---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Thu, 11 Jan 2001 12:14:45 -0500
From: Steven Aftergood <saftergood@igc.org>
To: secrecy_news@fas.org
Subject: Secrecy News -- 01/11/01
SECRECY NEWS
from the FAS Project on Government Secrecy
January 11, 2001
** DOE INITIATES EMAIL MONITORING AT NUCLEAR LABS
** CIA "AWARDS" PFIAB MEMBERS
** REPORTS GALORE
DOE INITIATES EMAIL MONITORING AT NUCLEAR LABS
The Department of Energy announced this week that it will begin monitoring
email communications into and out of U.S. national laboratories, including
Los Alamos, Sandia, Livermore and Pacific Northwest National Labs.
"The purpose of the pilot program is to test whether e-mail monitoring is
an effective device to address threats to DOE assets by foreign
governments, groups, or persons that attempt to gather classified and other
protected information through e-mail communications with DOE and contractor
personnel," according to a DOE Notice issued on January 8.
"Actual review of e-mail content by a CI [counterintelligence] e-mail
analyst will be permitted only where there is evidence of possible CI
concern," according to DOE. However, any email which is directed to, or
originates from, a foreign source is considered to be "of possible CI concern."
The new DOE Notice is posted here:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/news/2001/01/doe010801.html
CIA "AWARDS" PFIAB MEMBERS
In an act that tends to compromise the already tenuous quality of
intelligence oversight, the Director of Central Intelligence has presented
awards to two members of the President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory
Board (PFIAB) -- which has oversight responsibility over the intelligence
community.
DCI George J. Tenet "presented the National Intelligence Distinguished
Service Medal--the highest award bestowed by the U.S. Intelligence
Community--to both Sen. Warren B. Rudman and renowned physicist Sidney D.
Drell in recognition of their decades of distinguished service to the
nation," according to a CIA press release.
Rudman and Drell are indeed distinguished public servants. Among the
contributions not noted by DCI Tenet, Senator Rudman has argued for annual
disclosure of each year's total intelligence budget and the next year's
total budget request. (In contrast, demented CIA officials claim that even
50 year old budget totals could damage U.S. national security today.) Dr.
Drell was among the earliest and most prominent figures in the scientific
community to repudiate the hyperbolic claims concerning the consequences of
Wen Ho Lee's actions in downloading nuclear weapons secrets.
Neither Rudman nor Drell is likely to sell his soul for a measly
award. And yet the bestowal -- and acceptance -- of such awards is a
transaction that often entails subtle coercive effects, generating
subconscious feelings of identification and obligation towards the
bestower. It should not have happened as long as either individual
continues to serve in an oversight capacity.
The new award, which signifies the intimate relationship between the
parties, means that it is more unlikely than ever that PFIAB will fully
meet its oversight responsibilities under Executive Order 12863.
So, for example, one should not look to PFIAB to deal with CIA's
unconstitutional budget practices; with its routine violation of the
executive order on classification policy; or with its violations of laws
such as the Freedom of Information Act. That kind of oversight will have
to come from somewhere else.
The CIA announcement of the award is posted here:
http://www.fas.org/irp/news/2001/01/cia-award-010901.html
The 1993 Executive Order 12863 defining PFIAB's responsibilities is posted
here:
http://www.fas.org/irp/offdocs/eo12863.htm
REPORTS GALORE
A torrent of official reports on intelligence and national security policy
has come out this week. More are on the way. They include the following:
The January 9 Report of the Independent Commission on the National Imagery
and Mapping Agency (NIMA):
http://www.fas.org/irp/agency/nima/commission/toc.htm
The January 9 Report of the DoD Commission on the October 2000 attack on
the U.S.S. Cole:
http://www.fas.org/irp/threat/cole.html
A January 10 Defense Department report on proliferation of weapons of mass
destruction entitled: "Proliferation: Threat and Response - 2001" (this is
a very large -- 5MB --PDF file):
http://www.fas.org/irp/threat/prolif00.pdf
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___________________
Steven Aftergood
Project on Government Secrecy
Federation of American Scientists
http://www.fas.org/sgp/index.html
Email: saftergood@igc.org
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Received on Sat Jan 13 02:04 CST 2001