From: gnu (John Gilmore)
Date: Mon, 29 Nov 93 13:12:26 PST
To: cypherpunks
Subject: FOIA:  Sensor fusion
Message-ID: <9311292111.AA14187@toad.com>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain


November 22, 1993

Chief, Office of Policy
National Security Agency/Central Security Service
Fort George Meade, MD  20755-6000

Reference:  SENSOR FUSION

 

Dear Sir or Madam:

This is a request under the Freedom of Information Act [5 
U.S.C. ¤ 552(a)] on behalf of my client, Mr. John Gilmore.  

I write to request a copy of all agency records or portions 
thereof, in electronic or other form, which pertain, relate, or refer to 
sensor fusion.  "Sensor fusion" is the activity or process of "fusing" 
or merging information from a variety of different sensors to 
produce a more informative product.  For instance, merging radar 
data with intercepted radio transmissions and adding in satellite 
pictures may reveal a concentration of metal (from radar data) that 
coincides with a site that is transmitting communications.  

This request includes, but is not limited to:  electronic 
records such as software for performing sensor fusion; all 
documentation for such software; documentation about equipment 
used for sensor fusion; and records about agency use of sensor 
fusion.  

If the requested records are not in the possession of your 
agency, or if other agencies may also possess such records, I ask 
that you forward this request to any agency that you believe may 
have records responsive to this request, and inform me of such 
action.  Such agencies may include the NRO and the CIA.  In the 
alternative, I ask that you inform me of other agencies that you 
believe possess and control such records.  

As you know, the FOIA provides that an agency must make 
an initial determination of whether to comply with a FOIA request 
within ten working days of receiving the request.  Your own 
regulations provide that Ò[t]he Chief, Office of Policy, shall notify 
the requester of his determination within 10 working days of his 
receipt of the request.Ó  [32 C.F.R. ¤ 299.4(b)].  

If the records that you possess were originated or classified 
by another organization, I ask that your organization declassify 
them (if needed) and release them to me, as provided in the FOIA, 
within the statutory time limits.  If there is a conflict between the 
statutory time limits and some regulation or policy that requires 
you refer the records, the statutory requirement takes precedence 
over any Executive-branch regulation, policy or practice.  As you 
know, the FOIA provides that no more than an additional 10 
working days be taken for such consultation.  5 U.S.C. ¤ 
552(a)(6)(B).  If you do refer documents to any other agency, and 
they are not provided within the time limits, we intend to litigate on 
this point.

We also remind you that the long-standing rule that the 
FOIA "makes no distinction between records maintained in manual 
and computer storage systems," Yeager v. D.E.A., 678 F.2d 315, 
321 (D.C.Cir. 1982), has recently been amplified in Armstrong v. 
E.O.P., No 93-5002 (D.C. Cir., Aug. 13, 1993).  Any paper print-
outs of electronic records, such as e-mail, must include all 
information in the electronic record.  Assuming that there would be 
no loss of releasable information, such as written comments made 
on paper print-outs, we therefore ask you to release all responsive 
electronic records in electronic, i.e., machine-readable, form.

As you know, the FOIA provides that even if some 
requested material is properly exempted from mandatory 
disclosure, all segregable portions must be released.  [5 U.S.C. ¤ 
552(b)]  If any or all material covered by this request is withheld, 
please inform me of the specific exemptions that are being claimed, 
and mark all deletions to indicate the exemption(s) being claimed 
to authorize each individual withholding.  If the (b)(3) exemption is 
claimed, please indicate the relevant withholding statute(s).

In addition, I ask that your agency exercise its discretion to 
release information that may be technically exempt.  As you know, 
the Attorney General on October 4, 1993, directed that agencies 
should administer the FOIA under a presumption of disclosure, and 
that information which need not be withheld should not be.

Please do not delay processing because of uncertainty about 
the request.  I have reasonably described the records sought.  If you 
have any questions regarding this request, please telephone me at 
the above number, and we can discuss your questions.  

I also request that fees be waived because Mr. Gilmore is 
deemed a media requester by your agency for FOIA purposes.   
Should there be any problem in this regard, Mr. Gilmore promises 
to pay up to $1000 in fees, and you should therefore begin 
processing of this request without fee-related delays.  

As provided under the FOIA, I will expect a reply within ten 
(10) working days.  

Sincerely,



Lee Tien
Attorney at Law
On behalf of Mr. 
John Gilmore


rom owner-cypherpunks  Mon Nov 29 13:27:25 1993
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From: gnu (John Gilmore)
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To: cypherpunks
Subject: NSA FOIA: Public Domain Classified Records
Date: Mon, 29 Nov 93 13:09:27 -0800

November 23, 1993

Chief, Office of Policy
National Security Agency/Central Security Service
Fort George Meade, MD  20755-6000
ATTN:  FOIA request

Reference:  PUBLIC DOMAIN CLASSIFIED RECORDS

 

Dear Sir or Madam:

This is a request under the Freedom of Information Act [5 
U.S.C. ¤ 552(a)] on behalf of my client, Mr. John Gilmore.  

