SECRECY NEWS
from the FAS Project on Government Secrecy
Volume 2007, Issue No. 57
May 31, 2007

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

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** A REVIEW OF GOVERNMENT QUARANTINE AUTHORITY
** NATIONAL INTEL COUNCIL SPONSORS WIKI ON GLOBAL DISEASE
** CHINA NAVAL MODERNIZATION
** CASTRO'S CUBA TODAY
** CANADA-U.S. RELATIONS


A REVIEW OF GOVERNMENT QUARANTINE AUTHORITY

The detention of a man infected with tuberculosis who may have exposed
fellow passengers on commercial airliners to a particularly resistant
form of the disease has generated new interest in the government's
power to quarantine and isolate persons who may pose a threat to public
health.

A recent report of the Congressional Research Service provides
extensive legal, factual and historical background on the subject.

In a nutshell, "state and local governments have the primary authority
to control the spread of dangerous diseases within their jurisdictions,
and the federal government has authority to quarantine and impose other
health measures to prevent the spread of diseases from foreign
countries and between states," the CRS report explains.

See "Federal and State Quarantine and Isolation Authority," updated
January 23, 2007:

http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/RL33201.pdf

and, relatedly, see "Quarantine and Isolation: Selected Legal Issues
Relating to Employment," updated February 28, 2007:

http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/RL33609.pdf

"The term 'quarantine' is derived from the Italian words quaranta
giorni, which refer to the 40-day period during which certain ships
arriving at the port of Venice during the Black Death plague outbreaks
of the 14th century were obliged to sit at anchor before any persons or
goods were allowed to go ashore," the CRS notes.


NATIONAL INTEL COUNCIL SPONSORS WIKI ON GLOBAL DISEASE

Students at Mercyhurst College created a wiki-based resource on global
disease to support the National Intelligence Council, while
demonstrating the utility of the wiki approach for intelligence
analysis.

"The fundamental question had to do with the impact of chronic and
infectious diseases on US national interests over the next 10-15
years," said Prof. Kristan J. Wheaton, whose class produced the wiki.

"The 26 students in the class worked for the 10 weeks of the course on
the project, producing over 1000 pages of analysis on every country in
the world. They also wrote global, regional and national interest
reports. They even produced a process report that talks about how they
did what they did and several videos to accompany the reports. The
project was completed using entirely open sources."

"The final product is interesting on a number of levels," Prof. Wheaton
told Secrecy News, "not the least of which is the way in which wiki
technology facilitated the analysis."

A description of the activity with a link to the final product can be
found on the National Intelligence Council web site here:

http://www.dni.gov/nic/research_globaldisease.html


CHINA NAVAL MODERNIZATION

The significance of China's naval modernization programs and their
impact on U.S. national security considerations are explored in a newly
updated report from the Congressional Research Service.

See "China Naval Modernization: Implications for U.S. Navy Capabilities
-- Background and Issues for Congress," updated May 29, 2007:

http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/row/RL33153.pdf

Hans Kristensen of FAS observed that a recent Department of Defense
annual report on Chinese military power conspicuously declined to
endorse press reports (mainly attributable to Bill Gertz of the
Washington Times) that China intends to deploy five new Jin-class
ballistic missile submarines.

"Are you building five SSBNs or not?" Hans inquired in a followup
letter to the Embassy of China. "No one here even knows the answer to
your question," the Embassy replied.

See "Pentagon China Report Ignores Five SSBNs Projection," Strategic
Security Blog, May 25:

http://www.fas.org/blog/ssp/2007/05/pentag...nual_chin_1.php


CASTRO'S CUBA TODAY

"The chances for a radical change in leadership in Cuba are remote,"
the Central Intelligence Agency assessed in a 1966 analysis that was
declassified last year.

"Fidel Castro is still the undisputed 'maximum leader' of the Cuban
revolution and the dominant figure in Cuban politics, despite rumors to
the contrary which circulated widely last spring."

See "Castro's Cuba Today," Current Intelligence Weekly Special Report,
30 September 1966, declassified October 2006:

http://www.fas.org/irp/cia/product/cuba1966.pdf

See also "Cuba: U.S. Restrictions on Travel and Remittances,"
Congressional Research Service, updated May 3, 2007:

http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/row/RL31139.pdf

and "Cuba: Issues for the 110th Congress," updated May 1, 2007:

http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/row/RL33819.pdf


CANADA-U.S. RELATIONS

"The United States and Canada maintain the world's largest trading
relationship, one that has been strengthened during the past fifteen
years by the approval of two multilateral free trade agreements,"
according to another recently updated Congressional Research Service
report.

