Research Restrictions

[jim armstroong]

 

 

For anybody who cares about the public's ability to get to the military records that tell us what happened during WW II, Allen Weinstein, the archivist, has just about made it unworkable for anybody who holds a job.

 

Go here: "Allen Weinstein Excludes Americans from National Archives."

 

Thanks.

 

Sgtleo

[alkincer]

Your "Go Here" is not goable. AL

[Sgtleo]

 

My apologies I thought that would work.

 

It was a C&P job from an email I received but I was able to get Weinstein's email address.

 

Here's the email- allen.weinstein@nara.gov.

 

That worked for me.

 

If it doesn't work ring my bell again. I think he's being foolish

 

Sgtleo

[Walt's Daughter]

I typed in the sentence you gave us into Google and came up with tons of links regarding this man and the National Archives.

 

It would appear that this has nothing to do with Americans and WWII, but a measure taken because of abject theft with NARA. The articles discuss both sides of this argument. Will continue to look for more regarding this.

 

Here's one such article from this site:

 

http://www.aaup.org/publications/Academe/2...06mj/06mjnb.htm

 

Congressional Hearing Held on Document Withdrawals

A congressional committee held a hearing in March to investigate the reclassification by federal intelligence agencies of thousands of previously declassified historical documents from the National Archives. About 9,500 records totaling more than 55,000 pages have been withdrawn from the public shelves and reclassified since 1999, according to the National Archives. Many had already been viewed, copied, or republished.

 

“This absurd effort to put the toothpaste back into the tube persists despite the growing consensus . . . that from 50 to 90 percent of the material currently withheld should not be classified at all,†said representative Christopher Shays, chair of the House Government Reform Subcommittee on National Security, Emerging Threats and International Relations, at the hearing. He said that the withdrawals were part of a larger problem of the government’s keeping secrets when there is no valid reason for doing so.

 

The withdrawals came to light when historians and other researchers discovered that documents were disappearing and complained to the National Archives. In response, archivist Allen Weinstein announced a moratorium on reclassifications.

 

________________________________

 

 

Here is another article regarding this from this site:

 

http://www.platypi.com/policywonk/2006/04/

 

NARA Releases Audit on Reclassification Program

NARA released the results of their audit on reclassification yesterday:

 

 

Under the provisions of Executive Order (E.O.) 12958, as amended, "Classified National Security Information" (the Order) and in response to a request from the Archivist of the United States as well as a group of concerned individuals and organizations, the Information Security Oversight Office (ISOO) performed an audit of all re-review efforts undertaken since 1995 by agencies in their belief that certain records at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) had not been properly reviewed for declassification, but had been made available to the public. The audit found a total of ten unrelated efforts to identify such records, which resulted in the withdrawal of at least 25,315 publicly available records; approximately 40 percent were withdrawn because the reviewing agency purported that its classified information had been designated unclassified without its permission and about 60 percent were identified by the reviewing agency for referral to another agency for declassification or other public disclosure review.

 

In reviewing a sample consisting of 1,353 of the withdrawn records, we concluded that 64 percent of the sampled records did, in fact, contain information that clearly met the standards for continued classification. Much of this information had been declassified in the early years of implementation of the current framework before agencies had in place all of the required procedures and training. Agency declassification guidance was, at times, misconstrued and agency declassification personnel did not always recognize information that needed to be reviewed by other agencies. While these problems have been largely addressed over the years, we have concluded that more needs to be done.

 

The audit also found that in attempting to recover records that still contained classified information, there were a significant number of instances when records that were clearly inappropriate for continued classification were withdrawn from public access. We concluded that 24 percent of the sampled records fell into this category, and an additional 12 percent were questionable. In one re-review effort, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) withdrew a considerable number of purely unclassified records in order to obfuscate the classified equity that the agency was intent on protecting. Included in the inappropriate category above, at least 12 percent of the records sampled had apparently been properly declassified, but were later improperly reclassified.

 

 

The National Security Archive issued their response:

 

 

Archive General Counsel Meredith Fuchs reacted by stating, "We are stunned to learn that this program is even larger than we were previously told. For the last two months we thought only 9,500 records were reclassified. In fact more than twice that number were reclassified, and we now know that re-reviews happened at Presidential libraries as well as at NARA and that between 24 and 36 percent of those should not have been reclassified."

[Sgtleo]

 

Walt's Daughter:-

 

Just so you don't think I am a Section 8 candidate here is the reconstructed data that I got yesterday from one Harry Yeide a WW II Author that he had posted on another forum. If I read it correctly he is talking about the exclusion of AMERICANS by the imposition of the reduced research hours. Please correct me if I have read this wrong! I would hope that I never give out bad information!!

