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NCH WASHINGTON UPDATE (Vol. 12, #18; 14 APRIL 2006)
by Bruce Craig (editor)
NATIONAL COALITION FOR HISTORY (NCH)
Website at http://www.h_net.org/~nch/
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1. NARA RELEASES REDACTED VERSION OF "CLASSIFIED OR SENSITIVE" RECORDS
MEMO
2. COALITION FORMED TO ADDRESS SMITHSONIAN "SHOWTIME" DEAL
3. WEINSTEIN NAMES NIXON LIBRARY HEAD
4. SMITHSONIAN AMERICAN HISTORY MUSEUM TO CLOSE FOR RENOVATION
5. BITS AND BYTES: 50 New Recordings Added to Recordings Register
6. ARTICLES OF INTEREST: "Historians Strive to Save Old Sounds"
(Christian
Science Monitor)
1. NARA RELEASES REDACTED VERSION OF "CLASSIFIED OR SENSITIVE"
RECORDS MEMO
The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) has released a
heavily redacted copy of a 2002 Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)
between
NARA and various federal agencies involved in a secret program in which
some 10,000 NARA documents already in the public domain were pulled
from
open shelves pending re-review (see "House Subcommittee Conducts
Oversight
Hearing on Government Secrecy" NCH WASHINGTON UPDATE, Vol. 12 # 12; 16
March 2006).
The memo, released to the National Security Archives through a FOIA
request, documents a disturbing role that NARA played in the multi-year
effort by federal agencies to remove thousands of historical documents
from
public access, even though the records had previously been declassified.
The agreement is marked "Secret" and is signed by an Air Force official
(one of three agencies party to the MOU -- the other two being the CIA
and
Defense Intelligence Agency) and by Michael J. Kurtz, Assistant
Archivist
for NARA. The memo states that the re-review seeks to identify records
that "have been improperly marked as classified" that "would harm the
national security interests of the United States by revealing sensitive
sources and methods of intelligence collection." Furthermore, the
agreement states, "It is in the interest of both (unnamed agency) and
the
National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) 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 agreement said.
Other sections of the memo are equally troubling: "NARA will not
disclose
the true reason for the presence of -- [redacted word] -- personnel
at
the Archives, to include disclosure to person within NARA who does not
have
a validated need-to-know." Withdrawal sheets would conceal any
reference
to the program and "any reason for the withholding of documents". If
queried by the press or public, NARA is to respond that the reviewers
are
present at the Archives "to ensure appropriate implementation of
Presidential Order 12958 historical records declassification review
responsibilities."
Even though the agreement clearly is an embarrassment to NARA,
Archivist of
the United States Allen Weinstein, who did not head NARA when the
agreement
was signed, applauded the release of the document. He said, that its
release is "an important first step in finding the balance between
continuing to protect national security and protecting the right to
know by
the American public." J. William Leonard, director of the
Information
Security Oversight Office (ISSO) stated, "there is a need for increased
transparency in this...the more transparent we can be we will not feed
perceptions that somehow this is being done for some sort of nefarious
reason such as trying to cover up agency embarrassments." Weinstein
pledged that NARA's findings on the matter will be issued by the end of
April when the audit that is being conducted by ISSO is released.
While Archivist Weinstein is clearly not responsible for any of the
language in the agreement and was not aware of its contents until he
was
recently briefed, concerns have been raised about the role of the then
Archivist of the United States Carlin and perhaps other key NARA staff
who
according to Tom Blanton, executive director of the National Security
Archive, "basically aided and abetted a covert operation that whited
out
the nation's history by reclassifying previously released documents."
This raises the issue: why in the first place did the parties to the
agreement believe it a necessity to keep the re_review "secret."
There
are other very public re-reviews being conducted by such agencies as
the
Department of Energy that is carrying out the Congressionally mandated
Kyle-Lott review of inadvertent releases relating to nuclear energy and
weapons programs.
An answer to this question may seem baffling, especially to those not
"of"
the national security establishment. Security agencies generally take
the
stance that when they have a specific classified program to protect
from
improper "incidental disclosure," typically they take a firm stance:
they
insist that all such materials need to be protected under the cloak of
classification and secrecy. NARA, on the other hand, generally takes
the
position that secrecy tends to focus attention on documents that
otherwise
would not draw any particular attention by researchers, historians, or
the
press. Often NARA advocates this position in discussions with agencies
but
finds itself over-ruled by agencies wishing to take a firmer stance.
This
very public disclosure of a secret re-review program that probably
never
needed to be classified "secret" in the first place, serves only to
raise
concerns by the public and Congress alike about excessive secrecy in
government.
2. COALITION FORMED TO ADDRESS SMITHSONIAN "SHOWTIME" DEAL
The National Coalition for History along with the several major history
and
archives organizations have joined with a number of other concerned
organizations (i.e. Association of Research Libraries, Center for
American
Progress, etc...) and individuals (especially documentary filmmakers)
to
begin a campaign to raise public and Congressional awareness of
troubling
aspects of the recent agreement between the Smithsonian Institution
(SI)
and SHOWTIME Networks Inc. As reported last week in this publication
(see
"Smithsonian Semi-Commercial Deal With Showtime Draws Fire" in NCH
WASHINGTON UPDATE Vol 12, #16; 7 April 2006) the semi-exclusive aspect
of
the SI/SHOWTIME agreement is particularly problematic as it appears to
violate the professional and ethical standards of a host of scholarly
organizations including the American Historical Association,
Organization
of American Historians (AHA), and the Society of American Archivists
(SAA).
