FAS in the News

July 22, 2005
An article in the Christian Science Monitor featured America’s struggle with privacy rights vs. national security in the context of future congressional reauthorization of the Patriot Act. Staff writer Brad Knickerbocker quoted the FAS Project on Government Secrecy, “In the absence of clear guidelines and effective oversight, the U.S. military is becoming increasingly involved in domestic operations, including surveillance activities that blur the traditional distinction between foreign intelligence and domestic security.”

July 17
The Los Angeles Times Magazine ran a cover story on hybrid vehicles. With oil prices setting records at more than $60 per barrel, our economy supporting regimes that indulge Islamic radicalism, and global warming threatening to turn Orlando into beachfront property, electric automobiles are looking more and more attractive. The article refers back to a report written by Joesph J. Romm for FAS on electric vehicles (EVs). "Since most vehicle use is for relatively short trips, even a relatively modest all-electric range of 20 or 30 miles could allow these vehicles to replace a substantial portion of gasoline consumption and tailpipe emissions."

July 16
Ivan Oelrich, Vice President of the FAS Strategic Security Project, was quoted by The Kansas City Star in a story on the history of the first atomic bomb and the future of nuclear weapons programs. Oelrich believes decreasing the U.S. stock to as few as 200 nuclear weapons would deter any country from launching a nuclear attack. “Whenever anybody talks about how we’ve reduced our nuclear weapons, they’re using the Cold War as a benchmark,” Oelrich was quoted. “That’s ridiculous. Those levels are not relevant ” today. Today’s leaders ought to ask, ‘How many do we need?’

Summer 2005
Issues in Science and Technology featured an article by FAS President Henry Kelly titled, “Games, Cookies, and the Future of Education.” The piece examines how advanced information technologies can reshape learning through interactive simulations and offers hope of improving education in the U.S. FAS supports the Digital Opportunity Investment Trust (DO IT) Act which proposes the creation of an independent federal agency to manage the applied research priorities identified by academic and corporate groups.

July 4
Scott Shane of The New York Times reported on the sharp increase in the number of classified documents by the government. Driven by fears of terrorism, government secrecy has reached a historic high, with federal departments classifying documents at the rate of 125 per minute. A record 15.6 million documents were classified last year, nearly double the number in 2001. Steven Aftergood, director of the FAS Project on Government Secrecy, sought C.I.A. budgets for 1947 to 1970. A judge gave him only the 1963 budget, because it had already been released. ''I don't know any intelligence professional who says, 'I'll stake my integrity on the need to protect the 1962 intelligence budget.” But a C.I.A. spokesman, Paul Gimigliano, said that releasing even old budgets could prove a slippery slope. "The budget remains classified to prevent America's adversaries from piecing together the national security priorities set for the C.I.A.," he said. "This is not secrecy for secrecy's sake."

June 28
The Washington Post reveals that more than 3,300 Congressional Research Service (CRS) reports gathered by the Federation of American Scientists, the National Council on Science and the Environment, the library at the University of Maryland's law school, the Franklin Pierce Law Center in New Hampshire, the National Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism, and The Center for Democracy and Technology are now available free-of-charge at http://www.opencrs.com. The coveted but elusive reports are produced by a public policy research arm of Congress. CRS, which boasts hundreds of analysts and a $100 million budget, produces hundreds of briefs each year on a wide range of topics.

June 10
Steven Aftergood, director of the FAS Project on Government Secrecy, was interviewed by the Village Voice. The feature, titled "Who Loves the Sun?,” describes Aftergood as a man who has spent almost 15 years grappling with and defining the many ways the US hides information. The article tells of how Aftergood sued the government to disclose its yearly intelligence budget four times.

June 3
Voice of America featured Hoot Haddock and ThermaSave Homes in a story on the building industry. With 100 million homeless people on the planet and 31 percent of the world's urban population living in slums, the world is facing a housing crisis. And armed conflicts drive thousands of people into refugee camps, where housing is inadequate. ThermaSave Homes manufactures panels of polystyrene foam - better known as Styrofoam - commonly seen in coffee cups. Rachel Jagoda, former FAS Project Manager for Housing Technology, was quoted saying foam houses are a natural for earthquake-prone regions, from the Andes to Afghanistan. FAS thinks the polystyrene technology could go a long way toward solving the affordable housing crisis here in the U.S. and abroad.

June 3
FAS President Henry Kelly wrote a Letter to the Editor that appeared in the Washington Post titled, “Bad Time to Limit Research.” Kelly commented on the difference between past U.S. policy of increasing federal investment in research and education to meet competitive threats; and today’s response of cutting federal research budgets in critical areas. “It's difficult to see that the nation's leaders, who should be reacting to new challenges by strengthening -- not cutting -- federal research, understand the extent to which our prosperity, security and ability to meet national aspirations for health care and the environment depend on innovation,” wrote Kelly.