This blog is dedicated to progressive and liberal thought. It also discusses new technology, how technology affects privacy and developments in Russia, China, Eastern Europe and the Middle East. Rightardia fully supports the rights of workers to organize, the feminist movement, and all Americans regardless or ethnicity, sex or gender.It uses humor, satire and parody to expose conservative thought for what it truly is: BS! Rightardia contributes to the DNC, DCCC, DSCC and MoveOn.Org.
Showing posts with label classified information. Show all posts
Showing posts with label classified information. Show all posts
Posted by William H. Leary on December 29, 2009 at 2:38 PM EST
Rightardia comment: This is a big issue because one of the political parties issues guidance to over-classify information to protect their six o'clocks. Guess what party that is?
The Major, our international affairs editor, worked in Intelligence and noticed that the CONFIDENTIAL classification is rarely used nor was 'For Official Use Only.' In general most intelligence should be classified 'SECRET' so it can provided to men and women in the Armed Services who do the fighting. The TOP SECRET classification is used primarily for war plans.
There is also another level of information called Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI) that is used in Intelligence. The US has a lot of information classified as SCI that the Russians would classify as SECRET because this information must be provided to commander immediately. Such information must go through a sanitization step before it can be provided to the troops.
The Major received a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request about US operations in Grenada while he was on Active Duty. The Major asked his intelligence analysts to go through the files and they found several articles on the operation.
The major then removed the classified information so the reports could be issued to the DOD FOIA office. The major's boss, the chief of staff, asked the Major to deny that he had these documents. As far as the Major know, the documents were withheld. Rightardia suspects this happens every day, especially when the Republicans control the presidency.
President Obama has issued a new executive order on “Classified National Security Information” (the Order) that addresses the problem of over-classification in numerous ways and will allow researchers to gain timelier access to formerly classified records. Among the major changes are the following:
o It establishes a National Declassification Center at the National Archives to enable agency reviewers to perform collaborative declassification in accordance with priorities developed by the Archivist with input from the general public.
o For the first time, it establishes the principle that no records may remain classified indefinitely and provides enforceable deadlines for declassifying information exempted from automatic declassification at 25 years.
o For the first time, it requires agencies to conduct fundamental classification guidance reviews to ensure that classification guides are up-to-date and that they do not require unnecessary classification.
o It eliminates an Intelligence Community veto of certain decisions by the Interagency Security Classification Appeals Panel that was introduced in the Bush order.
While the Government must be able to prevent the public disclosure of information that would compromise the national security, a democratic government accountable to the people must be as transparent as possible and must not withhold information for self-serving reasons or simply to avoid embarrassment.
President Obama’s new Order strikes a careful balance between protecting essential secrets and ensuring the release of once sensitive information to the public as quickly and as fully as possible. It also comes after extensive online engagement with the public where more than 150 detailed and helpful comments from various stakeholders were received through the White House website.
This new Order replaces Executive Order 12958 that was issued by President Clinton in 1995 and later amended by President Bush in 2003. The President also issued a memorandum to heads of departments and agencies that directs additional steps agencies should take as they implement the Order.
On January 21, 2009, President Obama signed a memorandum to the heads of executive departments and agencies, calling for the Government to become more transparent and collaborative. In a May 27 memorandum, he directed the National Security Advisor to lead a review of EO 12958 and recommend revisions that improve transparency, openness, and interagency collaboration in the Government’s treatment of national security information. The May 27 memorandum identified six priorities for this review:
(i) establishing a National Declassification Center (NDC) to facilitate collaborative declassification review among government officials;
(ii) addressing the problem of over-classification;
(iii) facilitating the sharing of classified information among appropriate parties;
(iv) appropriately prohibiting reclassification of previously declassified material;
(v) specifying appropriate procedures for classification, safeguarding, accessibility, and declassification of information in the electronic environment; and
(vi) otherwise improving openness and transparency in the Government’s classification and declassification program, while affording necessary protection to the Government’s legitimate interests.
