Obama plans to declassify 400 million records...and you're all invited!

National Archives to host June 23rd Public Forum on Prioritization Plan for the National Declassification Center

Obama's Administration has tasked the National Declassification Center (NDC) with releasing to the public up to 400 million records from before 1985. I'm gonna buy shares in indelible black ink! The NDC has a great slogan...

Releasing All We Can, Protecting What We Must

For American ATSers, you can apply to take part in the public forums. I hope at least one of you attends this meeting and lets us all know firsthand what goes on. Roving reporters can scoop the MSM...maybe some footage? These things are likely to be pretty boring, but the amount of potential data to be released in the next couple of years is promising.

Washington, DC…On Wednesday, June 23 at 2:00 p.m., the National Archives will hold an open public forum to discuss the draft prioritization plan for the National Declassification Center (NDC) at the National Archives Building in Washington, DC. Archivist of the United States David S. Ferriero will serve as moderator.

This forum is free and open to the public, but advance registration is required. Attendees should register by June 18, 2010, by calling 301-837-0587. Leave your name, e-mail address, and phone number or e-mail [email protected].

Public Forum Press Release

What is the Purpose of the NDC?

The NDC will shorten the amount of time that it takes to declassify a document.

* Mission: To align people, processes, and technologies to advance the declassification and public release of historically valuable permanent records while maintaining national security.

* Vision: To be the world's preeminent declassification organization, responsive to all customers, committed to the free flow of information and the requirements of national security.

Do they mean customer or citizen?

There are currently approximately 409 million pages of reviewed Federal records at the National Archives that require referral and archival processing prior to release to the public. Additionally, there almost three million pages of highly sought after scanned images of Presidential records awaiting processing as part of the Remote Archives Capture project.

FAQs

You can read the entire plan (pdf warning)...National Declassification Center Prioritization Plan.

It's interesting reading and plenty to think about...particularly some of the footnotes we'd normally overlook...

3 The Remote Archives Capture Program was established in 1996 as a joint effort between the Presidential Libraries and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to facilitate declassification review and referral of classified Presidential papers in remote locations. This program digitally scans remotely located Presidential classified records and makes all twenty-five year old classified materials available electronically for declassification review in a centralized location in the Washington, DC area.

On the one hand, I think it's got great potential. Any large-scale release of documents will see a few good ones slip through the net. Remember Project Oxcart? On the other, we've all seen the FOIA documents that get released through the filter of CIA, NSA and other alphabet agencies....

So they are going to declassify JFK assassination??

reply to post by dragnet53
About as much chance of that happening as declassifying the stealth tech of flying pigs...

Originally posted by dragnet53
So they are going to declassify JFK assassination??

lol
u beat me to the punch.
I was gonna ask that very same question.
It should be interesting to see folks pick and
chose which of the documents to pay closer
attention to.

I also wonder if this is gonna include ET
documents or not ???? hmmmm