[Intelforum] Secrecy News -- 06/08/09

Mon Jun 8 08:55:49 EDT 2009

Format Note:  If you cannot easily read the text below, or you prefer to
receive Secrecy News in another format, please reply to this email to let
us know.

SECRECY NEWS
from the FAS Project on Government Secrecy
Volume 2009, Issue No. 50
June 8, 2009

Secrecy News Blog:  http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/

**      SOMETHING "VERY WRONG" IN STATE DEPT HISTORY OFFICE
**      HOMELAND SECURITY INTEL: OPERATIONS AND OVERSIGHT
**      AFGHAN ELECTIONS: CANDIDATES AND POWERBROKERS
**      IDENTITY THEFT, AND MORE FROM CRS
**      PETER B. VERSUS THE CIA

SOMETHING "VERY WRONG" IN STATE DEPT HISTORY OFFICE

An Inspector General review of the State Department Office of the
Historian (HO) last month confirmed that there were serious management
defects in the Office and recommended reassignment of its Director as well
as other changes.

The Office of the Historian is responsible for production of the Foreign
Relations of the United States (FRUS) series, which is the official
documentary history of U.S. foreign policy and one of the most important
vehicles for declassification of historical records.  

Allegations of mismanagement and declining performance had surrounded the
Office for years until the Chairman of the State Department Historical
Advisory Committee, Prof. Wm. Roger Louis, resigned last December to
dramatize his concerns that the FRUS series was "at risk." (See "State
Dept: Crisis in the 'Foreign Relations' Series," Secrecy News, December
11, 2008).

"In varying degrees, nearly 75 percent of the present HO employees
interviewed ... were critical of the way the office is run," the IG
reported.  "They alleged favoritism, cronyism, a lack of transparency,
lack of interest in the FRUS, disparagement of the staff, suspicion, an
absence of leadership, and, in general, the creation of an unhappy
workplace."

With plummeting employee morale and departures of experienced staff
historians, "something in HO is very wrong," the Inspector General
concluded.  "HO is suffering from, and has for some time been handicapped
by, serious mismanagement for which the director must be held
accountable.... Despite any mitigating factors that may exist in favor of
the director, this situation cannot be allowed to continue."

"It is a devastating indictment," said Prof. Warren Kimball, a Rutgers
historian who chaired an initial review of the situation earlier this
year.  "Clearly the IG inspectors listened to what we had to say.  It does
give one some faith in the State Department's internal monitoring system --
slow as it is."

The IG recommended reassignment of the Director, Dr. Marc Susser, to
another Department position, and he was in fact reassigned last month.  On
May 27, the State Department appointed Ambassador John Campbell to serve as
the new Acting Director of the Office of the Historian.  (See "After
Critical Report, State Dept.'s Historian is Reassigned" by Walter Pincus,
Washington Post, June 8, 2009.)

See "Management Review of the Office of the Historian," State Department
Office of Inspector General, May 2009:

	http://www.fas.org/sgp/advisory/state/ig-review.pdf

The IG review also underscored the difficulties facing the FRUS series,
which is supposed to present a "thorough, accurate, and reliable"
documentary account of U.S. foreign policy within 30 years of the events
described.  In the past, the foreign policy of the Eisenhower
Administration was covered in 66 volumes of FRUS.  Despite a richer and
more complex record, the Nixon-Ford years were allocated only 57 volumes. 
For the Reagan Administration, which has a fuller record still, only 38
FRUS volumes are planned.

Under present circumstances, the task of the FRUS series, although
mandated by law, is "almost unachievable," the IG said.

HOMELAND SECURITY INTEL: OPERATIONS AND OVERSIGHT

The Department of Homeland Security's intelligence mission is to collect,
analyze and disseminate intelligence to reduce the threat of domestic
terrorism.  The somewhat complex structure of DHS intelligence, at DHS
headquarters and in six operational components, is illuminated in a new
report from the Congressional Research Service.

The new report usefully examines how DHS intelligence is organized to
address threat warnings, border security, critical infrastructure
protection, and information sharing.  It also considers congressional
oversight of DHS intelligence.  See "The Department of Homeland Security
Intelligence Enterprise: Operational Overview and Oversight Challenges for
Congress," May 27, 2009:

	http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/homesec/R40602.pdf

Though it is far from the most urgent or important question facing
homeland security intelligence, Congress is pulling out all the stops to
investigate the origin of a controversial, inartfully worded DHS
intelligence memo on "Rightwing Extremism."  Last week, the House Homeland
Security Committee approved a formal resolution of inquiry to demand
documents related to the preparation of that memo.  See:

	http://www.fas.org/irp/congress/2009_rpt/roi-rightwing.html

AFGHAN ELECTIONS: CANDIDATES AND POWERBROKERS

The leading presidential candidates in Afghanistan's upcoming August 20
election are briefly profiled in a chart prepared by the DNI Open Source
Center.  See "Afghan Presidential Election: Potential Candidates and
Powerbrokers," May 4, 2009:

	http://www.fas.org/irp/dni/osc/afghan-election.pdf

Further background on elections in the region may be found in "Middle East
Elections 2009: Lebanon, Iran, Afghanistan, and Iraq," Congressional
Research Service, May 18, 2009:

	http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/mideast/R40586.pdf

(Elections in Lebanon took place on June 7.)

IDENTITY THEFT, AND MORE FROM CRS

Noteworthy new reports from the Congressional Research Service obtained by
Secrecy News include the following.

"Mexico's Drug-Related Violence," May 27, 2009:

	http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/row/R40582.pdf

"The 2009 Influenza A(H1N1) 'Swine Flu' Outbreak: U.S. Responses to Global
Human Cases," May 26, 2009:

	http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R40588.pdf

"The Cost of Iraq, Afghanistan, and Other Global War on Terror Operations
Since 9/11," updated May 15, 2009:

	http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/natsec/RL33110.pdf

"USAID's Office of Transition Initiatives After 15 Years: Issues for
Congress," May 27, 2009:

	http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/row/R40600.pdf

"Identity Theft: Trends and Issues," May 27, 2009:

	http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R40599.pdf

PETER B. VERSUS THE CIA

Employment disputes are all too common inside and outside of government,
including at the CIA.  In one pending lawsuit, a former CIA employee
claimed that the Agency improperly terminated his employment and
communicated negative information about him to another prospective
employer, thereby violating his rights.

In this case, however, the name of the aggrieved employee is a national
security secret.

"As plaintiff's true name is classified, he has been permitted to file as
'Peter B.'," according to a recent court ruling, in which Judge Richard W.
Roberts rejected the CIA's motion to dismiss the case.  "Peter B's"
attorney, Mark S. Zaid, whose name is not classified, welcomed the June 1
opinion.

_______________________________________________
Secrecy News is written by Steven Aftergood and published by the
Federation of American Scientists.

The Secrecy News Blog is at:
     http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/

To SUBSCRIBE to Secrecy News, go to:
     http://www.fas.org/sgp/news/secrecy/subscribe.html

To UNSUBSCRIBE, go to
     http://www.fas.org/sgp/news/secrecy/unsubscribe.html

OR email your request to saftergood at fas.org

Secrecy News is archived at:
     http://www.fas.org/sgp/news/secrecy/index.html

Support the FAS Project on Government Secrecy with a donation:
     http://www.fas.org/member/member_contribute.html

_______________________
Steven Aftergood
Project on Government Secrecy
Federation of American Scientists
web:    www.fas.org/sgp/index.html
email:  saftergood at fas.org
voice:  (202) 454-4691