ENCYCLOPEDIA OF Espionage, Intelligence, and Security Volume ...

Clinton Administration, United States National Security Policyturned over some 1.3 million pages of declassified documentsto the National Archives and Records Administration(NARA). Intriguing as the contents were, these documentswere far more than 25 years old; rather, they datedfrom the beginning of World War I to the end of WorldWar II. Among them were a cryptologic study of the1917 Zimmermann telegram that precipitated U.S. entryinto World War I; information on the Native American“Codetalkers” of World War II; and the captured diary of aNazi U-boat.Much more recent were the photographs released bythe National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA) in 1996and again in 2002. These included millions of frames ofimagery taken by KH-1 through KH-6 spacecraft, the KH-7Surveillance Imaging System, and the KH-9 GeospatialImaging System. Taken between 1963 and 1980, the imagesfrom the “Keyhole” satellites included shots of Hanoiand Beijing, Egypt’s Aswan Dam, the Eiffel Tower, and theU.S. Capitol building. Still withheld were numerous images,some dating as far back as 1963, that were stillconsidered too sensitive for release.NARA, CIA, and the Continuing Task of Declassification. Furtherinformation regarding documents released in accordancewith Executive Order 12958 is available at the NARA Website. With the help of teams sent by CIA under a projectknown as “Remote Archives Capture Project,” NARA hadby the early twenty-first century declassified millions ofpages of material. Among these were State Departmentfiles offering information on Nazi gold from World War II;Kennedy’s tapes of conversations during the Cuban missilecrisis of October 1962; the January 1968 incident inwhich sailors from the U.S.S. Pueblo were captured byNorth Korea; headquarters reports from U.S. military commandsin Vietnam and Thailand through 1975; informationon POWs and MIAs from Korea and Vietnam; andrecords of U.S. participation in SALT (Strategic ArmsLimitation Talks) negotiations.It was an intriguing collection, but much remained tobe processed by historians, scholars and archivists. Someof the processed information may remain classified indefinitely.According to Michael J. Kurtz, aside from “uniqueitems such as Secret Service records relating to the protectionof the President and Internal Revenue Service taxinformation,” items exempted from release fell into fourbasic groups: information on atomic energy; intelligencesources and methods; sensitive foreign-relations topics(e.g., U.S. discussions on border disputes between othernations, such as that between India and Pakistan overKashmir); and information from foreign governments thatthe latter had not approved for release.❚ FURTHER READING:BOOKS:Disclosure of Classified Information to Congress. Washington,D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1998.Richelson, Jeffrey T. The U.S. Intelligence Community,third edition. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1995.PERIODICALS:Black, Chris. “Mitchell Urges New Classified Data Law.”Boston Globe. (December 5, 1989): 3.Elvin, John. “We’ve Waited Long Enough.” WashingtonTimes. (December 27, 1999): 26.Lardner, George, Jr. “Classified Trial-Data Law Attacked.”Washington Post. (April 30, 1988): A4.ELECTRONIC:Declassification and Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).Defense Prisoner of War/Missing Personnel Office. (January 21, 2003).OPENDOOR. National Security Agency. (January 21, 2003).U.S. National Archives and Records Administration. (January 21, 2003).SEE ALSOClinton Administration (1993–2001), United States NationalSecurity PolicyExecutive Orders and Presidential DirectivesIran-Contra AffairNational Archives and Records Administration (NARA),Unites StatesNIMA (National Imagery and Mapping Agency)Security Clearance InvestigationsClinton Administration(1993–2001), United StatesNational Security Policy❚ CARYN E. NEUMANNPresident William Jefferson (Bill) Clinton argued that theend of the Cold War did not mean that the United Statescould abandon its long-standing aim of ensuring nationalsecurity by promoting democratization around the world.Now the sole surviving superpower, the U.S. in the 1990swould continue to assertively support democracy but notin a manner that might place American troops in greatjeopardy. Fearful of becoming stuck in a Vietnam-likequagmire, the Clinton administration would employ forceas a tool of coercive diplomacy and punishment but avoidfull-scale conflict. The national security system, re-designedby the new president, would also de-emphasizemilitary issues in favor of a greater emphasis upon economicsin the formulation of policy.President Clinton entered the White House in 1993with little experience or enthusiasm for international affairs.The first president to take office after the end of theCold War, President Clinton was also the first to come of216 Encyclopedia of Espionage, Intelligence, and Security