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Newer News: October 2009

September 2009 Intelligence News

• Intelligence Oversight Bill Faces Obstacles by Ellen Nakashima, Washington Post, September 18. "The Senate has approved intelligence oversight legislation, deferring discussion of rules for interrogation and detention of terrorism suspects that have derailed previous proposals."
• Secretive spending on U.S. intelligence disclosed by Adam Entous, Reuters, September 15. "Intelligence activities across the U.S. government and military cost a total of $75 billion a year, the nation's top intelligence official disclosed on Tuesday, revealing publicly for the first time an overall number long shrouded in secrecy."
• Intelligence Chief Reveals Obscure Budget Figure by Spencer Ackerman, Washington Independent, September 15. "To add some clarity and context to Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair’s disclosure this morning that the U.S. intelligence budget is $75 billion, it’s helpful to distinguish between two budget lines: the national intelligence program and the military intelligence program."
• Media Conference Call with the DNI on the National Intelligence Strategy, September 15. "The reason we are publishing an unclassified version is we really think the American people deserve to know about their intelligence enterprise and understand more of what we’re doing to protect the country and to help the government do its job."
• 2009 National Intelligence Strategy - Frequently Asked Questions, news release, September 15. "How did the Director of National Intelligence develop the National Intelligence Strategy (NIS)? What role did the leaders of the Intelligence Community components play?"
• DNI Unveils 2009 National Intelligence Strategy, news release, September 15. "The Director of National Intelligence Dennis C. Blair today unveiled the 2009 National Intelligence Strategy - the blueprint that will drive the priorities for the nation’s 16 intelligence agencies over the next 4 years."
• Justice Dept on Potential Changes to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, letter to Sen. Leahy, September 14. "In this letter, we provide our recommendations for each provision, along with a summary of the supporting facts and rationale.... We also are aware that Members of Congress may propose modifications to provide additional protection for the privacy of law abiding Americans."
• Bush-Era Official's Appointment to Declassification Panel Draws Fire by Ellen Nakashima, Washington Post, September 11. "The newest member of a panel that advises the president on declassification policy is a former top intelligence official who oversaw some of the Bush administration's most controversial counterterrorism programs."
• Pakistani Scientist Cites Help to Iran by R. Jeffrey Smith, Washington Post, September 9. "A translation of his remarks -- describing covert purchases by Iran of equipment through Pakistan's 'reliable' suppliers in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates -- was prepared by the Director of National Intelligence's Open Source Center and posted Tuesday on Secrecy News, a blog of the Federation of American Scientists."
• Anti-secrecy groups unhappy with Obama by Eli Lake, Washington Times, September 9. "Advocates for more open government who had hoped that the Obama administration would be less secretive than its predecessor say it is continuing to use executive privilege to block lawsuits over allegations of past abuses in the fight against terrorism."
• Complaint about Peruvian spy no longer `secret' by Juan Tamayo, Miami Herald, September 9. "A CIA whistle-blower complained in 2001 that the agency may have broken U.S. laws by failing to pursue allegations that Peruvian spy master Vladimiro Montesinos trafficked in drugs and laundered money, according to the complaint."
• Taliban's Tank-Killing Bombs Came from U.S., Not Iran by Gareth Porter, IPS News, September 3. "In support of the official U.S. assertion that Iran is arming its sworn enemy, the Taliban, the Director of National Intelligence has cited a statement by a Taliban commander last year attributing military success against NATO forces to Iranian military assistance. But the Taliban commander's claim is contradicted by evidence from the U.S. Defence Department, Canadian forces in Afghanistan and the Taliban itself."
• Contractors Outnumber U.S. Troops in Afghanistan by James Glanz, New York Times, September 2. "Civilian contractors working for the Pentagon in Afghanistan not only outnumber the uniformed troops, according to a report by a Congressional research group, but also form the highest ratio of contractors to military personnel recorded in any war in the history of the United States."
• Report Details Misbehavior by Kabul Embassy Guards by Ann Scott Tyson, Washington Post, September 2. "A new Congressional Research Service report said that as of March, the Defense Department had more contract personnel than troops in Afghanistan. "
• US use of private contractors in war hits record high by Peter Grier, Christian Science Monitor, September 1. "In Afghanistan, the US military is relying on private contractors to an extent unprecedented in American history."

FAS | Intelligence | News | 2009 |||| Search | Join FAS