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From the Blogs
Intel Review Group Urges Reduced Secrecy: The
report of a White House advisory group on intelligence surveillance
said that reducing undue secrecy was one of its main objectives. The
Review Group specifically recommended that “detailed information” about
legal authorities to compel disclosure about communications records be
made public and that “general data” concerning orders to disclose
telephone records and other business records be routinely disclosed as
well. In a more tentative, roundabout way, the report implied that
the NSA program to collect telephone metadata in bulk should not have
been classified.
Declassification as a Confidence-Building Measure: In
order to restore public trust, the U.S. intelligence community ought to
be “aggressive” about reducing classification, former intelligence
officials said last week. Michael Leiter, former director of the
National Counterterrorism Center from 2007 to 2011, said that secrecy is
an "enormous problem," but did not specify what information should
cease to be classified or reforms to classification policy.
Counterinsurgency Should Address "Root Causes": The
latest edition of U.S. joint military doctrine
on counterinsurgency states that while working to defeat and contain
insurgency, efforts should also be made to “address its root
causes.” The latest revision also emphasizes the importance of gaining
and retaining “US public support” for counterinsurgency programs.
The Mexican Radiation Accident Part 2: In
a new post on the ScienceWonk Blog, Dr. Y takes a look at lessons
recognized from past radiation accidents and recommendations for
radioactive materials security.
Court Rebukes White House Over "Secret Law": On
December 17, DC District Judge Ellen Segal Huvelle ordered the Obama
Administration to release a copy of an unclassified presidential
directive, and she said the attempt to withhold it represented an
improper exercise of “secret law.” The Obama White House has a
“limitless” view of its authority to withhold presidential
communications from the public, she wrote, but that view is wrong. The
document in question is the Presidential Policy Directive (PPD) 6, which
provides information on foreign aid and development.
2014 Defense Authorization and More from CRS: Secrecy News has obtained recently released CRS reports on topics such as the FY14 defense authorization and appropriations, China's economic rise, nanotechnology and foreign investments in the United States.
DoD Reports to Congress to be Posted Online: Reports
to Congress from the Department of Defense are to be posted online,
according to a provision in the pending FY 2014 defense authorization
act. The online publication requirement would not apply to DoD reports
that contained classified or proprietary information, or that are
otherwise exempt from disclosure under FOIA.
DNI Directive on Supply Chain Risks: Because
the Intelligence Community utilizes commercial products including those
that may be manufactured abroad, it could be vulnerable to threat or
compromise through its supply chain. DNI released a new directive to the
intelligence community on December 7 which discusses supply chain risk
management.
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