[Intelforum] Secrecy News -- 04/29/10

Thu Apr 29 11:33:46 EDT 2010

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 2010, Issue No. 34
April 29, 2010

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

**      RISE IN FRATRICIDE SEEN IN THE WAR ON TERROR
**      THE WAR POWERS RESOLUTION, AND MORE FROM CRS
**      SECURITY CLEARANCE MODERNIZATION, AND MORE HEARINGS
**      GERMAN SUBS OFF THE ATLANTIC COAST (1920)

RISE IN FRATRICIDE SEEN IN THE WAR ON TERROR

Incidents of fratricide in the U.S. war on terrorism increased in recent
years, according to a new report from the U.S. Army.

"Fratricide" -- the unintended killing or injury of friendly forces -- "is
a harsh reality during combat operations," the study states.  "Over the
course of 2004-2007, the number of fratricide incidents increased, and
experts speculate this is due to the high operational tempo and the
reliance on technology during the current war."

According to official data, "there were 55 U.S. Army fratricide incidents
from 11 September 2001 to 30 March 2008.  Forty of these were Class A
accidents" -- involving damage costs of $2 million or more and/or
destruction of an Army aircraft, missile or spacecraft and/or fatality or
permanent total disability -- "resulting in the deaths of 30 U.S. Army
personnel."

Human error is a primary causal factor in many fratricide incidents, the
study indicated, and "therefore, human error must be considered in the
design and development of fratricide countermeasures, including both
technical and human-centric solutions... Improved supervision and
leadership may have the greatest potential to reduce U.S. fratricide
incidents."

See "An Analysis of U.S. Army Fratricide Incidents during the Global War
on Terror (11 September 2001 to 31 March 2008)" by Catherine M. Webb and
Kate J. Hewett, U.S. Army Aeromedical Research Laboratory, March 2010:

	http://www.fas.org/man/eprint/fratricide.pdf

THE WAR POWERS RESOLUTION, AND MORE FROM CRS

Although the U.S. Constitution assigned the power to declare war to
Congress, the use of armed forces has often been initiated by the
President without congressional authorization.  The enactment of the War
Powers Resolution in 1973 was an attempt by Congress to reassert its
constitutional role and to regulate military action by the executive
branch.  For the most part, it failed to accomplish those goals.

"The main purpose of the Resolution was to establish procedures for both
branches to share in decisions that might get the United States involved
in war," a new report from the Congressional Research Service (CRS)
observes. "The drafters sought to circumscribe the President's authority
to use armed forces abroad in hostilities or potential hostilities without
a declaration of war or other congressional authorization, yet provide
enough flexibility to permit him to respond to attack or other
emergencies."

"But the record of the War Powers Resolution since its enactment has been
mixed, and after 30 years it remains controversial," the CRS report said.

The new report documents that mixed record, listing all of the instances
from 1973 to December 2009 in which Presidents submitted reports to
Congress under the Resolution, as well as instances of the use of U.S.
armed forces that were not reported.  See "The War Powers Resolution:
After Thirty-Six Years," April 22, 2010:

	http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/natsec/R41199.pdf

For reasons that defy easy comprehension, Congress does not believe that
CRS reports should be made readily available to members of the public, so
identifying and acquiring reports of interest takes a bit of extra effort.
 Noteworthy new CRS reports obtained by Secrecy News include the
following.

"Monitoring and Verification in Arms Control," April 21, 2010:

	http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/nuke/R41201.pdf

"Emergency Communications: Broadband and the Future of 911," April 27,
2010:

	http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/homesec/R41208.pdf

"Unauthorized Aliens in the United States," April 27, 2010:

	http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/homesec/R41207.pdf

"Bangladesh: Political and Strategic Developments and U.S. Interests,"
April 1, 2010:

	http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/row/R41194.pdf

"Guinea's New Transitional Government: Emerging Issues for U.S. Policy,"
April 23, 2010:

	http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/row/R41200.pdf

SECURITY CLEARANCE MODERNIZATION, AND MORE HEARINGS

The Department of Defense denied security clearances to 8,065 individuals
in 2008, according to a recent congressional hearing volume.  "These
numbers represent a small percentage of the total number of security
clearance investigations.  The vast majority of investigations are
adjudicated favorably."

See "Security Clearance Reform: Moving Forward on Modernization," Senate
Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, September 15, 2009
(published April 2010):

	http://www.fas.org/irp/congress/2009_hr/clear.html

Among other recently published congressional hearing volumes on national
security topics are these:

"An Uneasy Relationship: U.S. Reliance on Private Security Firms in
Overseas Operations," Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
Committee, February 27, 2008 (published March 2010):

	http://www.fas.org/irp/congress/2008_hr/psc.pdf

"Reauthorizing the USA PATRIOT Act: Ensuring Liberty," Senate Judiciary
Committee, September 23, 2009 (published April 2010):

	http://www.fas.org/irp/congress/2009_hr/patriot2.html

"A Strategic and Economic Review of Aerospace Exports," House Foreign
Affairs Committee, December 9, 2009 (published April 2010):

	http://www.fas.org/irp/congress/2009_hr/aero-export.pdf

GERMAN SUBS OFF THE ATLANTIC COAST (1920)

The threat of German submarines laying explosive mines off the east coast
of the United States was a source of alarm during World War I, but the
residual hazards had diminished within a few years of the war's end,
according to a comprehensive survey published by the U.S. Navy in 1920.

"The reports of the sightings of submarines have been without number," the
Navy said, "and great care has been exercised to try to corroborate or
validate the reports, and all have been rejected which do not answer such
conditions as to accuracy."

"The information received as to the number of mines in each area and the
reports of their destruction leave little or no doubt that the Atlantic
coast is free from any danger as to mines," according to the 1920 Navy
report, which was digitized by the Combined Arms Research Library at Fort
Leavenworth.

See "German Submarine Activities on the Atlantic Coast of the United
States and Canada," Department of the Navy, 1920 (very large pdf file):

	http://www.fas.org/man/eprint/german-subs.pdf

_______________________________________________
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/donate_today.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