SECRECY NEWS
from the FAS Project on Government Secrecy
Volume 2004, Issue No. 49
June 1, 2004

IAEA REPORT ON LIBYA'S NUCLEAR PROGRAM

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) last week described what it has learned about the conduct of Libya's aborted nuclear weapons program, as well as what remains obscure about Libya's activities, in a confidential report prepared by the IAEA Director General.

IAEA inspectors have been reconstructing Libya's nuclear program, including its commerce with a "clandestine network" that supplied centrifuges for uranium enrichment, nuclear materials and weapons design information.

A copy of the May 28, 2004 IAEA report on "Implementation of the NPT Safeguards Agreement of the Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya," marked "for official use only," is available here:

DSB REPORT ON AERIAL REFUELING

In a new report, the influential Defense Science Board considered the controversial question of whether or not to acquire new tanker aircraft for aerial refueling, and concluded that the decision should be deferred.

"Embarking on a major recapitalization of the fleet should await completion of studies that will provide insight into the future requirements [for tanker aircraft]," according to the new DSB report.

The issue has been of intense interest to industry because of the prospect of lucrative contracts associated with the acquisition of additional tanker aircraft.

See the Report of the Defense Science Board Task Force on Aerial Refueling Requirements, May 2004 (67 pages, 1.1 MB PDF file), here:

TTIC ANSWERS QUESTIONS FOR THE RECORD

The Terrorist Threat Integration Center (TTIC) is an odd hybrid that, at first glance, appears to replicate the function of other organizations, such as the DCI Counterterrorist Center (CTC), without clearly adding value.

In response to probing, occasionally blunt questions from Congress last year, TTIC officials endeavored to explain exactly how their intelligence agency is distinct from other bodies (unlike the CTC it does not have an operational role), and how it is intended to function.

TTIC's answers to the exhaustive set of questions were transmitted to Congress in December and were published in a hearing volume last month. They are now posted here (51 pages, 1.5 MB PDF file):

WMD INTEL COMMISSION ESTABLISHES WEB SITE

The Commission on the Intelligence Capabilities of the United States Regarding Weapons of Mass Destruction, established by President Bush last February in response to criticism over the failure to find the weapons of mass destruction that were used to justify the war in Iraq, will meet exclusively in closed session.

"Due to the sensitive nature of our work, which concerns highly classified matters of national security, these meetings are not open to the public," the Commission said in a May 26 statement.

"We nonetheless intend to keep the public informed of our work, and as we progress we welcome public input and comment. Toward this end, the Commission has solicited working papers from a broad array of independent experts and research institutions, and will launch a website containing public information about the Commission by the end of this week."

That website, which so far is largely a placeholder without significant content, may be found here:

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Secrecy News is written by Steven Aftergood and published by the Federation of American Scientists.

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