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Steven Aftergood: Making Government Information Open and Machine Readable

Making Government Information Open and Machine Readable An executive order issued by President Obama today directs that “the default state of new and modernized Government information resources shall be open and machine readable.” “As one vital benefit of open government, making information resources easy to find, accessible, and usable can fuel entrepreneurship, innovation, and scientific …

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Steve Aftergood: Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) Acquisition: Issues for Congress, April 16, 2013

Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) Acquisition: Issues for Congress, April 16, 2013 Summary Increasing calls for intelligence support and continuing innovations in intelligence technologies combine to create significant challenges for both the executive and legislative branches. Intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) systems are integral components of both national policymaking and military operations, including counterterrorism operations, …

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Steve Aftergood: 2014 US Intelligence Community Budget $62.8 Billion

Intelligence Budget Requests for 2014 Disclosed Some $4 billion is being cut from the National Intelligence Program this year as a result of sequestration, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper told the House Intelligence Committee at a hearing today. He said that the consequences will be severe. Acquisition programs will be “wounded,” ongoing programs will …

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Steven Aftergood: Report on Congressional Oversight of Intelligence 2011-2012

A LOOK BACK AT CONGRESSIONAL OVERSIGHT OF INTELLIGENCE, 2011-2012 Several nuggets of interest are presented in the latest biennial report from the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, summarizing the Committee’s oversight activities in the 112th Congress: *    The Director of National Intelligence abruptly cancelled a multi-year effort to establish a single consolidated data center for …

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Steve Aftergood: Drake Classification Complaint Dismissed and Court Severely Critical of Executive Over-Classification, Arbitrary Classification, and Lack of Accountability for Same

CLASSIFICATION COMPLAINT ARISING FROM THOMAS DRAKE CASE DISMISSED In July 2011, J. William Leonard, a former director of the Information Security Oversight Office (ISOO), took the extraordinary step of filing a formal complaint with the Office he once led charging that a document used to indict former NSA official Thomas Drake under the Espionage Act …

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Steve Aftergood: When Can a Court Reject an Agency Classification Claim?

When Can a Court Reject an Agency Classification Claim? Last year, DC District Judge Richard W. Roberts ordered the U.S. Trade Representative to disclose a classified document to a FOIA requester because, he said, the classification of the document was not properly supported.  That ruling in Center for International Environmental Law v. Office of the …

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Steven Aftergood: Leaks That Are Good for National Security

Leak of White Paper Boosts Intelligence Oversight The unauthorized disclosure last week of a Justice Department White Paper on the legality of targeted killing of senior al Qaida operatives who are Americans had the collateral effect of strengthening congressional oversight of intelligence. Read full post with additional links. DoJ White Paper Released as a Matter …

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