[net-gold] Secrecy News -- 01/14/10
- From: "David P. Dillard" <jwne@xxxxxxxxxx>
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- Date: Thu, 14 Jan 2010 16:45:55 -0500 (EST)
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Date: Thu, 14 Jan 2010 14:21:50 -0500
From: Steven Aftergood <saftergood@xxxxxxx>
To: saftergood@xxxxxxx
Subject: Secrecy News -- 01/14/10
SECRECY NEWS
from the FAS Project on Government Secrecy
Volume 2010, Issue No. 5
January 14, 2010
Secrecy News Blog:
http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/
** FIRED FBI AGENT SAYS TERMINATION SHOWS BIAS
** THE DECLINE OF THE ISRAELI LEFT
** UNDERSTANDING CHINA'S POLITICAL SYSTEM, MORE FROM CRS
FIRED FBI AGENT SAYS TERMINATION SHOWS BIAS
A lawsuit filed on behalf of a Jewish-American FBI agent whose security
clearance was revoked based on unspecified charges states that his
termination was an improper expression of FBI bias against American Jews,
and complains that the agent was unconstitutionally denied a right to
confront and rebut the claims against him.
http://www.fas.org/sgp/jud/doe-010710.pdf
The case appears to have arisen in part from an earlier investigation of the
American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the pro-Israel advocacy
organization. The FBI agent, named only as John Doe, says he was questioned
about his contacts with AIPAC employees Steven Rosen and Keith Weissman, who
were charged in 2005 under the Espionage Act in a case that was later
dismissed.
The new lawsuit, filed by attorney Mark S. Zaid, indicates that John Doe had
faxed unclassified articles prepared by the Foreign Broadcast Information
Service to AIPAC, as well as another unclassified State Department document.
"These documents were directly related to matters on which John Doe worked
as an Intelligence Research Specialist and his contacts with AIPAC officials
were neither inappropriate nor outside the scope of his employment with the
federal government," the lawsuit states.
"The defendants [FBI and Department of Justice] effectively punished John
Doe for lawful, proper, and necessary associations with American citizens
who are Jewish and/or have association with the country of Israel by
revoking his clearance and terminating his employment based on his contacts
in violation of his First Amendment right of association," the complaint
states.
The FBI action response indicates "an unfounded paranoia far out of
proportion to the innocuous and/or professional nature of John Doe's
relationships. Defendants have failed to offer any factual evidence
indicating John Doe's associations were illegal, suspect, dangerous,
deceptive, improper, or even untoward," Mr. Zaid wrote.
A government response was not immediately available, but will be provided at
a later date.
The lawsuit has at least a couple of noteworthy aspects. First, it is part
of a recurring pattern of conflict between U.S. national security agencies
and individual members of the American Jewish community over their
relationship to Israel or its advocates. After the Jonathan Pollard case,
no one can say that government security concerns on this score are
categorically mistaken. But after the misconceived and aborted AIPAC
prosecution, no one can say they are consistently well-founded either.
Second, the lawsuit raises a broader question about the constitutionality of
security clearance procedures (in Executive Order 12968, section 5.2d, and
implementing regulations) that permit revocation of a clearance on national
security grounds without any explanation, any chance to respond, or any
forum for review.
"By revoking John Doe's security clearance without providing notice of the
charges against him and adequate opportunity to refute such charges, the FBI
and DOJ violated due process guarantees under the Fifth Amendment. The FBI
cannot summarily revoke John Doe's security clearance when such action
violates the due process clause of the U.S. Constitution," Mr. Zaid wrote.
Awkwardly for this line of argument, however, the Third Circuit Court of
Appeals issued a ruling this week upholding the use of these very
procedures. Citing the influential but controversial case of Navy v. Egan,
the court affirmed the Department of Energy's revocation of the security
clearance of Egyptian-born American scientist Dr. Abdel Moniem Ali
El-Ganayni.
http://www.fas.org/sgp/jud/el-ganayni.pdf
Perhaps the good news is that the security clearance system does not single
out Jews and Arabs for questionable treatment. John Dullahan, an Irish-born
Army veteran and DIA intelligence officer, also had his clearance for access
to classified intelligence revoked last year. He challenged that action in
another lawsuit, also filed last week by Mr. Zaid.
http://www.fas.org/sgp/jud/dullahan.pdf
THE DECLINE OF THE ISRAELI LEFT
A recent book written by two Israeli writers and published in translation by
the DNI Open Source Center (OSC) traces what the authors see as the decline
of Israel's political left.
"The Left died the day the Six-Day War ended," wrote Shmuel Hasfari and
Eldad Yaniv.
"Until 1967, the Left actually managed some impressive deeds -- it took
control of the land, ploughed, sowed, harvested, founded the state, built
the army, built its industry from scratch, fought Arabs, settled the land,
built the nuclear reactor, brought millions of Jews here and absorbed them,
and set up kibbutzim, moshavim, and agriculture.... What happened? How come
that all that remains of the Zionist Left today is an anarchistic group that
harasses the Border Police every Friday near the separation fence or at
checkpoints and Women in Black?"
"This is not an academic work," wrote Hasfari and Yaniv. "There are no
footnotes and there is no bibliography. It is not a complete work, either.
We have written here about some of the things that bother us a lot, matters
that give us no peace of mind. We ask you not to read this in one go since
that is likely to be confusing. Taste it as you would a plate of appetizers,
tapas. Take a little bit. Digest it and stop to think, argue, get angry, and
if you want to, curse -- feel free."
"You can also put it in the bathroom. We will not be offended. On the
contrary: There are no cell phones or text messages there, and you can
think. Quietly. And read."
The OSC translation has not been approved for public release, but a copy was
obtained by Secrecy News. Republication was permitted by the authors within
the text.
See "The National Left (First Draft)" by Shmuel Hasfari and Eldad Yaniv,
Open Source Center, December 31, 2009:
http://www.fas.org/irp/dni/osc/israel-left.pdf
UNDERSTANDING CHINA'S POLITICAL SYSTEM, MORE FROM CRS
New and updated reports from the Congressional Research Service obtained by
Secrecy News include the following.
"U.S. Periods of War," January 7, 2010:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/natsec/RS21405.pdf
"Terrorist Watchlist Checks and Air Passenger Prescreening," December 30,
2009:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/homesec/RL33645.pdf
"Cluster Munitions: Background and Issues for Congress," December 22, 2009:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/weapons/RS22907.pdf
"Arms Sales: Congressional Review Process," January 8, 2010:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/weapons/RL31675.pdf
"Desalination: Status and Federal Issues," December 30, 2009:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R40477.pdf
"Understanding China's Political System," December 31, 2009:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/row/R41007.pdf
_______________________________________________
Secrecy News is written by Steven Aftergood and published by the Federation
of American Scientists.
The Secrecy News Blog is at:
http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/
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_______________________
Steven Aftergood
Project on Government Secrecy
Federation of American Scientists
web: www.fas.org/sgp/index.html
email: saftergood@xxxxxxx
voice: (202) 454-4691
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