A one-digit correction to President Obama’s directive on hostage policy Wednesday had the effect of disclosing the existence of a previously unknown — and still-secret — Obama order on national security.

The hostage policy was originally released Wednesday as a presidential policy directive numbered PPD-29. When the White House corrected that number to PPD-30, it meant Obama had issued a secret directive as PPD-29 sometime in the past 17 months.

Obama signed PPD-28, an order on electronic eavesdropping in the wake of revelations by Edward Snowden, in January 2014.

So what is PPD-29? No one’s talking. A spokesman for the National Security Council declined to comment of the existence of classified PPDs Wednesday.

obama

“The only reason we know about it is the sequential numbering of the directives, and realizing they skipped a few,” said Steven Aftergood of the Federation of American Scientists, which tracks the directives.

PPD-29 isn’t the first to be tacitly acknowledged only by a missing number. Of the 30 PPDs issued by Obama, 19 have not been released. And for 11 of those, the White House has not disclosed even the subject of the order.

“It’s not only the public that doesn’t have copies. It’s also Congress that doesn’t have copies,” Aftergood said. “It’s a domain of largely unchecked presidential authority. It doesn’t mean it’s bad, but it’s lacking in independent oversight.”

But they have the same legal force as an executive order, forming a body of largely secret law, said Harold Relyea, a political scientist who advised Congress on national security directives before retiring from the Congressional Research Service.

“The difference is that while executive orders are public by law — they must be published in theFederal Register to be effective —- PPDs are not,” he said. “It is a kind of secret law. People have to obey it. But it’s a directive that can allocate money, direct people or take a course of action.”

What Obama calls PPDs have gone by different names by different presidents back to the Truman Administration. President George W. Bush called them National Security Presidential Directives (NPSDs). President Clinton called them Presidential Decision Directives (PDDs). President Nixon called them National Security Decision Memoranda.

Whatever they’re called, Obama has been less prolific than his predecessors. George W. Bush issued 66 such orders, plus 25 more Homeland Security Presidential Directives. President Reagan issued at least 325.

Some, going back as far as the Lyndon Johnson administration, remain classified. They can involve subjects including the use of nuclear weapons, ballistic missile defenses, space policy, cybersecurity and even continuity plans for the federal government in the case of a large-scale disaster.

The secrecy makes it difficult to know entirely what changes Obama has made in the hostage policy. The directive issued Wednesday revoked a prior directive by President George W. Bush in 2002. But that directive, known as NSPD-12, remains secret.

“You would think that if there’s a new policy it would be a simple matter to explain what the old policy was,” Aftergood said.

And even though Obama released his directive, it incorporates a classified annex with additional instructions to executive branch agencies.

WASHINGTON

Views: 628

"Destroying the New World Order"

TOP CONTENT THIS WEEK

THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING THE SITE!

mobile page

12160.info/m

12160 Administrators

 

Latest Activity

Doc Vega posted a blog post

The Draconian Show

Sometimes I talk to my invisible friend, IkeHe comes from another dimension when magnetic fields…See More
6 hours ago
tjdavis posted a blog post
yesterday
Doc Vega posted a blog post
Wednesday
Doc Vega posted blog posts
Tuesday
Doc Vega posted blog posts
Monday
Doc Vega favorited tjdavis's photo
Sunday
Doc Vega commented on tjdavis's photo
Thumbnail

Game Night

"Ha! Good one!"
Sunday
Doc Vega commented on FREEDOMROX's blog post MRNA VACCINES: Question
"Listen man I know where you're at but back in October of 2023 thru December of 2023 for months…"
Sunday
tjdavis posted a video

Architecton | Official Trailer HD | A24

SUBSCRIBE: http://bit.ly/A24subscribeWritten and directed by Victor Kossakovsky and starring Michele De Lucchi. ARCHITECTON – Coming Soon RELEASE DATE: Comin...
Sunday
tjdavis posted photos
Sunday
tjdavis posted a blog post
Sunday
Burbia posted a video

Europe Will Not Survive

The hubris.All things Archaix at www.archaix.com
Sunday
FREEDOMROX posted a video
Jun 21
Burbia commented on tjdavis's blog post Track AIPAC
Jun 20
rlionhearted_3 commented on Doc Vega's blog post Latest Details on Missile Exchanges Between Iran and Israel
"May get really ugly over there?"
Jun 20
Doc Vega posted a blog post

Latest Details on Missile Exchanges Between Iran and Israel

Latest information about the air attacks between Israel and Iran as the US moves another carrier…See More
Jun 19
tjdavis favorited Less Prone's video
Jun 19
tjdavis posted a blog post
Jun 19
cheeki kea replied to cheeki kea's discussion Tartaria
"Some interesting information has come to light ( from the renaissance period ) which explains that…"
Jun 19
Sandy posted a video
Jun 19

© 2025   Created by truth.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service

content and site copyright 12160.info 2007-2019 - all rights reserved. unless otherwise noted