Secrecy News -- 01/31/08
Date: Thu, 31 Jan 2008 09:29:40 -0600 (CST)
SECRECY NEWS
from the FAS Project on Government Secrecy
Volume 2008, Issue No. 12
January 31, 2008
Secrecy News Blog: http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/
Support Secrecy News: http://www.fas.org/static/contrib_sec.jsp
** PRESIDENT ASKS FOR AGENCY VIEWS ON DECLASSIFICATION
** HISTORIANS SEEK RELEASE OF ROSENBERG GRAND JURY RECORDS
** THE OKNO AND KRONA SPACE SURVEILLANCE SYSTEMS
** THE WARRIOR ETHOS
PRESIDENT ASKS FOR AGENCY VIEWS ON DECLASSIFICATION
President Bush this week ordered executive branch agency heads to
respond to dozens of recommendations that were issued earlier this
month by the Public Interest Declassification Board, an official
advisory group, regarding the declassification of historical records.
The Board's report, "Improving Declassification," presented 49
recommendations to increase the utility and productivity of
declassification, such as establishment of a National Declassification
Center, creation of a public database of declassified documents,
expedited declassification of presidential records including the
President's Daily Brief, and new procedures for declassification of
closed congressional hearing records and other documents.
"Please submit in writing no later than April 15, 2008... your views on
each of the recommendations, including with respect to each
recommendation your view of whether and to what extent it should be
implemented," President Bush told the agency heads on January 29.
http://www.fas.org/sgp/bush/wh012908.html
The Board's report hardly made a ripple when it was released earlier
this month (Secrecy News, 01/09/08). And since it is purely advisory,
it could easily have been ignored.
But the President's response increases the likelihood that the Board's
recommendations will now receive serious consideration, inside and
outside of the executive branch.
HISTORIANS SEEK RELEASE OF ROSENBERG GRAND JURY RECORDS
A coalition of historians is petitioning a federal court in New York to
release sealed grand jury records from the 1951 indictment of Julius and
Ethel Rosenberg, who were convicted of spying for the Soviet Union and
executed in 1953.
The Rosenberg case, a crucible of atomic secrets, American communism,
Soviet spying, U.S. counterespionage, and more, remains a landmark in
the history of the Cold War. But after decades of debate and
disclosure, some of the basic records of the case still remain
inaccessible. The historians' initiative aims to change that.
The National Security Archive, one of the petitioners, has published
the petition along with a diverse collection of declarations here:
http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/news/20080131/index.htm
THE OKNO AND KRONA SPACE SURVEILLANCE SYSTEMS
Russia's Okno and Krona space surveillance systems are profiled in a
newly updated open-source documentary collection by former CIA analyst
Allen Thomson.
The precise location of the Okno facility, which is in Tajikistan, has
not been publicly identified.
But last year, observed Mr. Thomson, a new "Krona-N radar site near
Nakhodka was found in Google Earth (not by me) and the head of the
Russian Space Forces says it's going to be put into operation starting
this year."
"Like Krona Classic in the Caucasus, this is going to be an imaging
radar," he said. "Together with the 3-meter adaptive optics telescope
being built in Siberia, the Krona radars will give Russia an excellent,
all-weather capability to get high-resolution images of foreign
satellites of interest. The new National Reconnaissance Office spysats
scheduled for launch in the next few years seem likely to be among
those."
The new documentary collection is mostly in Russian, with selected
translations and some nice images.
See "Sourcebook on the Okno and Krona Space Surveillance Sites" by
Allen Thomson:
http://www.fas.org/spp/military/program/track/okno.pdf
THE WARRIOR ETHOS
A new U.S. Army Field Manual presents an introduction for soldiers to
"the warrior ethos."
"Modern combat is chaotic, intense, and shockingly destructive," the
document states. "In your first battle, you will experience the
confusing and often terrifying sights, sounds, smells, and dangers of
the battlefield--but you must learn to survive and win despite them."
"The Warrior Culture, a shared set of important beliefs, values, and
assumptions, is crucial and perishable. Therefore, the Army must
continually affirm, develop, and sustain it, as it maintains the
nation's existence."
The warrior ethos (or any other) is not instilled simply by reading
about it. But the new Army publication provides a common vocabulary
and framework of reference for the aspiring warrior, along with basic
survival and combat techniques.
See "The Warrior Ethos and Soldier Combat Skills," U.S. Army Field
Manual FM 3-21.75, January 2008 (316 pages in a very large 28 MB PDF
file):
http://www.fas.org/irp/doddir/army/fm3-21-75.pdf
_______________________________________________
Secrecy News is written by Steven Aftergood and published by the
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_______________________
Steven Aftergood
Project on Government Secrecy
Federation of American Scientists
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email: saftergood@fas.org
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