SECRECY NEWS
from the FAS Project on Government Secrecy
Volume 2004, Issue No. 89
October 12, 2004
** HONORING JOSEPH DARBY
** SCOPE OF FOIA EXEMPTION FOR SATELLITE IMAGERY LIMITED
** CONGRESS ENDORSES MEDIA BLACKOUT ON MILITARY COFFINS
** ILLNESSES AT NATIONAL SECURITY AGENCY TO BE PROBED
** DEFENSE SCIENCE BOARD ON INFORMATION SHARING
** HILL AIR FORCE BASE REMOVES BLOCK ON FAS WEB SITE
HONORING JOSEPH DARBY
U.S. Army Specialist Joseph Darby displayed exemplary courage in
exposing the human rights abuses perpetrated at Abu Ghraib prison
and is to be commended "for standing up for what is right,"
according to language in the 2005 Defense Authorization Act adopted
by the House and Senate on October 9.
"The need to act in accord with one's conscience, risking one's
career and even the esteem of one's colleagues by pursuing what is
right is especially important today," Congress found. "Specialist
Darby deserves the Nation's thanks for speaking up and for standing
up for what is right."
"It is the sense of Congress that (1) the Secretary of Defense
should make every protection available to Army Specialist Joseph
Darby and others who demonstrate such courage; and (2) Specialist
Darby should be commended appropriately by the Secretary of the
Army."
The congressional language did not spell out why Darby would be in
need of protection, or why acting in accord with one's conscience
is "especially important today."
See Section 1094 of the FY 2005 Defense Authorization Act here:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/congress/2004/hr4200conf.html#1094
Previously undisclosed portions of the Taguba report on Abu Ghraib
were made available last week by the Center for Public Integrity
(www.publicintegrity.org).
SCOPE OF FOIA EXEMPTION FOR SATELLITE IMAGERY LIMITED
Congressional conferees narrowed the scope of a new Freedom of
Information Act exemption for certain categories of commercial
satellite imagery and related products.
As revised, the exemption would apply only to imagery whose sale to
non-government customers is already prohibited "for reasons of
national security."
The original version of the proposed exemption became somewhat
controversial (SN, 09/07/04) because it would have apparently
encompassed a vastly broader set of imagery and imagery-derived
products.
See the final language in section 914 of the 2005 Defense
Authorization Act here:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/congress/2004/hr4200conf.html#914
CONGRESS ENDORSES MEDIA BLACKOUT ON MILITARY COFFINS
The Department of Defense was correct to prohibit news media
coverage of the transfer of coffins of U.S. military personnel
killed in Iraq or their arrival at Dover Air Force Base, Congress
declared in the new Defense Authorization Act.
The DoD policy serves to protect the privacy of the families and
friends of the deceased, Congress indicated.
Furthermore, "It is the sense of Congress that the Department of
Defense policy regarding no media coverage of the transfer of the
remains of deceased members of the Armed Forces ... is consistent
with United States constitutional guarantees of freedom of speech
and freedom of the press."
Critics of the DoD policy argue that photographs of flag-draped
coffins could not possibly infringe on individual privacy, and that
the prohibition on news media coverage tends to obscure the human
costs of the war in Iraq.
The news media blackout has recently been challenged in litigation
by journalism professor Ralph Begleiter, assisted by the National
Security Archive and the law firm Jenner & Block.
See the new congressional provision in section 1082 of the 2005
Defense Authorization Act here:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/congress/2004/hr4200conf.html#1082
ILLNESSES AT NATIONAL SECURITY AGENCY TO BE PROBED
Employees of the National Security Agency seem to have a
disproportionately high incidence of illnesses, prompting Congress
to seek a study of the matter.
"The [defense authorization] conferees are concerned with continued
reports of work related illnesses among the National Security
Agency (NSA) employees at Fort Meade, Maryland. The conferees
direct the Secretary of Defense to undertake an epidemiological
study and health hazard evaluation related to NSA buildings at Fort
Meade."
See the report language from the 2005 Defense Authorization Act
here:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/congress/2004/hr4200conf.html#nsasick
DEFENSE SCIENCE BOARD ON INFORMATION SHARING
The importance of information sharing in ensuring homeland security
is the subject of an extended rumination from the Defense Science
Board, which reviewed the obstacles to sharing and proposed some
largely familiar solutions.
The DSB found, unsurprisingly, that "classification procedures
encourage over-classification and inhibit efficient, standardized
processes such as tear sheets for declassifying and sharing
information."
The new DSB report called among other things for increased reliance
on "sensitive but unclassified" networks for information sharing.
Such sharing does not extend to public disclosure, and the public
is relegated to the role of passive spectator in homeland security
rather than stakeholder.
See "DoD Roles and Missions in Homeland Security," Volume II-B,
Information, Sharing and Analysis Panel Report, dated September
2004 (1.6 MB PDF file):
http://www.fas.org/irp/agency/dod/dsb/homelandv2b.pdf
HILL AIR FORCE BASE REMOVES BLOCK ON FAS WEB SITE
Last week, employees at Hill Air Force Base in Utah found that their
access to the Federation of American Scientists web site had been
blocked on grounds that it contained objectionable
"political/religious material" (SN, 10/07/04).
But within a day, the block was lifted in response to employee
complaints.
"Fas.org is now open and available to be accessed," Hill AFB network
security wrote.
"They were very helpful and it appears they resolved the issue
promptly," one such employee wrote to Secrecy News.
A UPI story on the matter didn't hurt either. See "Military Base
Blocks Anti-Secrecy Website," United Press International, October
7:
http://washingtontimes.com/upi-breaking/20041007-053853-8375r.htm
_______________________________________________
Secrecy News is written by Steven Aftergood and published by the
Federation of American Scientists.
To SUBSCRIBE to Secrecy News, send email to
[log in to unmask]
with "subscribe" in the body of the message.
To UNSUBSCRIBE, send a blank email message to
[log in to unmask]
OR email your request to [log in to unmask]
Secrecy News is archived at:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/news/secrecy/index.html
Secrecy News has an RSS feed at:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/news/secrecy/index.rss
_______________________
Steven Aftergood
Project on Government Secrecy
Federation of American Scientists
web: www.fas.org/sgp/index.html
email: [log in to unmask]
voice: (202) 454-4691
|
