# Steven Aftergood

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Critic of US government secrecy policy

**Steven Aftergood** is a critic of U.S. [government secrecy](/source/Secrecy#Government) policy. He directs the [Federation of American Scientists](/source/Federation_of_American_Scientists) project on Government Secrecy and is the author of the Federation publication *[Secrecy News](/source/Secrecy_News)*.[1]

## Life and career

Aftergood has a [BS](/source/Bachelor_of_Science) in [Electrical Engineering](/source/Electrical_Engineering) from the [University of California, Los Angeles](/source/UCLA) and has published research in [solid-state physics](/source/Solid-state_physics).[2]

In 1991, Aftergood exposed the classified [Project Timberwind](/source/Project_Timberwind), an unacknowledged [U.S. Department of Defense](/source/U.S._Department_of_Defense) [special access program](/source/Special_access_program) to develop a [nuclear thermal rocket](/source/Nuclear_thermal_rocket). That episode led the [Federation of American Scientists](/source/Federation_of_American_Scientists) to initiate an ongoing research project on government secrecy, led by Aftergood.[3]

## Controversies

### Intelligence budget disclosure

Aftergood was the plaintiff in a 1997 [Freedom of Information Act](/source/Freedom_of_Information_Act_(United_States)) lawsuit against the [Central Intelligence Agency](/source/Central_Intelligence_Agency) which led to the [declassification](/source/Declassification) and publication of the [U.S. government's total intelligence budget](/source/United_States_intelligence_budget) ($26.6 billion in 1997) for the first time in fifty years.[4]

In 2006, Aftergood won a FOIA lawsuit against the [National Reconnaissance Office](/source/National_Reconnaissance_Office) to release [unclassified](/source/Unclassified) budget records.[5]

### Preserving CIA email

A [Central Intelligence Agency](/source/Central_Intelligence_Agency) proposal in 2014 to eliminate the email records of all but 22 senior agency officials was derailed after a reference to the move was spotted by Aftergood, triggering a critical reaction in congress and elsewhere.[6] The proposal was formally withdrawn by the agency in 2016.[7]

### Reducing nuclear weapons secrecy

As part of an effort by the [Federation of American Scientists](/source/Federation_of_American_Scientists) to reduce secrecy surrounding [nuclear weapons](/source/Nuclear_weapons), Aftergood acquired and posted a 2019 Joint Chiefs of Staff publication on Nuclear Operations. The document describes a potential role for such weapons in U.S. warfighting plans.[8][9]

### Promoting access to government information

Aftergood maintained several widely-used collections of government documents. These include Presidential national security directives,[10] US military doctrinal publications,[11] applications of the state secrets privilege,[12] uses of the Invention Secrecy Act,[13] [Congressional Research Service](/source/Congressional_Research_Service) reports,[14] and studies performed by the JASON science advisory panel.[15]

## Awards

Aftergood’s work on government secrecy policy has been recognized with the Pioneer Award from the [Electronic Frontier Foundation](/source/Electronic_Frontier_Foundation),[16] the James Madison Award from the American Library Association,[17] the Public Access to Government Information Award from the American Association of Law Libraries,[18] and the Hugh M. Hefner First Amendment Award from the [Playboy Foundation](/source/Playboy_Foundation).[19]

## Selected publications

- [*"Making Up My Mind, and Then Changing It", H-DIPLO series on Learning the Scholar's Craft, (2021)*](https://issforum.org/essays/359-aftergood), 13 July 2021

- [*"An Inquiry Into The Dynamics Of Government Secrecy", Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review, 48:2 (2013)*](https://sgp.fas.org/eprint/dynamics.pdf) (PDF)

- [*"Reducing Government Secrecy: Finding What Works", Yale Law and Policy Review, 27: 399-416 (2009)*](https://sgp.fas.org/eprint/aftergood.pdf) (PDF)

