Carrie Johnson
Washington Post
Thursday, May 28, 2009
President Obama directed his national security adviser and senior Cabinet officials yesterday to examine whether the government keeps too much information secret.
In a memo, Obama acknowledged that too many documents have been kept from the public eye for years and affirmed that he remains “committed to operating with an unprecedented level of openness.”
Obama asked national security adviser James L. Jones to canvass executive branch officials about their procedures for handling classified information and to make recommendations about better information sharing.
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The president also said that turf battles and problems with technology continue to pose obstacles to disseminating unclassified national security information among federal agencies with their partners in states and the private sector.
To help clear the path, Obama created a task force yesterday to study that and related issues for 90 days, putting Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano at the helm.