"But it has been over security-related matters, particularly defense
spending, Iraq, and missile defense, that the two governments had their
sharpest differences."

"Notwithstanding these controversies, Canada and the United States have
been working together on a number of fronts to thwart terrorism,
including strengthening border security, sharing intelligence and
expanding law enforcement cooperation."

See "Canada-U.S. Relations," updated May 15, 2007:

http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/row/96-397.pdf



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

SECRECY NEWS
from the FAS Project on Government Secrecy
Volume 2007, Issue No. 60
June 11, 2007

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

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** CONGRESSIONAL OVERSIGHT IS INTENSIFYING, ODNI SAYS
** NEW BILL WOULD MANDATE PUBLIC ACCESS TO CRS REPORTS


CONGRESSIONAL OVERSIGHT IS INTENSIFYING, ODNI SAYS

"Intelligence community contracting and procurement activities are
receiving increasing scrutiny from Congress," an official of the Office
of Director of National Intelligence told a meeting of industry
officials last month.

"Congressional oversight is intensifying," said Daniel C. Nielsen, ODNI
Deputy Procurement Executive.

Among other things, "Senior congressional leaders favor increased IC
procurement data reporting," he said.

He cited a 2006 proposal by Rep. Henry Waxman to require providing to
Congress "the same information for classified contracts that is
required for unclassified contracts."

Although intelligence-related procurement programs run into the tens of
billions of dollars annually, they has never been subject to
accountability and reporting requirements comparable to those for
unclassified acquisition. This is expected to change, Mr. Nielsen
indicated.

See "Intelligence Community Procurement Metrics: Needs, Goals and
Approach" by Daniel C. Nielsen, ODNI, presented May 16, 2007:

http://www.fas.org/irp/dni/nielsen.pdf

Baseline acquisition data-collection requirements were set forth last
year in an Intelligence Community Directive (ICD), which stated that
"all ... major system acquisitions shall have a [program management
plan] that includes cost, schedule, and performance goals, as well as
program milestone criteria."

See ICD 105, "Acquisition," Director of National Intelligence, August
15, 2006:

http://www.fas.org/irp/dni/icd/icd-105.pdf

"Acting under pressure from Congress, the CIA has decided to trim its
contractor staffing by 10 percent," reported Walter Pincus and Stephen
Barr in the Washington Post today.


NEW BILL WOULD MANDATE PUBLIC ACCESS TO CRS REPORTS

A bill introduced in the House of Representatives last month would
require that certain reports of the Congressional Research Service be
made publicly available online.

The "Congressional Research Accessibility Act" (HR 2545) was introduced
on May 24 by Rep. Christopher Shays (R-CT), along with Reps. Jay Inslee
(D-WA) and David Price (D-NC). See:

http://www.fas.org/sgp/congress/2007/hr2545.html

The bill was flagged by the Coalition of Journalists for Open
Government, www.cjog.net.

The proposed legislation does not offer everything one might hope for.
In particular, it would prohibit public access to CRS reports until 30
days after they are first published on the internal congressional web
site.

This is good news for commercial vendors of CRS products, who have
(unauthorized) near-real time access to CRS publications and could
continue to exploit that advantage for financial gain. But the delay
would significantly diminish the utility of many such publications for
the general public.

For example, on June 5, CRS issued a report on "Extensively
Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis (XDR-TB): Quarantine and Isolation," which
was then the subject of current news interest:

http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/RS22672.pdf

Under the proposed legislation, this report would not become widely
available to the public for more than three weeks from now when, one
may hope, it will be old news. (It was obtained independently and
published previously by the Center for Democracy and Technology's
OpenCRS, www.opencrs.com.)

Confidential reports and responses to individual member requests would
understandably not be released under the new proposal unless the
requester chose to release them. But neither would other CRS products
that are not confidential if they do not fit the proposed definition of
what is to be released.

That might be the case, for example, with this new non-report
tabulation of "Overt U.S. Assistance to Pakistan, FY2001-FY2008," June
2007:

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

The congressional sponsors of the new bill, apparently fearing that
CRS' sharp analytical tools could be blunted by contact with their dull
constituents, insist that CRS reports shall be published "in a manner
that ... does not permit the submission of comments from the public."



