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NCH WASHINGTON UPDATE (Vol. 12, #20; 28 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 ISSUES RECLASSIFICATION AUDIT REPORT
2. SOCIETY OF AMERICAN HISTORIANS WEIGH IN ON SMITHSONIAN “SHOWTIME”
DEAL; SI SECRETARY SMALL RESPONDS TO THE AHA
3. AMERICANISTS AND PUBLIC HISTORIANS GATHER IN NATION’S CAPITOL
4. ROBERT REMINI’S LONG AWAITED HOUSE HISTORY RELEASED
5. BITS AND BYTES: NCH Policy Board Meets; NARA Issues Volume 4 of
Bush
Public Papers
6. ARTICLES OF INTEREST: No posting this week
1. NARA ISSUES RECLASSIFICATION AUDIT REPORT
On 26 April 2006, National Archives officials released an audit report
of
what has been characterized as a “secret” National Archives and Records
Administration (NARA) sanctioned document reclassification effort by
the
CIA and several defense-related federal agencies. The 28-page audit
report
titled “Withdrawal of Records for Public Access at the National
Archives
and Records Administration for Classification Purposes”
(<http://www.archives.gov/isoo/reports/2006-audit-report.pdf>) revealed
that while the reclassification of about two-thirds of the documents
pulled
from NARA’s public shelves was technically justified, a third – some
25,315
historical documents – were “clearly inappropriate” and did not contain
sensitive information that justified classification. Another 12
percent
were deemed by auditors as “questionable” candidates for
reclassification.
The report demonstrates that the reclassification effort was far more
extensive than what had been previously disclosed. The report raises
serious questions about NARA and ISOO oversight of re-review efforts
and
brings to light new concerns about overclassification, quality control,
and
the integrity of ongoing classification programs currently being
conducted
by federal agencies.
Archivist of the United States Allen Weinstein, who had ordered a
moratorium of the covert reclassification program as well as the audit,
said “More than one of every three documents removed from the open
shelves
and barred to researchers should not have been tampered with. That
practice, which undermined the National Archives basic mission to
preserve
the authenticity of files under our stewardship, must never be
repeated.”
The audit was initiated in response to complaints from independent
historian Matthew Aid, who, in February 2006, in the course of his
personal
research discovered that many documents that he had previously viewed
at
NARA had been withdrawn from public shelves. His inquiries brought the
matter to the attention of the George Washington University’s National
Security Archive, which pulled together a coalition of concerned
entities,
including the National Coalition for History, which brought evidence of
the
reclassification program to the attention of NARA officials.
The audit revealed that NARA acquiesced too readily to the withdrawal
of
records, partly because it has not had the resources available to keep
pace
with the agency re-review. But the most significant deficiency
identified
in the audit is, according to a NARA statement, “the absence of
standards,
including requisite levels of transparency governing agency re-review
activity at the National Archives” a concern that Archivist Weinstein
through his actions has sought to aggressively address.
The shear size of the re-review effort has surprised some observers.
Five
different agencies were involved: CIA, Air Force, Department of Energy,
Federal Emergency Management Agency, and the National Archives. The
audit
revealed that document re-review was conducted not just at NARA’s
College
Park facility but at the Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Bush presidential
libraries as well. According to Meredith Fuchs, National Security
Archive
General Counsel, “We are stunned to learn this program is even larger
than
we were previously told. For the last two months we thought only 9,500
records were reclassified. In fact more than twice that number were
reclassified, and re-reviews happened at Presidential libraries as well
as
NARA.”
Another key concern is the number of documents that agencies concluded
had
been initially improperly classified. Most of the documents in the
sampling of records had undergone classification review prior to the
recently revealed agency re-review effort – this suggests serious
across-the-board problems in agency classification efforts. According
to
Fuchs, “This report confirms our fears that some Executive branch
agencies
are willing to pour taxpayer dollars into efforts to control all
information for all time without considering whether it is necessary or
even feasible. I can’t imagine we are any safer today than we would be
if
this reclassification program had never taken place.”
J. William Leonard, Director of the Information Oversight Office (ISOO)
believes that “classification is more than an assertion” and that there
are
judgements that agencies need to make with respect to what “can verses
what
should” remain classified. Leonard notes that the audit demonstrates
that
even when a withdrawn record met the technical standards for continued
classification, in many instances “insufficient judgement was applied
to
the decision to withdraw the record from public access.” Auditors
found
that the CIA stepped even further out of bounds when it withdrew a
“considerable number” of records it knew should be unclassified “in
order
to obfuscate” other records it was trying to protect.
