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Newer News: October 2007

September 2007 Intelligence News

• 'Classified' Iraq Corruption Report Posted Online by Justin Rood, ABC News The Blotter, September 27. "Iraqi officials' malfeasance undermines the legitimacy of the Iraqi government and hamstrings its anti-corruption efforts, according to the version of the State Department report posted by the Federation of American Scientists, the group which made the document public."
• Analysis: New defense intelligence policy by Shaun Waterman, United Press International, September 28. "A new Pentagon policy directive for U.S. military intelligence mandates information-sharing with U.S. domestic agencies and foreign partners and recognizes the leading role of the new director of national intelligence."
• All in the Telling by Mark Matthews, Maryland Daily Record, September 17. "Rosen and Weissman were the first private citizens to be prosecuted for oral transmission of 'national defense information,' arousing concern among press-freedom advocates and watchdog groups over new legal restrictions on news gathering and sharing of information with government contacts."
• ODNI Civil Liberties Officer Views the Protect America Act, letter to Congress from Alexander Joel, September 17. "I appreciate this opportunity to describe the civil liberties and privacy protections that my office is charged with overseeing in the implementation of the Protect America Act of 2007."
• Letter from Asst AG Kenneth L. Weinstein on the Protect America Act (pdf), letter to HPSCI chair Rep. Silvestre Reyes, September 14. "While we understand the civil liberties concerns underlying [your] various questions, there are several reasons why this legislation does not give rise to these concerns.... we commit that we will not use the statute to undertake intelligence activities that extend beyond the clear purpose of the statute."
• Remarks of Assistant Attorney General Kenneth L. Wainstein on FISA Modernization at a Georgetown University Law Center conference, September 10. "There is no question that we should have to get court orders when we want to collect domestic communications or target individuals within the U.S. The question for today is whether we should have to do so when we are targeting surveillance against a person who is outside the United States, where constitutional and privacy protections do not apply."
• Terrorism Watch List is Faulted for Errors by Ellen Nakashima, Washington Post, September 7. "The government's master watch list of known or suspected terrorists continues to be marred by errors and inconsistencies that can obstruct the capture of terrorists or cause innocent people to be detained by U.S. authorities, the Justice Department's inspector general said yesterday."
• Dominican Republic ratifies the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, CTBTO news release, September 5. "The Dominican Republic ratified the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) on 4 September 2007, bringing the total number of Treaty ratifications to 140."