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Secrecy and Security News

Newer News: October 2021

September 2021

• FAS petitions DOE for declassification of the size of the US nuclear stockpile, FY 2021, September 30. "As the first nuclear weapons state, the United States should strive to set a global example for clarity and transparency in nuclear weapons policy. Ambiguity or obscurity in this area are not in the national interest."
• How a former Trump aide is pressing Biden to loosen national security secrets by Bryan Bender, Politico, September 29. "Ezra Cohen, one of the former president's more controversial advisers, is wielding an obscure advisory board to try to reform the classification system."
• Biden's 9/11 declassification order renews debate over secrecy vs. transparency by Gabriel Pietrorazio, Capital News Service, September 29. "The White House's new executive order to declassify confidential documents regarding Sept. 11, 2001 underscores the government's propensity to keep secrets long after they are useful, according to some intelligence experts."
• General Milley's 8 January phone call with Speaker Pelosi, memorandum for the record, September 27. "Nuclear launch activity is governed by a very specific and deliberate process, as outlined in the following directives and documents."
• Intelligence Agencies Pushed to Use More Commercial Satellites by Julian E. Barnes, New York Times, September 27. "Congress wants the government to turn to the private sector to augment the capabilities of highly classified spy satellites."
• Space Discussions Still Hampered By Secrecy by Shaun Waterman, Air Force Magazine, September 22. "Discussions within the Space Force and between it and industry partners about new architectures for satellite constellations are sometimes hampered by the extraordinarily high levels of classification involved, a Lockheed Martin executive said."
• Classification Review of Programs of the Space Force, FY 22 defense authorization act (House version), September 21. "The Chief of Space Operations shall conduct a review of each classified program ... to determine whether the program could be declassified."
• Statement by President Joe Biden on the Executive Order Directing Declassification Review of Documents Related to the September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attacks, September 2. "Today, I signed an executive order directing the Department of Justice and other relevant agencies to oversee a declassification review of documents related to the Federal Bureau of Investigation's September 11th investigations. The executive order requires the Attorney General to release the declassified documents publicly over the next six months."

Older News: August 2021

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https://sgp.fas.org/news/2021/09/index.html
Maintained by Steven Aftergood
Updated October 5, 2021