The Air Force’s still undisclosed secret program that the agency feared
would be revealed as a result of inadvertent release of information
from
documents, will resume its re-review now that Weinstein’s moratorium
has
been lifted and a new Air Force/NARA re-review protocol is in place. To
date the USAF has identified a total of 17,702 records for withdrawal
and
still has some 200 boxes of records to review. What is ironic is that
the
attention garnered as a result of the Air Force’s insistence on secrecy
in
the re-review effort now has drawn attention to the very program the
Air
Force was trying to keep a secret in the first place.
The audit also found that in many of these instances, withdrawal did
little
to mitigate potential damage to national security, especially if the
record
had been published elsewhere, such as in a Foreign Relations of the
United
States (FRUS) volume, the official compilation of State Department
records
that for decades has been systematically issued by the Department of
State’s history office. Said Leonard, “Some of the practices
highlighted
in this audit can actually serve to undermine the integrity of the very
system we depend upon to ensure that our nation’s adversaries cannot
use
national security related information.” Furthermore, stated Leonard,
“It
would be wrong to look at the audit results set forth in this report
solely
in the context of declassification and reclassification. While the
issues
identified in these areas are significant, they are reflective of
challenges confronting the classification system as a whole.”
Next steps? According to NARA sources, affected agencies have agreed to
interim guidelines that require the public be informed when records are
withdrawn from public access. Existing memoranda of understanding
between
NARA and agencies involved with the withdrawal effort will be replaced
with
interim protocol guidelines. Agencies have agreed in principle to
creation
of a pilot National Declassification Initiative that will address the
policies, procedures, structure, and resources needed to create a more
reliable executive branch-wide declassification program. Finally, and
perhaps of most concern to researchers, NARA has pledged to work with
agencies to insure that documents removed improperly from open shelves
“will be restored to public access as expeditiously as possible.”
Steven
Aftergood, director of the Federation of American Scientist's “Project
on
Government Secrecy” said “It’s too early to say whether this will solve
the
problem, but it brings the matter out into the open where it belongs.”
2. SOCIETY OF AMERICAN HISTORIANS WEIGH IN ON SMITHSONIAN “SHOWTIME”
DEAL;
SI SECRETARY SMALL RESPONDS TO THE AHA
The prestigious Society of American Historians, an elite organization
comprised of 250 fellows whose books promote literary distinction in
the
writing of history, has passed a resolution condemning the Smithsonian
Institution’s (SI) commercial arrangements, including the Showtime deal
as
well as a commercial publishing agreement relating to Smithsonian
Books. The resolution vigorously protests the Smithsonian’s
“increasingly
commercial approach to its mission” and calls for the Smithsonian to
reconsider its contract with Showtime. The Society also suspended
Smithsonian Books as a publisher-member of the Society of American
Historians.
The resolution signed by Executive Secretary Mark C. Carnes, President
Frances FitzGerald, Vice President Eric Foner, and 26 other acclaimed
historians including Robert Dallek, David Kennedy, James McPherson,
Mary
Beth Norton, Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, and Tom Wicker states, “We
understand
the economic pressures that pushed the Smithsonian into contracting
with
Showtime, but Smithsonian cares for the artifacts of the nation’s
heritage
as a public trust; there can be no justification for optioning that
heritage to any private interest....We emphatically concur with the
American Historical Association, which has concluded that Smithsonian’s
relationship with Showtime constitutes a ‘violation of the trust of
generations of Americans who donated materials to which they believed
the
public would have free, open, equal, and non-discriminatory access
forever.’”
The Society also took issue with the character of the Smithsonian’s
agreement with publishing behemoth Harper Collins that was signed in
February 2005 with little attention or scrutiny by the scholarly
community. As a result of that agreement some 300 titles from the more
than 1,000 pending projects on the Smithsonian Press’s roster were
transferred to the publisher; about 230 were retained for the scholarly
publishing unit still under the direct control of the Smithsonian but
others were dropped. Several Society members were particularly
concerned
that the transfer of some history titles and curtailment of marketing
for
others took place often with no consultation with the authors.
The reference in the Society’s resolution to the American Historical
Association (AHA) letter refers to a letter sent by AHA President Linda
Kerber to Smithsonian Secretary Lawrence Small (see “Groundswell Builds
in
Opposition to Smithsonian “Showtime” Deal” in NCH WASHINGTON UPDATE,
vol.
12 #19; 20 April 2006) in which the AHA expressed “alarm and deep
dismay”
about the semi-exclusive nature of the agreement with Showtime that in
essence violates the AHA “Statement on Standards for Professional
Conduct”
relating to open access to archives. This week, in a two-page response
to
Kerber, Smithsonian Secretary Lawrence Small responded.
