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Secrecy and Security News

Newer News: November 2021

October 2021

• SIGAR John Sopko describes State Dept pressure to redact published information, speech to Military Reporters & Editors Association, October 29. "But despite repeated requests, State was never able to describe any specific threats to individuals that were supposedly contained in our reports, nor did State ever explain how removing our reports now could possibly protect anyone since many were years old and already extensively disseminated worldwide."
• On U.S. Intelligence's Wiki, Anxiety About Legal Challenges To Drone Strikes by Spencer Ackerman, Forever Wars, October 22. "One of the more curious aspects of the document is the fact that most of it is stamped (U) for unclassified, except for the giant TOP SECRET // SI // TK insignia atop it."
• Temporary Certification Regarding Disclosure of Information in Certain Records Related to the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy, presidential memorandum, October 22. "Temporary continued postponement is necessary to protect against identifiable harm to the military defense, intelligence operations, law enforcement, or the conduct of foreign relations that is of such gravity that it outweighs the public interest in immediate disclosure."
• Nuclear stockpile data declassified through FY2020, response to FAS petition, October 13. "The information was declassified jointly by the Department of Defense and the Department of Energy."
• Fact Sheet: Biden Administration Makes Climate Information and Decision Tools More Accessible, White House release, October 12. "This effort will put authoritative and useful information into the hands of more Americans -- from broadcast meteorologists sharing climate information with communities, to farmers checking drought outlooks, to businesses planning for extreme weather, to families making decisions about their homes and neighborhoods."
• Maryland Nuclear Engineer and Spouse Arrested on Espionage-Related Charges, news release, October 10. "The complaint charges a plot to transmit information relating to the design of our nuclear submarines to a foreign nation." (complaint)
• FAS petitions DOE for declassification of the number of nuclear warheads awaiting dismantlement, October 8. "Declassification of this number would increase the utility of the other stockpile information that has been (or may yet be) declassified. It would provide an indication of the warhead dismantlement task that remains to be accomplished, with all of its budgetary, environmental, and other implications."
• DoD briefing on DCSA's Continous Vetting program, Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency, October 5. "Today, I can announce that DCSA has reached full enrollment of the DOD national security population into a continuous vetting program. This includes uniformed service members, civilians and defense contractors from industry."
• U.S. Nuclear Stockpile Transparency, remarks of Amb. Bonnie Jenkins, October 5. "Today, as an act of good faith, and a tangible, public demonstration of the U.S. commitment to transparency, we will present data which documents our own record of continued progress toward the achievement of the goals of the NPT. As we, along with the United Kingdom and France, demonstrate transparency about our nuclear stockpiles, we call on other states with nuclear weapons to do likewise." (Updated fact sheet on US nuclear stockpile)

Older News: September 2021

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https://sgp.fas.org/news/2021/10/index.html
Maintained by Steven Aftergood
Updated November 4, 2021