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Secrecy and Security News

Newer News: November 2011

October 2011

• DNI Releases FY2011 Budget Figure for the National Intelligence Program, news release, October 28. "The aggregate amount appropriated to the NIP for Fiscal Year 2011 was $54.6 billion."
• DOD Releases Military Intelligence Program Appropriated Top Line Budget for Fiscal 2011, news release, October 28. "The total request, which includes both the base budget and Overseas Contingency Operations appropriations, is $24 billion."
• Slight Drop in U.S. Funding for Intel Programs by Marcus Weisgerber, Defense News, October 28. "The U.S. Congress appropriated $78.6 billion for civilian and military intelligence activities in 2011, a slight decline from spending on these programs in 2010."
• US intel agencies tightening belts in 2011 by Kimberly Dozier, Associated Press, October 28. "Promised budget cuts have started to hit one part of the nation's intelligence budget."
• DoD to Hold Meeting on Safeguarding Unclassified DoD Information, Federal Register, October 28. "DoD is hosting a public meeting to initiate a dialogue with industry and Government agencies regarding the proposed rule for the safeguarding of unclassified information."
• CIA Sees "Little Likelihood" of Finding Records on Fundamental Classification Guidance Review, CIA response to FOIA request, October 26. "Although there is little likelihood that an updated search would produce different results, we will be glad to do so."
• 143 New Patents That Won't See the Light of Day by Eliot Marshall, ScienceInsider, October 21. "Most of these inventions, Aftergood believes, are likely improvements in technologies used in weapons systems. But not all. This year, 11 of the 143 secret inventions are so-called 'John Doe' patents that apparently had no government connection."
• U.S. Urges Opening Up Old Grand Jury Records by Charlie Savage, New York Times, October 20. "The Obama administration, in a move that could open up more transcripts of historically significant grand jury testimony from many years ago, is proposing to change a rule that imposes strict and permanent secrecy requirements on such records." (Attorney General letter)
• U.S. Spies Facing Tens of Billions in Budget Cuts by Sharon Weinberger, Wired Danger Room, October 17. "America's spies, like the rest of the nation, are looking ahead to a period of austerity. The intelligence community is facing 'double digit' percentage cut to its $80 billion annual budget, James Clapper, the director of national intelligence, said today."
• Richard Nixon texts and tapes will be released soon by Al Kamen, Washington Post, October 12. "Nixon tapes are a bit like Tupac albums: They come out regularly, even though the subject is long dead. Or, in the words of our colleague Bob Woodward, they're 'the gift that keeps on giving'."
• Executive order cracks down on classified leaks by Andy Medici, Federal Times, October 7. "The White House released an executive order Friday to better protect classified information. The order establishes an Insider Threat Task Force led by Attorney General Eric Holder and Director of National Intelligence James Clapper to combat federal employee leaks of classified information."
• Pressure mounts on Obama Administration to release legal justification for Awlaki killing by Daphne Eviatar, Huffington Post, October 6. "Though President Obama received plenty of praise from Republicans right after the killing of the U.S. citizen and Yemeni cleric Anwar al-Awlaki last Friday, a growing number of former Bush administration officials and policy wonks across the political spectrum are calling on Obama to provide a more detailed legal justification for the lethal drone strike."
• Why Does the CIA Keep Climate a Secret?, Society of Environmental Journalists, October 5. "If climate change presented a national security peril to the United States (and many generals think it does), would it make sense to keep that secret? The WatchDog wouldn't guess that to be the case. Yet the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is busy keeping its work on the subject secret. Why?"
• A Closed-Mouth Policy Even on Open Secrets by Scott Shane, New York Times, October 5. "The secrecy compulsion often merely makes the government look silly, as when obvious facts were excised from recent memoirs by former intelligence officers. But it can also hinder public debate of some of government's most hotly contested actions. "

Older News: September 2011

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Updated November 14, 2011