This last Tuesday, organizational representatives mapped out a strategy
to
address the issue. To start, several professional member organizations
such as the AHA and SAA agreed to write letters on behalf of their
organizations raising concerns, including letters to the editors of
major
national newspapers and to Secretary of the Smithsonian, Lawrence
Small. A "sign-on" letter is also being circulated in which
individuals
can also express their concern in a public forum. For those interested
in
signing that letter, contact Carl Malamud of the Center for American
Progress at [log in to unmask] for additional information.
3. WEINSTEIN NAMES NIXON LIBRARY HEAD
On 10 April 2006, Archivist of the United States Allen Weinstein
announced
the appointment of presidential historian Timothy Naftali to serve as
the
first director of the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum in
Yorba Linda, California. Naftali, who is currently Associate Professor
and
Director of the Presidential Recordings Program at the University of
Virginia's Miller Center for Public Affairs, will assume his duties on
16
October 2006.
Educated at Yale University and Johns Hopkins University, Professor
Naftali
received a Ph.D. in history from Harvard University in 1993. Since
1999,
he has directed the Miller Center's Presidential Recordings Program,
where
he oversees the team of scholars and staff responsible for
transcribing,
annotating and interpreting hundreds of telephone conversations and
meetings secretly recorded by Presidents Roosevelt, Truman, Eisenhower,
Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon in the White House.
According to Richard Ben-Veniste, a former Watergate prosecutor,
"Naftali
is an excellent choice to head the Nixon Presidential library. In my
association with Mr. Naftali, on the Nazi War Crimes and Japanese
Imperial
Government Records Interagency Working Group and the National
Commission on
Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, I found him to be an
outstanding
scholar and an energetic advocate for the people."
In making the announcement the Archivist said, "As the Nixon Library
prepares to join the other 11 Presidential libraries that are part of
the
National Archives system, I am very pleased that Timothy Naftali has
agreed
to take on this important new position. Professor Naftali's experience,
energy, and vision will invigorate this new national resource and help
the
Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum quickly become a major
center
for research and learning. As the representative of a younger
generation of
scholars, he will be able to set a new tone for a national center to
study
the Nixon era."
Currently, there are some 44 million pages of textual records that will
be
placed under Naftali's stewardship. More than 3,000 hours of
presidential
tape recordings of the Nixon Administration currently housed at the
National Archives College Park facility also will be transferred
eventually
to the Yorba Linda facility.
In accepting the position, Naftali stated, "I am honored to be
entrusted
with bringing together the vast historical records of the Nixon
administration in Yorba Linda and ensuring that they are open and
accessible for current and future generations." Among his initial
projects, Naftali will focus on is a conferences on Vietnam and
Sino-American relations, will initiate a Nixon oral history project and
create a significant multimedia website.
4. SMITHSONIAN AMERICAN HISTORY MUSEUM TO CLOSE FOR RENOVATION
On 12 April 2006 the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History
announced plans for a major architectural transformation to focus on
three
areas: architectural enhancements to the museum's interior,
constructing a
state-of-the-art gallery for the Star-Spangled Banner, and updating the
42-year-old building's infrastructure including mechanical, electrical,
plumbing, lighting, fire and security systems.
To prepare for the transformation, the museum will begin closing some
of
its exhibition galleries this spring and summer, and the full museum
will
close to the public as of 5 September. (Labor Day, 4 September, will be
the
last day to visit the museum.) Construction will begin in the fall of
2006
with the museum being scheduled to reopen by summer 2008.
The 42-year old museum has been sending visitors through a maze of
hallways, exhibitions, and displays that have confused and mystified
visitors for decades. The $85 million renovation will seek to unite
the
collections by having visitors pass first through a detailed
introductory
exhibition that will identify the purpose of the museum and explain its
collections. Included in the renovation plans is a new enclosure for
the
Stars and Stripes that flew over Fort McHenry in Baltimore Harbor that
inspired the writing of the American national anthem. A welcome center
will also be added near the entrance of the mall.
The renovation plans are not without criticism, however. Smithsonian
insiders report that the key donor, Kenneth E. Behring, who is
contributing
some $16 million to the renovation (part of an overall $80 million
donation
to the Smithsonian), has made his views known and insisted on grand
stairways and other expensive architectural components and skylights
that
were questioned by staff as being costly unnecessary additions. There
also
was considerable internal controversy over the wisdom of closing the
entire
museum down rather than renovate it in stages in order to avoid closing
the
popular museum down entirely for two years.
5. BITS AND BYTES
Item #1 - 50 New Recordings Added to Recording Registry: Librarian of
Congress James H. Billington has made his annual selection of 50 sound
recordings for addition to the National Recording Registry. The
selections
are made based on the basis of recordings that are "culturally,
historically, or aesthetically significant." The new additions to the
registry honor a wide variety of outstanding spoken and musical
recordings
and span the years 1903-1988. Among the selections is the first
presidential inauguration to be broadcast, featuring the New England
man-of-few-words -- Calvin Coolidge; the first official transatlantic
telephone conversation that took place on 7 January 1927 and a number
of
performances by a pantheon of significant American artists, including
Bob
Hope, Nat King Cole, Fred Allen, Mahalia Jackson, Fats Domino, Buddy
Holly,
Jerry Lee Lewis, Dave Brubeck, B.B. King, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
and
Stevie Wonder. The Library is currently accepting nominations for the
2006 National Recording Registry at the National Recording Preservation
Board Web site, www.loc.gov/nrpb/.
6. ARTICLES OF INTEREST
One posting this week: In "Historians Strive to Save Old Sounds"
(Christian
Science Monitor; 13 April 2006) Monitor reporter Randy Dotinga traces
the
effort to preserve songs and spoken word performances recorded on the
early
precursors of compact discs through digitization. For the article go
to:
http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0413/p13s02_stct.html?s=hns .
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