Secret Service quietly signed an agreement last spring in the midst of the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal declaring that records identifying visitors to the White House are not open to the public."
• Deemed Export Advisory Committee Meeting Scheduled, Federal Register, January 5. The Deemed Export Advisory Committee (DEAC) will meet in open sessions on January 22, 2007 from 8 a.m.-12 p.m. and January 23, 2007 from 8 a.m.-10 a.m. at the American Electronics Association, 5201 Great American Parkway, Suite 400, Santa Clara, CA 95054.
• Web site aims to post government secrets by Daniel Friedman, Federal Times, January 4. "A new Web site that aims to encourage large-scale leaking of confidential government documents by allowing anonymous disclosure could launch as early as next month."
• FBI drops its quest for papers of reporter by Wendy Leonard, Deseret Morning News, and Lara Jakes Jordan, Associated Press, January 4. "The son of the late Jack Anderson said Wednesday that the longtime investigative reporter's family is pleased with the FBI's abandonment of its efforts to recover government documents leaked to his father."
• Pentagon: Efforts to steal U.S. tech rising", Reuters, January 3. "Foreign countries, especially nations in the Asia-Pacific region, have intensified their efforts to steal sensitive U.S. defense technology, according to a Pentagon report circulated Wednesday."
• For Their Eyes Only by Bennett Gordon, Utne Reader, January/February 2007. "The National Security Archive and the Federation of American Scientists, along with independent researchers like Russ Kick of the TheMemoryHole.org and organizations like OpenTheGovernment.org, have been working to restore public access to government documents, and to ensure the accountability set out in documents like the Constitution and the Bill of Rights."
• Proposed State Dept Regulations on National Security Information, Federal Register, January 3. "The Department of State proposes to revise its regulations governing the classification of national security information in order to reflect the provisions of a new executive order on national security information."

Older News: December 2006

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