ISSUED BY: GCIS Communications Command Center
SOURCE: Secrecy News
22February2011 2:35pmEST
GCIS INTELLIGENCE UPDATE: Last week the Senate confirmed Stephanie O’Sullivan to be the Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence (PDDNI), the number two position in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI). Ms. O’Sullivan, a longtime CIA employee who is 
currently Associate Deputy Director of CIA, will be the fourth person to hold that office.
A review of the materials submitted in support of her nomination, especially a set of answers to pre-hearing questions (pdf) submitted by the Senate Intelligence Committee, turns up a number of interesting new details concerning intelligence policy. For example:
** ODNI began an effort last year “to reinvigorate the declassification of imagery for public release,” Ms. O’Sullivan said. She indicated that this program had been “launched in May 2010,” but there is little sign that it has had any impact to date.
On the contrary, attempts to gain access to historical intelligence satellite imagery remain as contentious and mostly as fruitless as ever. “Trying to get [satellite imagery] declassified today, it’s like I’m taking their marbles away,” said Charles P. Vick of GlobalSecurity.org earlier this month, “and it’s over 40 years old.” (“New Secrets of Huge Soviet Moon Rocket Revealed” by Leonard David, Space.com, February 7, 2011) (read full report)
