Today's Article
'The disappointment I
feel with..the abuse of
the classification
system in this instance
is profound,' said
former ISOO Director
William Leonard.
feel with..the abuse of
the classification
system in this instance
is profound,' said
former ISOO Director
William Leonard.
The American Spark
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Former Classification Policy Chief Nails Bush On 'Torture Memo'
By Cliff Montgomery - Apr. 17th, 2008
The notorious, newly-declassified 'torture memo' from the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel (OLC)
is an issue which "exemplifies the political abuse of classification authority," according to Steven Aftergood,
spokesman for the government secrecy watchdog group Federation of American Scientists (FAS).
William Leonard, the U.S. government's premier classification oversight officer from 2002-2007, agreed in an
apparent discussion with Aftergood. The FAS spokesman wrote about his exchange with Leonard in the Apr.
3rd edition of his e-newsletter, Secrecy News.
"The disappointment I feel with respect to the abuse of the classification system in this instance is profound,"
Leonard said.
Leonard retired as Information Security Oversight Office (ISOO) director in September 2007. The ISOO reports
to the White House on classification policy.
"The document in question is purely a legal analysis," Leonard continued, adding that the 2003 memo on
torture held "nothing which would justify classification."
The OLC memo breathlessly claimed that criminal statutes which outlaw torture "do not apply to
properly-authorized interrogations of enemy combatants"--in short, insisting that Bush's authority as
commander-in chief of U.S. armed forces somehow gives him the sole ability to determine, at whim, which laws
His Majesty shall follow...and which laws he shall not.
Aside from the proclamation's false logic, the legal requirements for classification were brushed aside for this
memo--even though such matters are expressly required by the White House's executive order regarding
classification.
"It is not even apparent that [John] Yoo [who wrote the torture memo] had original classification authority,"
pointed out Leonard.
"All too often, government officials simply assert classification. To enjoy the legal safeguards of the
classification system, you need to do more than that. Those basic, elemental steps were not followed in this
instance," he told Aftergood.
Leonard also pointed out the atrocious nature of the deviations from U.S. policy and common decency
authorized by the OLC memo, which eventually was rescinded.
But, Leonard told Aftergood, such breaks with classification policy are clearly what enabled the Bush
Administration to set up a torture program without a shred of oversight or accountability.
"To learn that such a document is classified has the same effect for me as waking up one morning and
learning that after all these years there is a 'secret' Article IV to the Constitution that the American people did
not even know about," said Leonard.
"There is no information contained in this document which gives an advantage to the enemy," he continued,
adding that "the only possible rationale for making it secret was to keep it from the American people."
Like what you're reading so far? Then why not order a full year (52 issues) of the The American Spark
e-newsletter for only $15? A major article covering an story not being told in the Corporate Press will be
delivered to your email every Monday morning for a full year, for less than 30 cents an issue. Order Now!
By Cliff Montgomery - Apr. 17th, 2008
The notorious, newly-declassified 'torture memo' from the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel (OLC)
is an issue which "exemplifies the political abuse of classification authority," according to Steven Aftergood,
spokesman for the government secrecy watchdog group Federation of American Scientists (FAS).
William Leonard, the U.S. government's premier classification oversight officer from 2002-2007, agreed in an
apparent discussion with Aftergood. The FAS spokesman wrote about his exchange with Leonard in the Apr.
3rd edition of his e-newsletter, Secrecy News.
"The disappointment I feel with respect to the abuse of the classification system in this instance is profound,"
Leonard said.
Leonard retired as Information Security Oversight Office (ISOO) director in September 2007. The ISOO reports
to the White House on classification policy.
"The document in question is purely a legal analysis," Leonard continued, adding that the 2003 memo on
torture held "nothing which would justify classification."
The OLC memo breathlessly claimed that criminal statutes which outlaw torture "do not apply to
properly-authorized interrogations of enemy combatants"--in short, insisting that Bush's authority as
commander-in chief of U.S. armed forces somehow gives him the sole ability to determine, at whim, which laws
His Majesty shall follow...and which laws he shall not.
Aside from the proclamation's false logic, the legal requirements for classification were brushed aside for this
memo--even though such matters are expressly required by the White House's executive order regarding
classification.
"It is not even apparent that [John] Yoo [who wrote the torture memo] had original classification authority,"
pointed out Leonard.
"All too often, government officials simply assert classification. To enjoy the legal safeguards of the
classification system, you need to do more than that. Those basic, elemental steps were not followed in this
instance," he told Aftergood.
Leonard also pointed out the atrocious nature of the deviations from U.S. policy and common decency
authorized by the OLC memo, which eventually was rescinded.
But, Leonard told Aftergood, such breaks with classification policy are clearly what enabled the Bush
Administration to set up a torture program without a shred of oversight or accountability.
"To learn that such a document is classified has the same effect for me as waking up one morning and
learning that after all these years there is a 'secret' Article IV to the Constitution that the American people did
not even know about," said Leonard.
"There is no information contained in this document which gives an advantage to the enemy," he continued,
adding that "the only possible rationale for making it secret was to keep it from the American people."
Like what you're reading so far? Then why not order a full year (52 issues) of the The American Spark
e-newsletter for only $15? A major article covering an story not being told in the Corporate Press will be
delivered to your email every Monday morning for a full year, for less than 30 cents an issue. Order Now!