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Secrecy and Security News

Newer News: December 2009

November 2009

• Iran restructuring its naval forces by Walter Pincus, Washington Post, November 30. "Iran has reorganized its naval forces to give operational control of the strategic Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz to the naval component of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the paramilitary organization that is playing an increasingly central role not only in Iran's military but also its political and economic life."
• China's Subs Getting Quieter by William Matthews, Defense News, November 30. "The Chinese Navy appears to be stressing quality over quantity as it modernizes its submarine force, according to a U.S. Navy intelligence report."
• Proposed Amendment to National Industrial Security Program Directive No. 1, Federal Register, November 30. "This proposed amendment provides guidance to agencies on release of certain classified information (referred to as 'proscribed information') to contractors that are owned or under the control of a foreign interest and have had the foreign ownership or control mitigated by an arrangement known as a Special Security Agreement."
• Release of secret reports delayed: Spy agencies foil Obama plan for transparency by Bryan Bender, Boston Globe, November 29. "President Obama will maintain a lid of secrecy on millions of pages of military and intelligence documents that were scheduled to be declassified by the end of the year, according to administration officials."
• EU y México: más recursos a inteligencia y más opacidad por Nydia Egremy, Contralínea, November 29. "La tendencia mundial de transparentar la información de las políticas públicas tiene su excepción cuando se trata de gastos en defensa, seguridad nacional y, particularmente, de inteligencia, que se ocultan bajo el estatus de clasificado, secreto, reservado o confidencial."
• U.S. Senate steered by the power of the hold by Alex Leary, St. Petersburg Times, November 22. "You won't find a description in the rule books, but a "hold" is one of the most powerful, many say abused, weapons available to the 100 men and women who make up the Senate — even to a neophyte like George LeMieux, who was never elected and is serving on a temporary basis."
• An opaque transparency by Dana Milbank, Washington Post, November 20. "For those waiting for the new White House to make good on its vow to bring transparency to the executive branch, it was another disappointing brush with Obama opacity."
• Open Government Laboratories of Democracy by Beth Noveck, White House Open Government Initiative, November 19. "The Obama Administration is taking unprecedented strides toward creating the most open and accountable government in history. And in so doing, we’re learning from those states and municipalities, which are undertaking exciting experiments to bring transparency, participation, and collaboration to the way they work as well."
• Lawyers Allege Ongoing 'Dragnet' Surveillance by Daphne Eviatar, Washington Independent, November 13. "On October 30, the Justice Department for the first time applied its new 'state secrets' policy to a case charging the government with breaking the law. Open government advocates hoping for a significant change in the government’s stance toward secrecy in national security cases were sorely disappointed."
• Administration plans to punish leakers by Jen DiMascio and Josh Gerstein, Politico, November 12. "The Obama administration is increasingly exasperated by leaks of national-security-related information and is planning a major effort to root out and punish those responsible, top officials said Thursday."
• Defense Secretary Gates on Leaks of Classified Information, November 12. "I have been appalled by the amount of leaking that has been going on in this process. And I think a lot of different places are leaking. I'm confident that the Department of Defense is one of them."
• State Secret Protection Act Passes House Judiciary Committee, news release from Rep. Nadler, November 6. "The bill prohibits a court from dismissing a lawsuit simply because the Administration claims that the very consideration of the case would compromise state secrets. It also outlines procedures for courts to consider, in secret session, and grant or refuse an Administration’s demand to suppress evidence on national security grounds."
• 1,600 Are Suggested Daily for FBI's List by Walter Pincus, Washington Post, November 1. "During a 12-month period ended in March this year, the U.S. intelligence community suggested on a daily basis that 1,600 people qualified for the terrorist watchlist because they presented a 'reasonable suspicion,' according to data provided to the Senate Judiciary Committee by the FBI."

Older News: October 2009

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Updated November 30, 2009