Bush’S ‘Open Source Center’ Keeping U.S. Public In The Dark

Bush’s ‘Open Source Center’ apparently exists to shield hard-to-find, unclassified records from public access and oversight. Bush’s ‘Open Source Center’ Keeping U.S. Public In The DarkBy Cliff Montgomery – June 2nd, 2008The ironically-named “Open Source Center” (OSC), run by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), has created a rather heavy-handed set of controls for dissemination of its unclassified media.The OSC’s own website freely declares its supposed intention:“OpenSource.gov provides timely and tailored translations, reporting and analysis on foreign policy and national security issues from the Open Source Center and its partners. Featured are reports and translations from thousands of publications, television and radio stations, and Internet sources around the world.”Also among the site’s holdings are a foreign video archive and fee-based commercial databases for which OSC has negotiated licenses. OSC’s reach extends from hard-to-find local publications and video to some of the most renowned thinkers on national security issues inside and outside the US Government.”But in practice, it often seems that the Bush Administration’s “Open Source Center” solely exists to shield hard-to-find, unclassified records from public access and oversight.For those not yet convinced of the closed policy of ODNI’s “Open Source Center”, we provide below a recently-posted notice from the OSC’s password-protected website, as first disclosed by the Federation of American Scientists, a top government secrecy watchdog group:“Content available via this website must not be disseminated to the public. All content available via this website is treated as copyrighted material and is provided for U.S. Government purposes only.”Such purposes may include rebroadcast, redistribution, dissemination, copying, and hyper-linking provided it is for official U.S. Government purposes only. Any removal or redistribution of content outside of official U.S. Government channels requires the advance authorization of OSC.”Information under the control of external websites to which OSC may provide hyperlinks may have separate restrictions and shall be accessed only in accordance with any usage policies and restrictions applicable to those sites.””Authorized system users may use the content available via this website to support official U.S. Government business and may disseminate this information to other U.S. Government components.”In disseminating this content for other U.S Government component use, U.S. Government personnel must use a password-protected email system. System users who are partners (e.g. individuals or groups maintaining a formal OSC relationship), may also use the content, as authorized by OSC, to support their official business and must use a password-protected email system.”Contractors with access to this site may only have that access during the time period as required to fulfill their contract responsibilities.”So though the information in question already is unclassified, and most of it is publicly available–hence it is safe to disseminate, by any stretch of the imagination–the Director of National Intelligence still demands as much control as possible over the flow of this data to the American people.Such an unmediated, blind thirst for authority says more about the DNI–and more about the true nature of this White House–than any well-crafted declaration ever could.Like what you’re reading so far? Then why not order a full year (52 issues) of thee-newsletter for only $15? A major article covering an story not being told in the Corporate Press will be delivered to your email every Monday morning for a full year, for less than 30 cents an issue. Order Now!