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SECRECY NEWS
from the FAS Project on Government Secrecy
October 29, 2001
** BUSH REVIEW OF SECRECY POLICY BEGINS
** STATUS OF DOD DECLASSIFICATION REPORTED
BUSH REVIEW OF SECRECY POLICY BEGINS
The Bush Administration has established an interagency group to prepare
changes to the Clinton Administration's 1995 executive order 12958 which
governs national security classification and declassification policy.
The Executive Order Drafting Subcommittee held its first meeting on
August 9. Since then, eight member agencies have proposed changes to 24
of the 34 sections in the Clinton Order, according to a report in an
internal Energy Department newsletter.
"As can be expected, there were more proposed changes to Section 3.4,
Automatic Declassification, than to any other section," the newsletter
noted. That section dictates that most classified records be
automatically declassified when they become 25 years old.
"There is a general recognition that there need to be some changes
made," said Laura L.S. Kimberly, associate director for policy at the
Information Security Oversight Office and chair of the new E.O. Drafting
Subcommittee.
But "we're in the very, very beginning stages of this," said Ms.
Kimberly. She indicated that there would be an opportunity for public
comment on any substantial changes that are ultimately proposed.
"There's fewer changes than you might have thought," an official from
another agency told Secrecy News. "I don't think it's a 180 degree
change; it's more of a refinement. I think the things you care most
about will remain intact."
The official also offered an explanation for why the proposed changes,
which he declined to describe, are less far-reaching than they might
have been.
"A lot of people who would have resisted or opposed declassification in
the past are now running their own little declassification empires [as a
result of the Clinton order]," he said. "And they are in no hurry to
dismantle them."
The text of the news item about the pending revisions to the executive
order from the Energy Department newsletter Communique is posted here:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/othergov/doe/eorev.html
STATUS OF DOD DECLASSIFICATION REPORTED
Declassification of historically valuable records in the Department of
Defense is proceeding in an orderly fashion, according to a recent
report to Congress.
While most defense agencies were on track to complete the review of 25
year old records prior to automatic declassification, extensions were
said to be required for the Defense Threat Reduction Agency and the
Joint Forces Command.
Politically, the most significant feature of the report is that it does
not solicit congressional intervention in the declassification process
or request legislative relief from existing requirements. Accordingly,
the FY 2002 Defense Authorization Act is silent on declassification
policy for the first time in several years.
The February 2001 report to Congress was obtained last week under the
Freedom of Information Act. It is posted here:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/othergov/doddeclass.html
******************************
Secrecy News is written by Steven Aftergood and published by the
Federation of American Scientists.
Secrecy News is archived at:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/news/secrecy/index.html
_______________________
Steven Aftergood
Project on Government Secrecy
Federation of American Scientists
web: http://www.fas.org/sgp/index.html
email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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