Target audience: Librarians who seek access to information held by the federal government
Learning Outcomes:
1) Participants will identify federal statutes, executive orders, and Department of Defense regulations and directives that apply to the classification of information and the disclosure of classified information, as well as the various levels of security clearances possessed by federal employees.
2) Participants will identify historical situations where the unauthorized disclosure of classified information has jeopardized intelligence operations and describe scenarios in which secrecy is an essential factor in protecting national security.
Secrecy often poses difficulties in democracies where transparency of government operations is the norm. Claims to secrecy are viewed with suspicion, and questions arise as to whether the cloak of secrecy hides not secrets essential for national security, but evidence of malfeasance and incompetence. With the detention of Army Private Bradley Manning for the suspected release of classified information to WikiLeaks, many have viewed his role as one of whistleblower, rather than lawbreaker or spy.
Learn how information is classified, who has the authority to classify and declassify it, and who has access to it. Focusing on intelligence operations, also learn the importance of secrecy in protecting the national security of the United States, and the damage resulting from breaches of secrecy.
The views and opinions expressed during this program are those of the speakers and do not represent the views or policies of the United States Government.