Wednesday, April 12, 2006

Archives Kept Reclassification Program Secret


The reclassification of tens of thousands of documents previously released by the National Archives was itself a secret, according to today's Washington Post.

However, today's revelation of National Archives' participation in keeping the reclassification itself a secret is no secret to regular readers of this blog.

The National Archives helped keep secret a multi-year effort by the Air Force, the CIA and other federal agencies to withdraw thousands of historical documents from public access on Archives shelves, even though the records had been declassified.

In a 2002 memorandum, obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request and released yesterday by the National Security Archive, a nonprofit research library housed at George Washington University, Archives officials agreed to help pull the materials for possible reclassification and conceal the identities of anyone participating in the effort. The Associated Press reported yesterday that it had requested a copy of the memo three years ago.

"[I]t is in the interest of both [redacted agency name] and the National Archives and Records Administration to avoid the attention and researcher complaints that may arise from removing material that has already been available publicly from the open shelves for extended periods of time," the Archives memo read, in part.

Even without yesterday's memo, NARA's role in covering up the reclassification effort was no secret. Back on February 21, readers here found:

The reclassification program is itself shrouded in secrecy — governed by a still-classified memorandum that prohibits the National Archives even from saying which agencies are involved.


You read it here first folks.





<< Home