Obama moves to curb federal secrets
Photo 
President Barack Obama enters the room prior to speaking at the Marine Corps Base Hawaii in Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii Tuesday.
WASHINGTON — More than 400 million pages of Cold War-era documents could be declassified as the federal government responds to President Barack Obama's order to rethink the way it protects the nation's secrets.
Among the changes announced Tuesday by Obama is a requirement that every record be released eventually and that federal agencies review how and why they mark documents classified or deny the release of historical records. A National Declassification Center at the National Archives will be established to assist them and help clear a backlog of the Cold War records by Dec. 31, 2013.
Obama also reversed a decision by President George W. Bush that had allowed the intelligence community to block the release of a specific document, even if an interagency panel decided the information wouldn't harm national security.
Advocates for a more open government are cautiously cheering the move.
"Everything will depend on implementation," said Steven Aftergood, director of the Project on Government Secrecy at the Federation of American Scientists. But the order "has tremendous potential to reduce the level of secrecy throughout the government."
In a memo to agency heads, Obama said he expects that the order will produce "measurable progress" toward greater openness in government while also protecting the nation's most important secrets.
"I will closely monitor the results," he promised.
The still-classified Cold War records would provide a wealth of data on U.S.-Soviet relations, including the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, the fall of the Berlin Wall, diplomacy and espionage. A Soviet spy ring in the Navy led by John Walker headlined 1985, which became known as "The Year of the Spy."
On his first day in office, Obama instructed federal agencies to be more responsive to requests for records under the Freedom of Information Act and he overturned an order by Bush that would have enabled former presidents and vice presidents to block release of sensitive records of their time in the White House.
The government spent more than $8.21 billion last year to create and safeguard classified information, and $43 million to declassify it, according to the Information Security Oversight Office, which oversees the government's security classification. The figures don't include data from the principal intelligence agencies, which is classified.
Jan 1, 2010 at 2:36 p.m.
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Lets not forget the gift he just gave INTERPOL. They now are not subject to freedom of information requests in our country...talk about secret keeping.
Dec 31, 2009 at 1:25 p.m.
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Transparency is an issue raised by him during the campaign, and one he insisted would happen—he didn’t say he would try.
Spreading blame for CSPAN coverage to the house is disingenuous. He has hosted meetings at the White House on health care; these also were not carried by CSPAN. So the broad brush approach is a red herring.
I have never been one to say the details in this story should not be made public. I do find the aspect of the story ironic, where a person who campaigned on the idea of transparency and has not followed through on it has signed a requirement for release of records---which he will follow closely.
This has NOTHING to do with shoveling blame for everything to one person. This has to do with exposing hypocrisy in government were it is.
Dec 31, 2009 at 10:58 a.m.
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RAF: One commonality you will find in my posts is to lay blame where it is deserved and to avoid painting with too broad a brush. I find fault with some of President Obama's actions. Similarly, I can find fault in a variety of the subjects discussed in these forums.
I don't blame President Bush for the attacks of 9/11. But, I do blame him for the false pretenses under which we went to war in Iraq.
Influence or not, the President does not control programming on the CSPAN networks. He also does not control legislation. There are many things in either of the Health Care bills being considered right now that he doesn't want. There are things he wants that are in neither. So, his influence only goes so far.
If you believe that secrets of the past should remain secret forever (which I certainly do NOT), then you can attack his movement in that regard. But, you can't blame him for the way Congress operates. That, you must lay squarely at Congress' feet.
I suggest that the inability to have rational, reasoned discussion lies with those who will attempt to shovel blame for EVERYTHING onto one target, rather than assessing each case on its own merits.
Dec 31, 2009 at 8:56 a.m.
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I agree... With R.A.F. and Darius.
Dec 30, 2009 at 3:23 p.m.
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When is Obama going to fess up about all his secrets? Like maybe a birth certificate? Or, his ties to Fannie Mae? This is like drinking and smoking on a treadmill. It doesn't mesh.
Dec 30, 2009 at 3 p.m.
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Do you remember the closed door meetings with big Pharma? This happened at the White house...not in congress.
Just so we're clear...
Dec 30, 2009 at 2:58 p.m.
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We're clear?
I was clear, so was he during the campaign. You don't have to agree that's fine. Try debating the facts. If you really think he has no influence over Pelosi and Reed then discussing issues and reality with you are impossible.
Dec 30, 2009 at 12:48 p.m.
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Just so we're clear: You do realize that the House and Senate control the coverage on CSPAN and CSPAN II, respectively? And, they also determine what legislation gets introduced and how negotiations on legislation occur?
Dec 30, 2009 at 7:22 a.m.
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Yes, an open an honest government (transparency) is something that was promised during the campaign. Things like healthcare debates being on C-SPAN and no back room deals with companies. Oops, these are bad examples, both are the complete opposite of what he said. Open government is something he wants from others...just not for the things he wants to push through.
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