_______________________________________________
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:
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SUPPORT Secrecy News with a donation here:
http://www.fas.org/static/contrib_sec.jsp


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

SECRECY NEWS
from the FAS Project on Government Secrecy
Volume 2007, Issue No. 61
June 13, 2007

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

Support Secrecy News:
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** DNI ISSUES NEW POLICY ON INTELLIGENCE AWARDS
** ATTORNEY IN FOGGO CASE SEEKS TO "OPT OUT" OF SECURITY CLEARANCE
** SELECTED CRS REPORTS


DNI ISSUES NEW POLICY ON INTELLIGENCE AWARDS

The U.S. intelligence community may acknowledge professional excellence
by presenting employees or others with one of several monetary or
honorary awards specified in a new Intelligence Community Directive.

"It is the policy of the DNI to recognize and honor all individuals and
groups for distinguished service and/or exceptional contributions to the
security of the U.S.; the development and execution of the U.S. National
Intelligence Strategy and its various implementation plans; the
integration and transformation of the IC, and/or the accomplishment of
its mission;" and so forth.

Awards may range from certificates and "keepsakes" of no monetary value
to large financial gifts. Amounts in excess of $25,000 must be approved
by the President.

Covert personnel are not permitted to take possession of their awards.

Instead, "the IC element and/or the ODNI retain(s) the award when the
individual is covert or a future covert assignment or affiliation is
likely."

Intelligence Community Directive 655, entitled "National Intelligence
Awards Program," was issued by Directive of National Intelligence Mike
McConnell on May 23, 2007.

http://www.fas.org/irp/dni/icd/icd-655.pdf


ATTORNEY IN FOGGO CASE SEEKS TO "OPT OUT" OF SECURITY CLEARANCE

A defense attorney in the prosecution of former CIA executive director
Kyle "Dusty" Foggo and contractor Brent Wilkes on bribery charges has
refused to undergo a background investigation or submit to other
procedures required in order to obtain a security clearance for access
to classified information.

Defense counsel should not be required "to undergo any kind of a
process by which my adversary in an adversarial system is going to
determine whether or not I can represent my client," argued celebrity
attorney Mark Geragos, who represents Brent Wilkes.

Instead, he indicated, the government should simply provide the defense
with all exculpatory material.

But it doesn't work that way, government attorneys said. In a June 8
pleading, they asked the court to require imposition of a security
clearance, administered by a judicial branch official if necessary, or
to take other steps to safeguard up to 15,000 pages of classified
discovery materials.

http://www.fas.org/sgp/jud/foggo060807.pdf

The unusual dispute was first reported by Justin Rood in "Attorney
Geragos Accused of Subtle Extortion," ABC News' The Blotter, June 11.

http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/2007/0...ney_gerago.html


SELECTED CRS REPORTS

Notable new reports of the Congressional Research Service include the
following.

"Iran: Ethnic and Religious Minorities," May 25, 2007:

http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/mideast/RL34021.pdf

"National Continuity Policy: A Brief Overview," June 8, 2007:

http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/secrecy/RS22674.pdf

"'No Confidence' Votes and Other Forms of Congressional Censure of
Public Officials," June 11, 2007:

http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/RL34037.pdf

"Veterans and Homelessness," May 31, 2007:

http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/RL34024.pdf

"Border Security: The San Diego Fence," updated May 23, 2007:

http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/homesec/RS22026.pdf

"Latin America and the Caribbean: Fact Sheet on Leaders and Elections,"
updated June 1, 2007:

http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/row/98-684.pdf

"U.S.-European Union Relations and the 2007 Summit," updated May 14,
2007:

http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/row/RS22645.pdf

"Russian Oil and Gas Challenges," updated May 16, 2007:

http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/row/RL33212.pdf

"Secret Sessions of the House and Senate," updated May 25, 2007:

http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/secrecy/98-718.pdf




_______________________________________________
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:
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SUPPORT Secrecy News with a donation here:
http://www.fas.org/static/contrib_sec.jsp


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

SECRECY NEWS
from the FAS Project on Government Secrecy
Volume 2007, Issue No. 62
June 18, 2007

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

Support Secrecy News:
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** SPOTLIGHT ON SPECIAL FORCES AND INTELLIGENCE
** SENATE SEEKS REPORTS ON ENERGY SECURITY, NUCLEAR WEAPONS POLICY
** DOD UPDATES POLICY ON CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTORS


SPOTLIGHT ON SPECIAL FORCES AND INTELLIGENCE

The structure of Army special operations forces, their capabilities and
characteristic mission profiles, and the role of intelligence in
supporting them are described in a newly disclosed U.S. Army field
manual.

