NOVANEWS
The CIA is blaming budget cuts on their new effort to close the department that releases declassified documents to the public
The seal of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency inlaid in the floor of the main lobby of the Original Headquarters Building. Inlaid in the floor of the main lobby of the Original Headquarters Building is a large granite CIA seal measuring 16 feet across in diameter. This emblem has been the symbol for the Central Intelligence Agency since February 17, 1950, and is comprised of three representative parts: the eagle, the shield and the 16-point compass star. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)
By JG Vibes
Motherboard reported that the Historical Collections Division is described on its website as “an important part of CIA’s ongoing effort to be more open and to provide for more public accountability.” It is a “voluntary declassification program that focuses on records of historical value,” including information on the Vietnam War, spy satellites, the Bay of Pigs and other historical scandals and operations.[1]
Multiple sources have reported that this office is closing, apparently due to sequestration cuts, while trillions are continually spent by the military industrial complex on empire building.
The CIA claims that the work of the Historical Collections Division will continue though. “As a result of sequestration, elements of one program office were moved into a larger unit to create efficiencies, but CIA will continue to perform this important work,” said Edward Price, a CIA spokesman.[2]
“This move is a true loss to the public,” said Mark Zaid, a Washington lawyer who frequently litigates against the CIA. He said the CIA office that handles Freedom of Information Act requests “is the most obstructionist and unfriendly of those I have dealt with during the last two decades.”
“This is very unfortunate,” said Robert Jervis, a Columbia University professor who chairs the CIA’s Historical Review Panel. “There will be fewer releases. We shouldn’t fool ourselves.”
Sources:
[1]The CIA Is Closing the Office That Declassifies Historical Documents–Motherboard
[2] CIA closes office that declassifies historical materials – LA Times
