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Secrecy and Security News

Newer News: November 2015

October 2015

• White House says will not release emails between Obama, Clinton by Julia Edwards and Jonathan Allen, Reuters, October 30. "The White House will not allow the immediate release of emails exchanged between President Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton from when she was secretary of state, a senior administration official said."
• The publicly funded reports you can't read by Darren Samuelsohn, Politico, October 30. "In classic Washington fashion, the Congressional Research Service's reports are officially available only to members of Congress and their staff."
• Trying to crack open Congress's confidential think tank after a century of secrecy by Lisa Rein, Washington Post, October 29. "The secrecy that has traditionally surrounded Congress's in-house think-tank is under fire from advocates of open government, who argue that the research conducted on major issues of public policy should at long last be made public."
• Final Rule on Historical Research in the Files of the Office of the Secretary of Defense, Federal Register, October 28. "This final rule updates and clarifies procedures regarding the review and accessibility to records and information in the custody of the Secretary of Defense and the OSD Components."
• Clapper's transparency plan for intelligence community grinds forward by Josh Gerstein, Politico Under the Radar, October 27. "Director of National Intelligence James Clapper is pressing forward with a drive many in the intelligence community have long resisted: trying to make the world of intelligence-gathering more open."
• This Is Not a Phone Conversation, review of The Red Web by Sally McGrane, LA Review of Books, October 27. "The Red Web [is an] excellent, highly readable tale of the ongoing struggle to control digital life in Russia."
• Wikileaks Doxxes CIA Chief's Wife and Daughters by Shane Harris, Daily Beast, October 21. "The anti-secrecy outfit once known for exposing potential war crimes is now publishing the personal information of civilians instead."
• GAO Releases List of Restricted Reports by Bridget Bowman, Roll Call: Hill Blotter, October 16. "The Government Accountability Office released its list of 'restricted reports' this week to better inform lawmakers, congressional staff, government employees and the public about its investigations."
• Why Was This Drone Strike "Kill Chain" Classified? by Kate Knibbs, Gizmodo, October 15. "It shows whoever looks at it classified information about the military. But why classify the chain of command for a modern form of warfare? The chain of command is a bureaucratic arrangement, not a security threat."
• What Do We Really Know About Osama bin Laden's Death? by Jonathan Mahler, New York Times Magazine, October 15. "The history of Obama's most important foreign-policy victory is still being written."
• Chelsea Manning Is Suing the Government to Get Her FBI File by Avi Asher-Schapiro, Vice News, October 13. "The imprisoned WikiLeaks whistleblower Chelsea Manning has filed a lawsuit in an attempt to compel the FBI and the Department of Justice to release documents that they have compiled on her."
• Letter in support of Mordechai Vanunu's right to emigrate, October 12. "We respectfully ask your Government to intervene to end all legal harassment of Mordechai Vanunu, and to allow him to emigrate to another country."
• Clinton's email woes won't go away by Josh Gerstein, Politico, October 12. "An imminent release includes sensitive information on a CIA source."
• The Pentagon Has Shed 17 Percent of Security Clearance Holders Since 2013 by Eric Katz, Government Executive, October 8. "About 3.8 million Defense Department employees and contractors hold security clearances, a 17 percent decrease from 2013 and down 100,000 since 2014."
• The Next Librarian of Congress Should Be an Actual Librarian by Meredith Farkas, New Republic, October 6. "President Obama will soon appoint a new Librarian of Congress, a position that requires Congressional approval and could impact the everyday lives of most Americans."
• FAS Petitions DoE and DoD to declassify the size of the U.S. nuclear arsenal in FY2015, October 1. "The reasons for the proposed declassification are the same as the reasons for the Department's previous declassification of stockpile information: Nuclear transparency can strengthen non-proliferation efforts, and can lay a foundation for future arms control efforts."

Older News: September 2015

https://sgp.fas.org/news/2015/10/index.html
Maintained by Steven Aftergood
Updated November 3, 2015