Secrecy News -- 11/23/09

[David P. Dillard]

.


Date: Mon, 23 Nov 2009 09:01:57 -0500
From: Steven Aftergood <safte...@fas.org>
To: safte...@fas.org
Subject: Secrecy News -- 11/23/09 (alt list)



SECRECY NEWS
from the FAS Project on Government Secrecy
Volume 2009, Issue No. 93
November 23, 2009



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



** NEW EXECUTIVE ORDER AIMS TO AVOID DECLASS DEADLINE
** COPENHAGEN CLIMATE NEGOTIATIONS, AND MORE FROM CRS
** U.S. NAVAL INTELLIGENCE VIEWS IRAN'S NAVAL FORCES



NEW EXECUTIVE ORDER AIMS TO AVOID DECLASS DEADLINE



Development of a new executive order on classification of national security
information is now proceeding at an accelerated pace in order to preempt a
deadline that would require the declassification of millions of pages of
historical records next month.

A revised draft executive order was circulated to executive branch agencies
by the Office of Management and Budget on November 16, with agency comments
due back today, November 23. A final order is likely to be issued by the
end of this year.

There is an incentive to complete the development of the executive order
before December 31, 2009 because of a deadline for declassification of
historical records that falls on that date. Under the current Bush
executive order, classified records that are at least 25 years old and that
have been referred from one agency to another because they involve multiple
agency interests are supposed to be automatically declassified at the end of
this year. (See E.O. 13292, section 3.3(e)(3)).

But in order to meet this December deadline, several agencies would have to
forgo a review of the affected historical records, which they are unwilling
to do. And so it seems they will simply be excused from compliance. But in
order to modify the deadline in the Bush order, it will be necessary to
issue another executive order. If the comprehensive new Obama order on
classification policy (which would assign processing of such records to a
National Declassification Center that does not yet exist) is not ready for
release by December 31, then another stand-alone order would have to be
issued, canceling or extending the looming deadline. And officials are
reluctant to issue such an order since they say it would be awkward for the
avowedly pro-openness Obama Administration to relax or annul a
declassification requirement that was imposed by the ultra-secret Bush
Administration.

In fact, the whole process has become an awkward mix of exaggerated and
deflated expectations. The failure of the Bush Administration's
declassification deadline to take hold this year does not augur well for
new, more ambitious efforts to advance classification reform. If the
"automatic declassification" procedures that were prescribed in prior
executive orders are not "automatic" after all, and if binding deadlines can
be extended more or less at will, then any new declassification requirements
in the Obama order will be similarly subject to doubt or defiance.

The latest draft executive order has not yet become publicly available,
though officials said they expected it to leak, as did a previous draft
dated August 4. "It includes some notable differences" from the earlier
draft, said one official. But another official said "It's basically the
same as the draft you already have." See "Draft Order Would Set New Limits
on Classification," Secrecy News, September 29, 2009:

http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/2009/09/draft_exec_order.html

Ironically, today's classification system seems to function more effectively
in preventing public access to aging archival records than it does with
respect to certain present-day information.

Thus, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates told reporters on November 12, "I
have been appalled by the amount of leaking that has been going on" about
classified Administration deliberations on Afghanistan policy and other
matters.

http://www.fas.org/sgp/news/2009/11/gates-leaks.html

But from a different point of view, others may be appalled that Secretary
Gates' own Department still retains classification restrictions on
historical records dating back to the Korean War, and even from World War
II, and that it otherwise resists modernization and correction of the cold
war classification system.

Some general background on the national security classification system from
the Congressional Research Service can be found in "Security Classification
Policy and Procedure: E.O. 12958, as Amended," November 3, 2009:

http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/secrecy/97-771.pdf


COPENHAGEN CLIMATE NEGOTIATIONS, AND MORE FROM CRS

Noteworthy new reports from the Congressional Research Service that have not
been made readily available to the public include the following.

"Status of the Copenhagen Climate Change Negotiations," November 5, 2009:

http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R40910.pdf

"An Overview of the Nonprofit and Charitable Sector," November 17, 2009:

http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R40919.pdf

"Advertising Industry in the Digital Age," November 9, 2009:

http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R40908.pdf


U.S. NAVAL INTELLIGENCE VIEWS IRAN'S NAVAL FORCES

A new report from the U.S. Office of Naval Intelligence describes Iran's
naval order of battle, as well as the Iranian Navy's history, strategic
options, and favored tactics.

"Today, Iran's naval forces protect Iranian waters and natural resources,
especially Iran's petroleum-related assets and industries. Iranian maritime
security operations guard against the smuggling of illegal goods (especially
drugs) and immigrants, and protect against the poaching and stealing of fish
in territorial waters."

"Additionally, Iran uses its naval forces for political ends such as naval
diplomacy and strategic messaging. Most of all, Iranian naval forces are
equipped to defend against perceived external threats. Public statements by
Iranian leaders indicate that they would consider closing or controlling the
Strait of Hormuz if provoked, thereby cutting off almost 30 percent of the
world's oil supply."

The unclassified U.S. intelligence assessment was published on the Office of
Naval Intelligence website, but last week it was abruptly withdrawn, along
with another ONI report on China's navy. A copy of the report was obtained
by Secrecy News. See "Iran's Naval Forces: From Guerilla (sic) Warfare to a
Modern Naval Strategy," Fall 2009:

http://www.fas.org/irp/agency/oni/iran-navy.pdf



_______________________________________________




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

See also "Reducing Government Secrecy: Finding What Works" by Steven
Aftergood, Yale Law and Policy Review, vol. 27, no. 2, Spring 2009:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/eprint/aftergood.pdf

The Secrecy News Blog is at:
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_______________________




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