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FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2009
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Obama Orders Review of Government Secrecy

President creates task force to overhaul declassification policy

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(Newser) – President Obama has ordered a sweeping review of the government's secrecy policy, the Washington Post reports. Obama sent a memo to government officials reaffirming his administration's commitment "to operating with an unprecedented level of openness," and directed his national security adviser  to review how classified information is handled and to recommend changes that will bring greater transparency.

Obama has created a task force, headed by Attorney General Eric Holder and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, to improve federal agencies' sharing of unclassified national security information when appropriate. He asked advisers to look into restoring the "presumption against classification" that was introduced under the Clinton administration and removed under President Bush.

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano will head a task force to review the federal government's sharing of unclassified information with state governments and the private sector.
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano will head a task force to review the federal government's sharing of unclassified information with state governments and the private sector.   (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta )
President Barack Obama arrives to deliver a speech inside a hanger at Nellis Air Force Base in Las Vegas yesterday.
President Barack Obama arrives to deliver a speech inside a hanger at Nellis Air Force Base in Las Vegas yesterday.   (AP Photo/Isaac Brekken)
President Barack Obama speaks at a Democratic National Committee fundraising event at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles yesterday.
President Barack Obama speaks at a Democratic National Committee fundraising event at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles yesterday.   (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)
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This is music to the ears of many of us but the hard work remains to be done—how to translate these goals
into policies.
- Steven Aftergood, director of the Project on Government Secrecy at the Federation of American Scientists

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6 comments
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NovThird2010
May 28, 09 4:26 AM CDT
Transparency? Where's the birth certificate? Compare: copy of Chairman Barry's "CERTIFICATION of Live Birth" (http://fightthesmears.com/articles/5/birthcertificate) vs. a Hawaii "CERTIFICATE of Live Birth" from the same era (http://snarkybytes.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/hawaii-birth-certificate-1963.jpg). Someone's hiding something; that cannot be denied. Reply
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IN RESPONSE:
ClearSight
May 28, 09 7:59 AM CDT
"If" what you say is true, what would the ramifications be? I can imagine a few but I like to hear it from you.......
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Corona_Kinq
May 28, 09 8:15 AM CDT
I shouldn't respond to a worthless troll but: http://www.factcheck.org/askfactcheck/has_obamas_birth_certificate_been_disclosed.html http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/born_in_the_usa.html Reply
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IN RESPONSE:
godawgs
May 28, 09 8:44 AM CDT
what he is talking about is the long form of the birth certificate. not the certificate of live birth. All of this stuff can be photo shopped anyway. It is a pointless debate anyway. Obama is the President, the people have decided that he was the one that they wanted in charge. That being said though he does do a lot of talking but not a lot of doing. This is just another talking point for him about how he has a transparent government but noone knows what is going on in the white house. We don't know how he is spending the money what is tucked into the bills before they are signed, things like that. It is one thing to say it, it is another to follow through.
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Clarke
May 28, 09 10:39 AM CDT
Its not pointless. The Constitution says you must be a natural born citizen. If he is not, then his Presidency is against the law and a change must be made, no matter what the will of the people is. To change this there must be a Constitutional Amendment. The fact that Obama refuses to submit the birth certificate gives me enough reason to doubt the legitimacy of his Presidency. As citizens we are not allowed to choose which laws to follow. We must follow them all. And to be honest, what really hacks me is that if it were Bush or McCain or any other Republican candidate, the media would not have let this slide during the election. They would have been all over the candidate. Obama has had a free ride since they annointed him in the beginning of 2008. Reply
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