Secrecy News -- 04/15/04 (IF)

[Aftergood, Steven]

SECRECY NEWS
from the FAS Project on Government Secrecy
Volume 2004, Issue No. 37
April 15, 2004


**	TENET CALLS FOR PUBLIC DEBATE ON INTELLIGENCE BUDGET
**	DOD BLOCKS SECURITY CLEARANCE FOR IRANIAN-AMERICAN
**	1995 GORELICK MEMO DECLASSIFIED
**	SENSITIVE SECURITY INFORMATION
**	CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE INFORMATION CONFERENCE
**	THE TEN MOST WANTED DOCUMENTS OF 2004


TENET CALLS FOR PUBLIC DEBATE ON INTELLIGENCE BUDGET

Director of Central Intelligence George J. Tenet said it will
be necessary to conduct a public debate on intelligence
spending in order to overcome erratic budgeting practices
and to build public support for intelligence.

"This, I think, is a debate that has to be joined quite
publicly," Tenet told the 9-11 Commission on April 14.

Up to now, Tenet has not been an advocate of public debate on
such matters.  It has long been his Agency's position that
not even a single total intelligence spending figure can be
routinely declassified.

Tenet himself swore under oath last year that public
disclosure of the 2002 intelligence budget total would pose
an unacceptable threat to national security and would
jeopardize intelligence methods.

But in retrospect, it is clear that such budget secrecy has
not served the interests of U.S. intelligence.  Not only has
secrecy impaired public awareness of the role of
intelligence, it has left intelligence funds vulnerable to
diversion into competing military programs.

"Let's get budgeting on a two- or three-year cycle," Tenet
urged, responding to comments from 9-11 Commissioner John F.
Lehman.  "Let's allow us to build programs in depth.  Let's
really look at basic expenditures over the course of time.
Let's put the metrics in place.  But I'll tell you, you
can't build this community in fits and starts.  It won't
happen and the country will suffer.  And you know, this, I
think, is a debate that has to be joined quite publicly."

"Everybody talks about military capability or law enforcement
capability.  Well, we sit behind the green door.  And for
the bang for the buck, the American taxpayer gets a hell of
a lot for what we give them."

"And you know, we ought to find a way to talk to the American
people about it as well, because I think they'd be
supportive," Tenet said.

But so far, "finding a way to talk to the American people"
about the comparative benefits of intelligence spending does
not include any reference to the amount of funds spent.

DCI Tenet declared under penalty of perjury that disclosing a
single total budget number could damage national security
and compromise intelligence methods in a March 2003
declaration:

      http://www.fas.org/sgp/foia/2002/tenet.html

CIA classification officials, who seem to have utterly lost
their bearings, even claim that 50 year old intelligence
budget figures must remain classified.  The subject is in
litigation.


DOD BLOCKS SECURITY CLEARANCE FOR IRANIAN-AMERICAN

A naturalized American citizen who was born in Iran has been
improperly denied a security clearance by the Department of
Defense because of his country of origin, a lawsuit filed in
federal court yesterday alleged.

The plaintiff, Mohsen Nikpour, is an electrical engineer
whose employer has classified contracts with the Defense
Department.

After the Pentagon initially raised questions about the
propriety of clearing Nikpour, the case was turned over to
an administrative judge, who ruled in favor of granting a
clearance.

That judge determined last year that "In light of all the
circumstances presented by the record in this case, it is
clearly consistent with the national interest to grant
applicant's request for a security clearance."

But in the face of continued Pentagon resistance, the
clearance was later denied on appeal.

"There appears to be a blanket policy of denying a security
clearance to anyone who has family living in Iran," said
attorney Sheldon I. Cohen, who represents Mr. Nikpour.

The lawsuit, filed in the Eastern District of Virginia on
April 14, asks the court to override the Pentagon and grant
the clearance.  See:

    http://www.fas.org/sgp/news/2004/04/nikpour041404.pdf

A February 2, 2004, story in Business Week magazine put the
underlying issue this way:  "If You Didn't Come Over On The
Mayflower, You Can't Get A Clearance:  In a rush to tighten
security, the U.S. risks losing its high-tech edge in
defense."


1995 GORELICK MEMO DECLASSIFIED

Like classification, declassification can sometimes be driven
by political factors more than by national security
considerations.

In the latest example, the Department of Justice
spontaneously declassified a secret 1995 memorandum last
weekend.  The memo became public just in time for Attorney
General Ashcroft to use it to challenge the impartiality of
its author, then-Deputy Attorney General Jamie S. Gorelick,
who is now a member of the 9-11 Commission.

The newly declassified memo, entitled "Instructions on
Separation of Certain Foreign Counterintelligence and
Criminal Investigations," is available here:

   http://www.fas.org/irp/agency/doj/1995_gorelick_memo.pdf


SENSITIVE SECURITY INFORMATION

A relatively new part of the growing thicket of official
controls on unclassified information is the category known
as "sensitive security information," which refers to
restricted information involving transportation security.

The application of "sensitive security information" controls
to U.S. Coast Guard information is addressed in this March
26 Coast Guard Q and A (thanks to RT):

      http://www.fas.org/sgp/othergov/dod/uscg_ssi.pdf


CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE INFORMATION CONFERENCE

American University will host a conference May 14-16 on the
impact and implications of controls on "critical
infrastructure information."

"Newly implemented Homeland Security regulations place
significant new restrictions on Critical Infrastructure
Information, including basic information about cities,
environmental hazards, transportation and energy," according
to the conference announcement.

"Unanswered questions surround what regulations concerning
critical infrastructure actually are in effect, how they are
enforced and how to protect the public's right to know
during crises."

For further information see:

      http://american.edu/radiowave/CII_splash.htm


THE TEN MOST WANTED DOCUMENTS OF 2004

OpenTheGovernment.org, a new coalition that "seeks to advance
the public's right to know and to reduce secrecy in
government," today released its first annual survey of "The
Ten Most Wanted Documents."

The survey highlights documents of particular public interest
that have nevertheless been withheld from public access.

Today's release was the inaugural event of
OpenTheGovernment.org, which seeks to galvanize public
support for open, accountable government.

"We are witnessing a broad expansion of government secrecy
that runs counter to our core democratic values," said Rick
Blum, coordinator of the new coalition. "We must reverse
this course so the public can access the information it
needs to hold our government accountable, make our families
safer, and generally strengthen democracy."

A report on "the ten most wanted documents" and other
information on the new coalition are now available here:

      http://openthegovernment.org/


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_______________________
Steven Aftergood
Project on Government Secrecy
Federation of American Scientists
web:    www.fas.org/sgp/index.html
email:  saftergood at fas.org
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