Richard Cox writes: "We should compare the recent statements of the former and current Archivists on the NARA reclassification case, and we should wonder just who is in charge at this institution. And, as well, we should wonder how many other secret deals have been made by someone at this institution. We need to remember that the Information Security Oversight Office is an internal NARA organ. While Dr. Weinstein’s statement may seem reassuring, I believe we are pass the point when NARA can be trusted on its own to regulate itself; that trust can be regained, but it will have to come through independent oversight. I urge all archivists to write to the Society of American Archivists to demand that our professional association create an independent body to look into what is going on in this case, as well as reconsider how NARA can be strengthened as an archival agency in this era of growing government secrecy. I also urge archivists to support the work of the National Security Agency in its efforts to function as a watchdog of NARA." I agree with Richard that these issues are too important to leave by the wayside. And I strongly agree that SAA should look at what happened here and also to consider how NARA can be strengthened as an archival agency. A few additional comments. Richard asks who is in charge of NARA. We do not yet know who all the players were in the acceptance of the two MOUs. Some of this may be difficult to unravel. The Archives' lawyers may claim attorney-client privilege, for example, over the substance of what they advised. However, NARA should be able to telll us whether or not the MOUs were passed through its Office of General Counsel. That type of procedural routing information should not be privileged. Nor do we know what pressure various officials faced. I don't know how much NARA will admit to. As to who is in charge, anyone who works in a large organization knows that the man or woman at the top may not get involved in all the nitty gritty but often relies on direct reports for briefings or a heads up about contentious matters. What he or she is told obviously will vary. And how an agency head interprets a briefing or a heads up depends in part on his or her own level of technical knowledge of the issues. There are a number of areas where this process can break down. We simply do not yet know what happened at NARA. I understand, of course, why Richard is leery of internal organs. NARA does not have a strong history of examining thoroughly or candidly problems relating to third party pressure it faces in attempting to open historical records. Or reporting about such findings publicly. In my view, the past failure to do so simply sets the scene for future pressure. However, I am cautiously optimistic that Mr. Leonard of ISOO will, at a minimum, be able to address forthrightly the issues relating to reclassification. He also may be able to address the roles played by various people inside and outside NARA in agreeing to the MOUs. I understand, however, why Richard and others may disagree with me. Hence the need for SAA and others to play a role, as well. I used to talk during the 1990s about my Nixon Project experiences with my late sister, Eva, who worked in NARA's declassification unit. I asked her how she would feel if third parties outside the agency asked her to represent their deletions as her own, independent archival decisions. I argued that NARA must scrupulously differentiate between deletions made by its staff and retractions requested by others. Eva often replied, "Oh, those are NL(the Office of Presidential Libraries) problems. NL is different; the rest of NARA doesn't face that sort of thing." I wonder what she would think of the present controversy! Examining these issues is not political, of course. Regardless of our individual political views, I would hope that all of us who subscribe to the List can relate to the need to preserve the public trust in matters relating to national memory. Maarja A posting from the Archives & Archivists LISTSERV List sponsored by the Society of American Archivists, www.archivists.org. For the terms of participation, please refer to http://www.archivists.org/listservs/arch_listserv_terms.asp. To subscribe or unsubscribe, send e-mail to [log in to unmask] In body of message: SUB ARCHIVES firstname lastname *or*: UNSUB ARCHIVES To post a message, send e-mail to [log in to unmask] Or to do *anything* (and enjoy doing it!), use the web interface at http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/archives.html Problems? Send e-mail to Robert F Schmidt <[log in to unmask]>