Making of the Cheney Regional Defense Strategy, 1991-1992
The National Security Archive has posted more than a dozen declassified documents from 1991-1992 about the Defense Planning Guidance (DPG). These were prepared by the Pentagon under the Secretary of Defense of that time, Richard Cheney.
- "Prevent the Reemergence of a New Rival" The Making of the Cheney Regional Defense Strategy, 1991-1992, National Security Archive, The George Washington University, February 26, 2008.
One aspect of this release that is noteworthy is the insight it provides into government secrecy, classification and declassification, and the accuracy and completeness of the historical record. As the NSA says:
Remarkably, these new releases censor a half dozen large sections of text that The New York Times printed on March 8, 1992, as well as a number of phrases that were officially published by the Pentagon in January 1993. "On close inspection none of those deleted passages actually meet the standards for classification because embarrassment is not a legal basis for secrecy," remarked Tom Blanton, director of the Archive."
The NSA displays the language that the Times publicized side-by-side with the relevant portions of the February 18, 1992 draft that was the subject of the leak.
The documents are fascinating:
Continue readingThe word "preempt" does not appear in the declassified language, but Document 10 includes wording about "disarming capabilities to destroy" which is followed by several excised words. This suggests that some of the heavily excised pages in the still-classified DPG drafts may include some discussion of preventive action against threatening nuclear and other WMD programs. The excisions are currently under appeal at the Interagency Security Classification Appeals Panel (ISCAP).
Wikileaks gets its domain back
Breaking news: Last week, the controversial site, Wikileaks -- which allows whistle-blowers to post corporate and government documents anonymously -- was shut down. But now, According to CNET News, U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White has reversed his own order and turned the switch back on! Continue reading
Happy February 29th!
Yes, it's Leap Year day, or whatever it's called. Those folks who were born on Feb. 29th get to have a real birthday party this year.
You can read about leap year and other "timely" matters on the rather wonderful website of the National Institute of Standards and Technology Time and Frequency Division, an operating unit of the Physics Laboratory of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), an agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce that is located in Boulder, Colorado at the NIST Boulder Laboratories. While you're there you can check out their online exhibits about timekeeping and calendars through the ages, and you can also set your watch and be sure it's the right time!
National Agriculture Library Digital Repository
Thanks to FGI BOTM alum Carlos Diaz for notifying the govdoc-l list about a new resource from the National Agricultural Library (quote edited for URL formatting):
Looks like the NAL has begun to digitize in .tiff format their historical collection of publications including the Agriculture handbooks and yearbooks, etc.
You can find the Digital Repository at http://naldr.nal.usda.gov/A very precious resource indeed.
We agree. The digital repository has publications going back many decades for the following series:
Agricultural Economic Report
Agriculture Handbook
Agriculture Information Bulletin
Bean Improvement Cooperative Annual Report
Bean Improvement Cooperative Natl Dry Bean Res Assoc Conference
Division Pomology Bulletin
Economic Research Service Staff Report
Fruit Vegetable Market News Report
Pomological Watercolors
Report Commissioner Agriculture
Report Secretary Agriculture
Rural Development Perspectives
Rural Development Research Report
Technical Bulletin United States Department Agriculture
World Poultry Congress
Yearbook United States Department Agriculture
Some monograph publications and other non-series publications are also available. The documents are a touch awkward to use though. You need to page through them one page at a time. But if you use their "print pdf" button, you can get a PDF file for your use. Another nice feature of this site is an RSS feed and list of recent additions.
Finally the repository can be searched. Results include not only matching publications, but also specific page numbers. Results can be sorted by the column headings, very nice!
Naturally I used "Alaska" for my search. It brought up hundreds of results, including this tidbit from the 1958 Agriculture Yearbook:
Creator Johnson, Hugh A.
Title Seward's folly can be a great land.
Source Yearbook United States Department Agriculture
Year 1958
Volume_Info 1958
Pages p. 424-439.
Go and check out this resource. And then remember that it was a LIBRARIAN who brought it to you! Thanks again, Carlos!
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