 

Quote "For anybody who cares about the public's ability to get to the military records that tell us what happened during WW II, Allen Weinstein, the archivist, has just about made it unworkable for anybody who holds a job. Go here: Allen Weinstein Excludes Americans from National Archives. Thanks.

 

Allen Weinstein Excludes Americans from the National Archives

 

Few men have the opportunity to deny their fellows the fruits of history. Whoever set the library of Alexandria alight was one such. Allen Weinstein, Archivist of the United States, is another.

 

Weinstein has eliminated, effective 2 October 2006, over three-quarters of the research hours at the U.S. National Archives that were available to Americans who work 9-to-5 jobs. Even for the privileged researchers who will be able to access records during Mr. Weinstein’s working hours, he has cut the amount of information made available by a third by slashing the number of “pulls†each business day. His decisions will drive many researchers and historians of our great country’s history out of business. This, in turn, will have ripple effects, as books and other publications that help spread knowledge of our history to the broader public will become less plentiful.

 

It is a shame that a petty bureaucrat whose name will justifiably be forgotten a century from now can do so much damage to American citizens seeking to preserve the memory of great Americans whose names should never be forgotten. Congress or the President should stop this travesty.

 

I urge visitors to this site to do three things:

Send Weinstein an e-mail and tell him what you think (allen.weinstein@nara.gov).

 

If you are an author, relate Weinstein’s attack on historians and the broader public in the foreword of your next book, as I shall. We can hope that when readers in the future pull our books from library shelves, they will spare an unkind thought for the man who did this.

 

3. Contact your representative and senators and tell them to fix this." End Quote

 

I read your posting and now I am at a loss when I reread the two postings.

 

Sgtleo

[Walt's Daughter]

Sarge:

 

Wasn't arguing with what ya said sweetie, just saying that there was a ton of stuff on this man and the National Archives. Pages and pages of it. I could not find the specific story you referred to because there wasn't a link listed in your post.

 

Thank you for presenting the story here so we could read it.

 

The National Archives in Maryland (where my dad's info was pulled from), stated this on their site today:

 

Research Hours

Monday & Wednesday 8:45 am - 5:00 pm

Tuesday, Thursday & Friday 8:45 am - 9:00 pm

Saturday 8:45 am - 4:45 pm

Closed Sundays and Federal Holidays

 

Note: Effective October 2, research hours will be Monday - Friday, 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

 

Extended Hours:

Extended hours will be available once per month. Archival assistance will not be available during this time. Final pull times on the Thursdays and Fridays with extended hours will be 3:30, with none on Saturday.

The next extended hour dates are:

October 19 and 20: Thursday and Friday, 9:00 a.m. - 8:45 p.m.

October 21: Saturday, 8:45 a.m. to 4:45 p.m.

See future extended hour dates

 

--------

 

Yes, will be more than happy to send him a note.

[Walt's Daughter]

Dates with Extended Research Hours in Washington, DC, and College Park, MD

 

 

On the following Thursdays and Fridays, hours will be: 9:00 a.m. - 8:45 p.m.

 

On the following Saturdays, the hours will be: 8:45 a.m. to 4:45 p.m.

 

2006

 

October 19, 20, 21

November 16, 17, 18

December 21, 22, 23

 

 

2007

 

January 18, 19, 20

February 15, 16, 17

March 15, 16, 17

April 19, 20, 21

May 17, 18, 19

June 21, 22, 23

July 19, 20, 21

August 16, 17, 18

September 20, 21, 22

 

Really puts a damper on research. In other words, it sucks.

[Sgtleo]

 

Walt's Daughter:-

 

As a "Top" I deleloped an alligator skin so I am not sensitive BUT I do want and expect to be told if I am wrong.

 

Over the years I have found that people will not say any of the following(and I ask you to keep a six month count to verify this)

 

1. I'm sorry !!

2. I don't know !!

3. I was wrong !!

 

Try it out - and keep score

 

Sgtleo

 

PS Forgot to thank you for the Promotion(LOL)

[Sgtleo]

 

I'm beginning to feel like an errand boy. This is Harry Yeide's latest posting

 

(Quote:-)

No, sir. The theft issue is entirely a different one. The hours have to do with what the Archivist of the United States chooses to cut to deal with budget issues.

 

Choosing to cut public access to the nation's archives is NOT a good first choice.

(End Quote)

 

I'm missing something I guess maybe it's my age and I'm having a Senior Moment

Think I'll bow out here - too confusing

 

Sgtleo

[Walt's Daughter]

Sarge I think you did a great job reporting on the news. I also think it's something that the public should be made aware of regardless of how the info filtered to all of us.

 

I was totally unaware of the hour changes and cut-backs regarding NARA, so don't stop with the investigative reporting. You "done did GOOD!"