.


from Steven Aftergood <saftergood@...>
to saftergood@...
date Thu, Jul 9, 2009 at 11:38 AM
subject Secrecy News -- 07/09/09 (alt list)




SECRECY NEWS
from the FAS Project on Government Secrecy
Volume 2009, Issue No. 58
July 9, 2009

Secrecy News Blog: http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/

Support FAS Secrecy News
http://www.fas.org/member/member_contribute.html


** COVERT ACTION NOTIFICATION POLICY IN DISPUTE
** TROOP LEVELS IN IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN, MORE FROM CRS
** OTHER NEWS AND RESOURCES


COVERT ACTION NOTIFICATION POLICY IN DISPUTE

The intelligence authorization bill that is pending in the House of
Representatives would generally require all members of the intelligence
committees to be briefed on covert actions, not just the so-called "Gang
of Eight," unless the Committee itself decided to limit such briefings.

"The Committee understands well the need to protect intelligence
information from unauthorized disclosure and the prerogatives of the
executive branch with respect to the protection of classified information.
However, these principles must be balanced against the constitutional
requirement for congressional oversight," the Committee wrote in its
report.

The White House said it "strongly objects" to that provision and suggested
the President would veto the bill to block it. The revised notification
procedures would undermine "a long tradition spanning decades of comity
between the branches regarding intelligence matters," the July 8 White
House Statement of Administration Policy said.


http://www.fas.org/irp/news/2009/07/wh070809.pdf


But a new report from the Congressional Research Service reminds readers
that the "tradition" regarding covert action notification is not so long,
and that it is subject to modification in response to changing
circumstances. It was first put in place in 1980, during the Iran hostage
crisis. In 1991, following the Iran-Contra Affair, it was elaborated in
congressional report language. Following the momentous challenges to
congressional oversight in recent years, it would not be surprising if it
were adjusted further.

A copy of the new CRS report was obtained by Secrecy News. See "Sensitive
Covert Action Notifications: Oversight Options for Congress," July 7,
2009:


http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/intel/R40691.pdf


The CRS report mentions in passing an apparent discrepancy in the public
record concerning covert action and the CIA detainee interrogation
program. In pre-confirmation responses to questions, DNI Dennis Blair told
the Senate Intelligence Committee that neither the Terrorist Surveillance
Program nor the CIA detention, interrogation and rendition programs were
covert actions and that therefore neither should have been subject to
limited "Gang of Eight" notification procedures. But former CIA director
Michael Hayden said in an April 16, 2009 news interview that the CIA
interrogation program "began life as a covert action." CIA Director Leon
Panetta, when asked about both programs prior to his confirmation, said
that the Terrorist Surveillance Program was not a covert action, but he
was silent about the CIA program. Both DNI Blair and DCIA Panetta
prefaced their responses with a disclaimer that they were not yet privy to
classified information on these matters, though presumably the contents
would have been reviewed prior to submission to eliminate factual errors.
The discrepancy between their statements and that of former DCIA Hayden is
unresolved.



TROOP LEVELS IN IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN, MORE FROM CRS


The number of U.S. troops deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan in the decade
following 9/11 is documented or projected in a detailed new report from
the Congressional Research Service. "Using five DOD sources, this report
describes, analyzes, and estimates the number of troops deployed for each
war from the 9/11 attacks to FY2012 to help Congress assess upcoming DOD
war funding requests as well as the implications for the long-term U.S.
presence in the region." See "Troop Levels in the Afghan and Iraq Wars,
FY2001-FY2012: Cost and Other Potential Issues," July 2, 2009:


http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/natsec/R40682.pdf


Other substantively new and interesting CRS reports that have not
previously been published online include the following.


"U.S. Security Assistance to the Palestinian Authority," June 24, 2009:


http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/mideast/R40664.pdf


"North Korea's Second Nuclear Test: Implications of U.N. Security Council
Resolution 1874," July 1, 2009:


http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/nuke/R40684.pdf


"Indonesia: Domestic Politics, Strategic Dynamics, and American
Interests," updated June 17, 2009:


http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/row/RL32394.pdf


Last month, for the first time since 1989, the House of Representatives
impeached a federal judge, Samuel B. Kent of the Southern District of
Texas. Background on the process is helpfully provided in "Impeachment: An
Overview of Constitutional Provisions, Procedure, and Practice," June 22,
2009:

http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/98-186.pdf


Resolutions of Inquiry are increasingly used in the House of
Representatives to elicit information from the executive branch. In the
current Congress, eleven such resolutions had been introduced by mid-June.
An updated account of this legislative instrument is given in "House
Resolutions of Inquiry," June 17, 2009:


http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/secrecy/RL31909.pdf



OTHER NEWS AND RESOURCES


Last year, the Supreme Court refused to hear a case brought by the ACLU
against the National Security Agency challenging the constitutionality of
the Terrorist Surveillance Program. Sen. Arlen Specter wrote to Judge
Sonia Sotomayor this week asking the Supreme Court nominee to be prepared
at her confirmation hearing next week to say, among other things, whether
she would have favored Supreme Court review of the matter.


http://www.fas.org/irp/congress/2009_cr/specter-soto.html


The DNI Information Sharing Environment has released its latest annual
report, detailing progress made and challenges remaining in the effort to
improve sharing of terrorism-related information among authorized users,
which generally does not include members of the public.


http://www.fas.org/irp/agency/ise/2009report.pdf


The public interest group OMB Watch reviewed the evolving policy on
"controlled unclassified information" and offered its own critique in
"Controlled Unclassified Information: Recommendations for Information
Control Reform," July 2009:


http://www.ombwatch.org/files/info/2009cuirpt.pdf


Compliance with IAEA nuclear safeguards agreements is mandated in a new
Air Force Instruction that also provides useful background on the
safeguards process. See "Implementation of the US-International Atomic
Energy Agency Integrated Safeguards Agreements," Air Force Instruction
16-605, June 23, 2009:


http://www.fas.org/irp/doddir/usaf/afi16-605.pdf


The effectiveness and the unintended consequences of U.S. export control
policies were discussed at a hearing of the House Science and Technology
Committee. The record of that hearing, with extensive post-hearing
questions for the record, has just been published. See "Impacts of U.S.
Export Control Policies on Science and Technology Activities and
Competitiveness," February 25, 2009:


http://www.fas.org/irp/congress/2009_hr/export.pdf


Public comments and recommendations on classification and declassification
policies and related matters are being received until July 19 on the White
House Office of Science and Technology blog:


http://blog.ostp.gov/



_______________________________________________




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

The Secrecy News Blog is at:
http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/

To SUBSCRIBE to Secrecy News, go to:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/news/secrecy/subscribe.html

To UNSUBSCRIBE, go to
http://www.fas.org/sgp/news/secrecy/unsubscribe.html

OR email your request to saftergood@...

Secrecy News is archived at:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/news/secrecy/index.html

Support the FAS Project on Government Secrecy with a donation:
http://www.fas.org/member/member_contribute.html


_______________________




Steven Aftergood
Project on Government Secrecy
Federation of American Scientists
web: www.fas.org/sgp/index.html
email: saftergood@...
voice: (202) 454-4691