I write to request a copy of all agency records or portions 
thereof, in electronic or other form, which pertain, relate, or refer to 
documents which are formally designated as "classified" by the 
U.S. Government but which are known by NSA officials to be 
outside direct government control, in the possession of persons not 
presently employed by the U.S. government, available to the public 
in libraries, or otherwise in the public domain, whether within or 
outside the United States.  

This request also includes all agency records which were 
previously classified but are no longer classified or had their 
classification level downgraded if the fact that the records were 
outside direct government control, in the possession of persons not 
presently employed by the U.S. government, available to the public 
in libraries, or otherwise in the public domain, whether within or 
outside the United States, was a factor in declassification or 
downgrading.  

To help you understand the nature of this request, I refer you 
to Mr. Gilmore's earlier request for Military Cryptanalysis by 
William Friedman and Military Cryptanalytics by Friedman and 
Lambros Callimahos.  As you know, your agency initially denied 
Mr. Gilmore's request for Parts III and IV of the Friedman treatise 
on the ground that they were classified, but later released these 
records after Mr. Gilmore proved that Parts III and IV were 
available to the general public.  Mr. Michael Smith, Chief, Office 
of Policy, informed the court and Mr. Gilmore that NSA officials 
had known for many years that these records had entered the public 
domain, but that he himself was unaware of this fact, and thus 
chose not to disclose them at the time of Mr. Gilmore's request.  

This request is intended to reach any other such records (still 
classified) and any records for which downgrading or 
declassification was ordered if the presence of the records outside 
direct government control was relevant to the downgrading or 
declassification determination.  Although Mr. Gilmore does not by 
this request seek the already-released portions of Military 
Cryptanalysis by William Friedman and Military Cryptanalytics by 
Friedman and Lambros Callimahos, he does by this request seek 
any records that pertain to whether the unreleased portions of Part 
III of Military Cryptanalytics by Friedman and Lambros 
Callimahos are known by NSA officials to be outside direct 
government control, in the possession of persons not presently 
employed by the U.S. government, available to the public in 
libraries, or otherwise in the public domain, whether within or 
outside the United States. 

This request is also intended to trigger declassification 
review of all records responsive to this request.

Mr. Gilmore would also like a list of all records responsive 
to this request if such a list can be provided in advance of the 
records themselves.  

As you know, the FOIA provides that an agency must make 
an initial determination of whether to comply with a FOIA request 
within ten working days of receiving the request.  Your own 
regulations provide that Ò[t]he Chief, Office of Policy, shall notify 
the requester of his determination within 10 working days of his 
receipt of the request.Ó  [32 C.F.R. ¤ 299.4(b)].  

If the records that you possess were originated or classified 
by another organization, I ask that your organization declassify 
its.  If there is a conflict between the 
statutory time limits and some regulation or policy that requires 
you refer the records, the statutory requirement takes precedence 
over any Executive-branch regulation, policy or practice.  As you 
know, the FOIA provides that no more than an additional 10 
working days be taken for such consultation.  5 U.S.C. ¤ 
552(a)(6)(B).  If you do refer documents to any other agency, and 
they are not provided within the time limits, we intend to litigate on 
this point.

We also remind you that the long-standing rule that the 
FOIA "makes no distinction between records maintained in manual 
and computer storage systems," Yeager v. D.E.A., 678 F.2d 315, 
321 (D.C.Cir. 1982), has recently been amplified in Armstrong v. 
E.O.P., No 93-5002 (D.C. Cir., Aug. 13, 1993).  Any paper print-
outs of electronic records, such as e-mail, must include all 
information in the electronic record.  Assuming that there would be 
no loss of releasable information, such as written comments made 
on paper print-outs, we therefore ask you to release all responsive 
electronic records in electronic, i.e., machine-readable, form.

As you know, the FOIA provides that even if some 
requested material is properly exempted from mandatory 
disclosure, all segregable portions must be released.  [5 U.S.C. ¤ 
552(b)]  If any or all material covered by this request is withheld, 
please inform me of the specific exemptions that are being claimed, 
and mark all deletions to indicate the exemption(s) being claimed 
to authorize each individual withholding.  If the (b)(3) exemption is 
claimed, please indicate the relevant withholding statute(s).

In addition, I ask that your agency exercise its discretion to 
release information that may be technically exempt.  As you know, 
the Attorney General on October 4, 1993, directed that agencies 
should administer the FOIA under a presumption of disclosure, and 
that information which need not be withheld should not be.

Please do not delay processing because of uncertainty about 
the request.  I have reasonably described the records sought.  If you 
have any questions regarding this request, please telephone me at 
the above number, and we can discuss your questions.  

I also request that fees be waived because Mr. Gilmore is 
deemed a media requester by your agency for FOIA purposes.   
Should there be any problem in this regard, Mr. Gilmore promises 
to pay up to $1000 in fees, and you should therefore begin 
processing of this request without fee-related delays.  

As provided under the FOIA, I will expect a reply within ten 
(10) working days.  

Sincerely,



Lee Tien
Attorney at Law
On behalf of Mr. 
John Gilmore