“Ingenuity” Could Not Prevent Atom Bomb Espionage

Secrecy News

“Ingenuity” Could Not Prevent Atom Bomb Espionage

Posted on Sep.10, 2014 in History, Intelligence, security by Steven Aftergood

When the internal history of the Manhattan Project was written in 1944, officials still believed — mistakenly — that the atom bomb program had evaded the threat of foreign espionage.
“Espionage attempts were detected but it is felt that prompt action and intensified investigative activity in each case prevented the passing of any substantial amount of Project information,” according to a previously overlooked page from the Manhattan District History that was declassified yesterday.
Although declassification of the official history was thought to have been completed in July of this year (WWII Atom Bomb Project Had More Than 1,500 Leaks, Secrecy News, August 21), a single page had been inadvertently withheld from disclosure.
When its absence was pointed out to Department of Energy classification officials, they expeditiously retrieved the missing page (page 2.4 of Volume 14), declassified it and incorporated it in the published online document.
The newly disclosed page presents a flattering view of Manhattan Project counterintelligence efforts.http://fas.org/blogs/secrecy/2014/09/atom-bomb-espionage/