Michele Kearney's Nuclear Wire

Major Energy and Environmental News and Commentary affecting the Nuclear Industry.

Monday, February 9, 2015

FAS Roundup: February 9, 2015

FAS Roundup: February 9, 2015
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From the Blogs


Security-Cleared Population Drops by 10%: The number of people who hold security clearances for access to classified information has been reduced by ten percent, the White House said in budget request documents released last week. The security-cleared population has grown steadily for several years, with 5.1 million people eligible for classified access, according to the latest data from October 2013. Taking the new ten percent reduction into account, the total number of cleared individuals should now be around 4.6 million. The actual figure is not available for public release, said Eugene Barlow, a spokesman for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. But he said it will be presented in April in the next annual report on security clearances, as required by the FY2010 intelligence authorization act.

Govt Backtracks on Classifying Afghanistan Data: U.S. military commanders in Afghanistan have partially rescinded their effort to classify previously public oversight information concerning the status of coalition operations in that country after the move drew sharp criticism. Some officials in the Department of Defense were said to be unhappy with this unexpected development, especially after its negative impact was magnified in editorials in the New York Times and the Los Angeles Times, and in critical assessments in the Washington Post.

A Profile of the 114th Congress and More from CRS: Secrecy News has obtained recently released CRS reports on topics such as a detailed profile of the 114th Congress, U.S.-EU cooperation on Ukraine and Russia and the recent cyberattacks on Sony. 

Court to Weigh Judicial Approval of "No Fly" List: In a pending lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the “no fly” list, in which the government has asserted the state secrets privilege, a federal court signaled that it would consider requiring judicial approval of “no fly” determinations involving U.S. citizens. Judge Anthony J. Trenga, who presides over the case Gulet Mohamed v. Eric Holder in the Eastern District of Virginia, set a hearing on February 24 to allow the government to supplement its argument that the case must be dismissed on state secrets grounds.

88 Days to Kandahar: The CIA in Afghanistan: Following the 9/11 attacks, the CIA was tasked to lead the campaign against Al Qaeda and its Taliban hosts in Afghanistan. There were some initial successes, as the Taliban was driven from its strongholds and a new Afghan government rose to power. Yet the process was often chaotic, confused and haphazard. A new book by Robert L. Grenier, the former CIA station chief in Islamabad, takes a look at operations in Afghanistan during this time. 

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