Background According to the document: “The Department of Defense and Central Intelligence Agency conducted a joint inspection of the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) from October through December 1995. The goal of the inspection was to determine the efficiency and effectiveness of the processes and mechanisms to manage and administer NRO resources and administrative programs. The objectives to: evaluate the authorities and delegations of thc NRO and oversight organizations; evaluate the processes to identify mission requirements and plan and organize resources for them; evaluate internal administrative and management programs; and, evaluate internal management oversight processes.” I requested the document under the…
Author: John Greenewald
Background Remember this tweet by President Donald J. Trump posted on October 21, 2017? Everyone was hopeful that this meant the end to the secrecy behind the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. However, on April 26, 2018, despite his promise — President Trump signed the below memorandum for the heads of various Executive Departments and Agencies. In short, it authorized agencies to continue to withhold information, and President Trump also extended the release of additional information for another 3 1/2 years – October 26, 2021. Although he demands review of the information, and for it to be released if…
Background The following document was created in 1991 regarding the reduction of the nuclear weapons arsenal. I requested an MDR as the last review was from a 2013 case, however, the actual review was done in 2016. So, they would not conduct another Mandatory Declassification Review (MDR). Ironically, the time requirement (2 years) was only weeks away, so when I got their response, it was already time for another review. So, I requested another MDR on 4/20/18, and will post the results, when available. For now, you can find the 2016 release below. Document Archive Reducing the United States Nuclear…
Background Iran Air Flight 655 was an Iran Air passenger flight from Tehran to Dubai. On 3 July 1988, the aircraft operating on this route was shot down by the United States Navy guided missile cruiser USS Vincennes under the command of William C. Rogers III. The incident took place in Iranian airspace, over Iran’s territorial waters in the Persian Gulf, and on the flight’s usual flight path. The aircraft, an Airbus A300 B2-203, was destroyed by SM-2MR surface-to-air missiles fired from Vincennes. All 290 people on board died. The cruiser Vincennes had entered Iranian territorial waters after one of…
Background On April 19, 2018, the online news agency AXIOS published the following about the release of the memos: Copies of former FBI Director James Comey’s memos have been delivered to Congress, reports the Associated Press who has obtained and is reviewing 15 pages of the memo. Why it matters: The memos are “believed to be central” to special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe. Per Politico, Assistant Attorney General Stephen Boyd said Congress would get two versions of the memos: an “unclassified version with sensitive information redacted and a classified unredacted version that would be transmitted through a secure channel on…