In his letter to Kerber Small declared, “I want to assure you and the
community of historians, archivists, librarians, and researchers you
will
not be excluded or restricted from access to the Smithsonian archives,
collections and libraries and our staff.” He explained that “the area
that
appears to be the basis for actual concern is for filming rights at the
Smithsonian.” He boldly declared “Concerns that the new venture is
exclusive is false.” Small emphasized that the proprietary (hence
secret)
agreement with Showtime impacts only producers “who wish to make
significant use of the Smithsonian’s resources and then sell their
product
to commercial media distributors.” The AHA is preparing a statement on
Small’s response.
3. AMERICANISTS AND PUBLIC HISTORIANS GATHER IN NATION’S CAPITOL
From 19 - 22 April 2006, some 2,433 registrants including members of
the
Organization of American Historians and the National Council on Public
History (NCPH) met in Washington D.C. to attend a joint annual
meeting. Participants could select from some 200 sessions and had the
opportunity to attend a day-long workshop on the “Teaching American
History” grant program.
The second evening, some 200 people attended a spirited plenary session
devoted to the topic “What’s Wrong with U.S. Immigration Policy” that
featured talks by David Gutierrez and Otis Graham. The next day a
plenary
panel session on presidential assassinations attracted a smaller number
but
not as few as the AIDS plenary that attracted only about twenty
people. The annual luncheon of the NCPH was attended by some hundred
public historians who heard from the organization’s new Executive
Director
John Dichtl, as well as the outgoing president Robert Weible. Weible
delivered a characteristically insightful and humorous address.
During a Saturday brown-bag lunch sponsored by the National Coalition
for
History, the Archivist of the U.S. made a brief presentation and
fielded
questions from the audience. That evening, in her presidential
address,
Vicki Ruiz traced the impact of Latinos on American history – a
presentation that made an excellent bookend to a conference that kicked
off
with a discussion of immigration policy. As Ruiz concluded, “Our
America
is American history.”
4. ROBERT REMINI’S LONG AWAITED HOUSE HISTORY RELEASED
On 26 April, the long awaited history of the House of Representatives
by
Historian of the House Robert V. Remini was unveiled at an event at the
Library of Congress. In attendance were author Remini, Librarian of
Congress James H. Billington, Secretary of the Smithsonian Lawrence
Small,
and President and CEO of HarperCollinsPublishers Jane Friedman. Also
in
attendance was former history teacher and now member of Congress John
B.
Larson (D-CT) whose legislation (P.L. 106-99) served as the catalyst
for
the first comprehensive history of the House targeted to the general
reader.
The book, titled “The House: The History of the House of
Representatives”
is published by Smithsonian Books (an imprint of
HarperCollinsPublishers)
and is available for $34.95 in bookstores (and via the Internet)
nationwide. Remini had the challenge of condensing over 200 years of
history into a 625-page book. The author, who is principally a
historian/biographer found conceptualizing his first institutional
history
a challenge. Remini’s thoughtful narrative solution was to chronicle
the
first through the 108th Congress by highlighting the struggle between
principle and pragmatism. To that end he showcases not just events but
the
many colorful personalities who have contributed to making the
institution
what it is today. Remini drew heavily on manuscript materials as well
as
the congressional records, newspaper accounts, letters, diaries,
memoirs,
and his own interviews with many current and former members. The
result is
a rich history of “the people’s House.”
5. BITS AND BYTES
Item # 1 – NCH Policy Board Meets: During the annual meeting of the
Organization of American Historian’s the Policy Board of the National
Coalition for History met. The board reviewed comments on the
committee
draft of the organization’s strategic plan that is currently being
revised. The board approved a motion endorsing the 1940 “Statement of
Principles on Academic Freedom and Tenure” that had been requested by
the
American Association of University Professors. Board members heard
presentations by representatives of the American Association for State
and
Local History (AASLH) on the “Taking Care of Our Heritage” state
formula
grants proposal and considered a similar proposal advanced by the
Council
of State Archivists regarding the “Partnership for the American
Historical
Record” (PAHR). The board agreed to join as a member of the Federal
Formula Grant Coalition being organized by the AASLH to advance a
formula
grant program for museums. The board also unanimously passed a
resolution
embracing a $10 million appropriation for the National Historical
Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) for FY 2007; in that
resolution
the Board reaffirmed its support for the PAHR “with funds in excess of
$10
million.”
Item #2 – NARA Issues Volume 4 of Bush Public Papers: The National
Archives
and Records Administration has released the fourth volume of the series
titled “The Public Papers of George W. Bush.” The volume contains the
public speeches, news conferences, messages, and statements and
official
communications to Congress for the period 1 July to 31 December 2002.
The
volume is available for $79.00 (Superintendent of Documents Stock No.
069-000-00157-2) online from the GPO bookstore at
http:bookstore.gpo.gov .
6. ARTICLES OF INTEREST
No posting this week.
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