Background The federal Witness Security Program (WITSEC Program) was established to provide for the security, health, and safety of government witnesses whose lives are at risk as a result of their testimony against organized crime members, drug traffickers, terrorists, and other major criminals. 1 Since the WITSEC Program’s inception in 1971, more than 8,700 witnesses and over 9,900 family members and other associates of witnesses have been admitted into the WITSEC Program. Within this population, there are known or suspected terrorists (KSTs) who have agreed to cooperate in major terrorism investigations and prosecutions, including the 1993 World Trade Center bombing,…
Author: John Greenewald
Background The Department of Homeland Security, Office of Inspector General initiated this investigation on a complaint received from [[ REDACTED ]] (who alleged he was sent the Personally Identifiable Information (PII) for dozens of Federal Agency employees and applicants by the FEMA Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Office pursuant to a FOIA request he filed. Durin r the investigation, it was determined that [[ REDACTED ]], Disclosure Unit, FEMA, Washington, DC, sent [[ REDACTED ]] two emails on October 2, 2014, containing un-redacted PII within attachments. When interviewed, [[ REDACTED ]] took responsibility for the improper release of PII, and…
Background This was an information paper that was found during a 2014 FOIA request to CENTCOM. At the time, I requested the following: “I respectfully request a copy of all documents, electronic or otherwise, that pertain to orders to military personnel and contractors, about how they are expected to observe Ramadan and how they are supposed to act in other countries during this time.” CENTCOM forwarded the below pages to OSD/JS for review and release, and I was sent them on September 8, 2017. (See also: NSA Observance of Ramadan) Document Archive Combat Operations in the Global War on Terrorism…
Background BRAC 2005 is the formal process outlined in Public Law l 01-51 0, “Defense Base Closure and Realignment Act of 1990,” as amended, under which the Secretary of Defense may realign or close military installations inside the United States and it’s territories. As part of BRAC 2005, the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics issued, “Transformation Through Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC 2005) Policy Memorandum One-Policy, ResponsibilitiesJ and Procedures,” April 16, 2003, which stated that the DoD Office of Inspector General would review the accuracy ofBRAC data and the certification process. The BRAC 2005 process was…
Background This report is the first in a series of reports that discuss the acquisition of the Chemical Demilitarization Program (the Demilitarization Program). The mission of the Demilitarization Program is to destroy chemical munitions through incineration or other approved alternative technologies. In 1985, the Congress, in section 1521, title 50, United States Code, “Destruction of Existing Stockpile of Lethal Chemical Agents and Munitions,” (Public Law 99-145), directed DoD to oversee the destruction of the stockpile of lethal chemical agents and munitions because of concerns for the stockpile deterioration. The Army established the Program Manager for Chemical Demilitarization to manage the…