FAS | Intelligence | News | 2008 ||||

Newer News: January 2009

December 2008 Intelligence News

• Sen. Leahy: In Final Days, Bush Administration Continues To Stonewall, news release, December 12. "Even in the final days of the Bush administration, the Department of Justice continues to stonewall congressional subpoenas for documents from the Office of Legal Counsel (OLC), according to the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee."
• Statement of Sen. Levin on SASC Report on Treatment of Detainees in U.S. Custody, news release, December 11. "The abuse of detainees in U.S. custody compromised our moral authority and damaged both our ability to attract allies to our side in the fight against terrorism and to win the support of people around the world for that effort."
• Feingold Calls on President-Elect to Take "Concrete Steps" to Restore the Rule of Law, news release, December 10. "In a letter to the President-elect, Feingold offered recommendations for action in four key areas -- the separation of powers, excessive government secrecy, detention and interrogation policy, and domestic surveillance and privacy."
• Mumbai Terrorists Relied on New Technology for Attacks by Jeremy Kahn, New York Times, December 9. "The terrorists who struck this city last month stunned authorities not only with their use of sophisticated weaponry but also with their comfort with modern technology."
• Report: Administration has mixed record on clearances by Alice Lipowicz, Federal Computer Week, December 8. "The Bush administration has improved the efficiency of managing security clearances, but the process remains cumbersome, according to a new report from chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence."
• A scientist allegedly took home a giraffe's worth of classified documents. Should he get four years in prison? by Josh Gerstein, December 5. "Officials such as Alberto Gonzales and John Deutch who mishandled classified information escaped without jail time for their misdeeds. So why, then, is the Justice Department throwing the book at the lowly Boeing engineer by asking for a whopping four-year prison term?"