- ["'Ethics: Taming our technologies' (review), *Nature*, 536: 271-272 (2016)"](http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v536/n7616/full/536271a.html), *Nature*, **536** (7616): 271–272, [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1038/536271a](https://doi.org/10.1038%2F536271a)

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** Dana Priest (November 26, 2003). ["One Man Against Secrecy; Newsletter Editor Works to Limit Classified Information"](https://sgp.fas.org/news/2003/11/wp112603.pdf) (PDF). *Washington Post*.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** ["Steven Aftergood"](https://sgp.fas.org/aftergood.html). Federation of American Scientists.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** William J. Broad (April 3, 1991). ["Secret Nuclear-Powered Rocket Being Developed for 'Star Wars'"](https://www.nytimes.com/1991/04/03/us/secret-nuclear-powered-rocket-being-developed-for-star-wars.html). *New York Times*.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** [FAS Wins Lawsuit Against CIA on Intelligence Budget Disclosure](https://sgp.fas.org/foia/victory.html), CIA Statement, 15 Oct. 1997.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** [National Reconnaissance Office Yields to FAS Lawsuit](https://sgp.fas.org/news/secrecy/2006/12/122106.html), by Steven Aftergood, 21 Dec. 2006.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** David Welna (November 20, 2014). ["The CIA Wants To Delete Old Email; Critics Say 'Not So Fast'"](https://www.npr.org/2014/11/20/365474273/the-cia-wants-to-delete-old-email-critics-say-not-so-fast). *National Public Radio*.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** ["CIA Withdraws Email Destruction Proposal"](https://sgp.fas.org/news/secrecy/2016/04/040416.html#3). *Secrecy News*. April 4, 2016.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** David Axe (June 20, 2019). ["Oops: The Pentagon Just Revealed Its Nuclear Doctrine"](https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/oops-pentagon-just-revealed-its-nuclear-doctrine-63402). *The National Interest*.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** Julian Borger (June 19, 2019). ["Nuclear weapons: experts alarmed by new Pentagon 'war-fighting' doctrine"](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jun/19/nuclear-weapons-pentagon-us-military-doctrine). *The Guardian*.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** ["Presidential directives and executive orders"](https://irp.fas.org/offdocs/direct.htm). *via Federation of American Scientists*.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** ["Defense Department Intelligence and Security Doctrine, Directives and Instructions"](https://irp.fas.org/doddir/dod/index.html). *via Federation of American Scientists*.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-12)** ["The State Secrets Privilege: Selected Case Files"](https://sgp.fas.org/jud/statesec/index.html). *via Federation of American Scientists*.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-13)** ["Invention Secrecy"](https://sgp.fas.org/othergov/invention/index.html). *via Federation of American Scientists*.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-14)** ["Congressional Research Service reports"](https://sgp.fas.org/crs/index.html). *via Federation of American Scientists*.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-15)** ["JASON Defense Advisory Panel Reports"](https://irp.fas.org/agency/dod/jason/index.html). *via Federation of American Scientists*.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-16)** ["Transparency Activist, Public Domain Scholar, Legal Blogger, and Imprisoned E-Voting Researcher Win Pioneer Awards"](https://www.eff.org/press/archives/2010/10/19). October 19, 2010.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-17)** ["Past Recipients of the James Madison Award"](http://www.ala.org/advocacy/james-madison-past-awardees).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-18)** ["Public Access to Government Information Award"](https://www.aallnet.org/community/recognition/awards-program/public-access-to-government-information-award/).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-19)** ["Past Winners and Judges of the Hugh M. Hefner First Amendment Awards"](https://www.hmhfoundation.org/winners-judges).

## External links

- [Biography](https://fas.org/expert/steven-aftergood/) of Steven Aftergood

- [Secrecy News](https://sgp.fas.org/news/secrecy/index.html)

- [Appearances](https://www.c-span.org/person/?34149) on [C-SPAN](/source/C-SPAN)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Steven Aftergood](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_Aftergood) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_Aftergood?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.