There are nine distinct missions for Army special forces, including:
unconventional warfare, direct action, counterproliferation, foreign
internal defense, psychological operations, and "special activities,"
which is the DoD euphemism for covert action.

"Special activities fall under Executive Order 12333, United States
Intelligence Activities," according to the Army field manual. "They
require a presidential finding and congressional oversight. ARSOF [Army
Special Operations Forces] conduct them abroad in support of national
foreign policy objectives, but in a manner that USG [US Government]
participation is neither apparent nor publicly acknowledged."

The 200-page Army field manual, which remains in effect, was issued in
2001. A copy of the unclassified document was obtained by Secrecy
News.

See "Army Special Operations Forces Intelligence," Field Manual FM
3-05.102, July 2001:

http://www.fas.org/irp/doddir/army/fm3-05-102.pdf

The secrecy of DoD special operations has significantly impeded
oversight and accountability, reported Seymour Hersh in The New Yorker
this week. The Hersh article also said that the Bush Administration
had "unilaterally determined after 9/11" that military intelligence
operations could be conducted on presidential authority without
congressional notification -- notwithstanding the contrary language of
the Army field manual.

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2007/06...25fa_fact_hersh

The "can do" attitude that characterizes Army and other special
operations forces may make them attractive to policy makers, but it can
also be a cause for concern, according to a congressional review of the
failed Army Ranger mission in Somalia in 1993 (cited in a 2006 paper by
David Tucker and Christopher J. Lamb of National Defense University).

"One of the weaknesses of a unit like Task Force Ranger, whose combat
capabilities are unparalleled, is the belief by the unit members and
its commanders that they can accomplish any mission."

"Because of the supreme confidence of special operations forces, the
chain of command must provide more oversight to this type of unit than
to conventional forces."

See "Review of the Circumstances Surrounding the Ranger Raid on October
3-4, 1993 in Mogadishu, Somalia," Senate Armed Services Committee,
September 29, 1995:

http://www.fas.org/irp/congress/1995_rpt/mogadishu.pdf


SENATE SEEKS REPORTS ON ENERGY SECURITY, NUCLEAR WEAPONS POLICY

A bipartisan bill introduced in the Senate would require the Director
of National Intelligence to prepare an unclassified report on energy
security.

"American dependence on foreign oil has made our Nation less safe,"
said Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) in an introductory statement. "Oil revenues
have provided income for dangerous rogue states, they have sparked
bloody civil wars, and they have even provided funding for terrorism."

"In a sickening phenomenon that I call the terror tax, every time that
Americans drive their cars down to the gas station and fill up at the
pump, the reality is that a portion of that money is then turned over
to foreign governments that 'backdoor' it over to Islamist extremists,
who use that money to perpetuate terrorism and hate."

http://www.fas.org/irp/congress/2007_cr/s1613.html

The next administration would be required to conduct a comprehensive
review of U.S. nuclear weapons policy and to prepare an unclassified
report of its nuclear posture review, according to the 2008 defense
authorization act, as marked up by the Senate Armed Services Committee.

The report, which is intended to update the 2001 nuclear posture review
(NPR), would have to be submitted in unclassified form in December 2009.

"Although the Secretary of Defense was directed to submit the December
2001 NPR in an unclassified form, unfortunately this never happened,"
the Senate Committee said.

http://www.fas.org/sgp/congress/2007/sen-npr.html


DOD UPDATES POLICY ON CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTORS

To qualify for conscientious objector status and to be granted military
discharge on that basis, an individual must oppose all wars, not just a
particular war. However, a conscientious objector may still embrace
"spiritual warfare" between good and evil, the Department of Defense
explained in a new policy instruction.

"An individual who desires to choose the war in which he or she will
participate is not a Conscientious Objector under the law. The
individual's objection must be to all wars rather than a specific war."

But "a belief in a theocratic or spiritual war between the powers of
good and evil does not constitute a willingness to participate in 'war'
within the meaning of this Instruction." In other words, it is possible
both to be a "spiritual warrior" and a conscientious objector. It is
uncertain whether enlisting in spiritual warfare on the side of evil
would void this distinction.

See "Conscientious Objectors," Department of Defense Instruction
1300.06, May 5, 2007:

http://www.fas.org/irp/doddir/dod/i1300_06.pdf



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