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Newer News: January 2008

December 2007 Intelligence News

• State reaps contract windfall by David Nitkin, Baltimore Sun, December 27. "Intelligence contracting has increased dramatically in recent years. So it's ironic, and disappointing, that public accountability for such contracts is now declining," said Steven Aftergood, director of the Federation of American Scientists' Project on Government Secrecy.
• Surprise, Surprise, Government Inc. by Robert O'Harrow, Washington Post, December 19. "It turns out that several intelligence agencies are going to withhold unclassified information about their arrangements with government contractors from a new government database called USAspending.gov. The reason, according to a story by Steven Aftergood at Secrecy News: 'operational security issues'."
• Opting Out of Contract Database by Tom Shoop, Government Executive FedBlog, December 19. "Last week the Office of Management and Budget crowed about meeting a deadline to create a publicly accessible Web site to provide data on federal contracts, grants, and loans. The fine print of that announcement noted that the data would cover about 90 percent of federal spending. So what's in the other 10 percent? That's what we're starting to learn."
• Unclassified intel contracting data shielded from public scrutiny by Elise Castelli, Federal Times, December 19. "The waiver, which was first reported by the Federation of American Scientists blog, Secrecy News, applies only to fiscal 2007 and 2008 contracting data. Previous years' contracting data for those agencies will still be available online."
• White House Statement of Administration Policy on Proposed Amendments to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, December 17. "If the Judiciary Committee's substitute amendment is part of a bill that is presented to the President, the Director of National Intelligence, the Attorney General, and the President's other senior advisors will recommend that he veto the bill."
• Interrogations and Recordings: Relevant 9/11 Commission Requests and CIA Responses, memorandum from Philip Zelikow to Tom Kean and Lee Hamilton, December 13. "I have reviewed Commission records relevant to ongoing inquiries into alleged CIA recording of interrogations."
• White House Statement of Administration Policy on FY2008 Intelligence Authorization Act Conference Report, December 11. "If this bill were to pass the House and the Senate and be presented to the President for signature, the President's senior advisors would recommend that he veto the bill."
• Oliver Stone's presence in Iran; opportunity or threat, Keyhan (Iran), December 3. "The probable presence of Oliver Stone--Hollywood's famous director--in Iran and his request for making a documentary, the topic of which is Dr Ahmadinejhad, our country's president, has amazed and worried many friends of Islamic Iran's honour."
• Secrets Case Eyes Jurors' Religion by Josh Gerstein, New York Sun, December 4. "As two pro-Israel lobbyists near trial on charges of trafficking in classified information, a federal judge is preparing to grapple with some thorny questions, such as what to ask potential jurors about their religion."
• U.S. Iran report is no "slam dunk" by Randall Mikkelsen, Reuters, December 4. "U.S. intelligence agencies have showed independence from the Bush administration with a sceptical assessment of Iran's nuclear capabilities that is far from the 'slam dunk' case against Iraq before the war."
• DDNI Statement on Release of the National Intelligence Estimate on Iran, December 3. "The Office of the Director of National Intelligence, National Intelligence Council prepared a National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) on Iran's nuclear program titled, Iran: Nuclear Intentions and Capabilities. NIEs are generated to help U.S. civilian and military decision-makers develop policies to protect national security interests."