National Security Archive Update, May 23, 2001 *The Pentagon's Spies: Documents Detail Histories of Once Secret Spy Units* http://www.nsarchive.org/NSAEBB/NSAEBB46 Today, the National Security Archive released a collection of declassified documents concerning the creation, evolution and (in some cases) the abolition of human intelligence (HUMINT) programs run by the Department of Defense and the military services. The documents - edited by Jeffrey T. Richelson - also detail the product of their activities, and the controversies that have occurred over the last several decades. Throughout the Cold War and beyond, the United States has conducted a variety of military HUMINT operations carried out by the military services and the Department of Defense. Each of the three major military services established and disestablished organizations to recruit spies and debrief individuals of interest in order to gather information about foreign weapons systems, doctrine, and other matters of interest to military officials. The documents released today include: * Documents on the history of the Navy's clandestine intelligence unit, the Naval Field Operations Support Group (NFOSG), also known as Task Force 157. * Documents on the establishment and activities of the Army Intelligence Support Activity (ISA), a covert group established in the wake of the Iranian hostage crisis to provide HUMINT support for a possible second rescue attempt, later criticized as "uncoordinated and uncontrolled." * HUMINT reports from the Army's more traditional Intelligence and Security Command (INSCOM) on issues such as guerrilla use of stinger missiles against Soviet forces in Afghanistan, and the 1995 detention of two U.S. military attaches charged with spying on Chinese military facilities in Guangzhou. * Documents on the creation of the Defense HUMINT Service (DHS) from 1993-95, a plan that consolidated the human intelligence programs of the military services into one organization. The documents are available at the following URL: http://www.nsarchive.org/NSAEBB/NSAEBB46 _______________________________________________ THE NATIONAL SECURITY ARCHIVE is an independent non-governmental research institute and library located at The George Washington University in Washington, D.C. The Archive collects and publishes declassified documents acquired through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). A tax-exempt public charity, the Archive receives no U.S. government funding; its budget is supported by publication royalties and donations from foundations and individuals. ___________________________________________________________________ PRIVACY NOTICE The National Security Archive does not and will never share the names or e-mail addresses of its subscribers with any other organization. Once a year, we will write you and ask for your financial support. We may also ask you for your ideas for Freedom of Information requests, documentation projects, or other issues that the Archive should take on. We would welcome your input, and any information you care to share with us about your special interests. But we do not sell or rent any information about subscribers to any other party. ___________________________________________________________________ TO UNSUBSCRIBE FROM THE LIST You may leave the list at any time by sending a "SIGNOFF NSARCHIVE" command to <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>. You can also unsubscribe from the list anytime by using the following link: <http://hermes.circ.gwu.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=nsarchive&A=1>
