From 6c394622991f17e2e2521c4b4d62f2f93390f52f Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: vak2ve Date: Tue, 19 Dec 2023 12:26:35 -0500 Subject: [PATCH] docs(hac): add September 2023 minutes docs(hac): add September 2023 minutes --- hac.xml | 317 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++- 1 file changed, 316 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-) diff --git a/hac.xml b/hac.xml index 8b47f6b..9558772 100644 --- a/hac.xml +++ b/hac.xml @@ -302,6 +302,322 @@

Please select a meeting from the list in the left sidebar.

+
+ September 2023 +

Advisory Committee on Historical Diplomatic Documentation + September 11, 2023

+

Minutes

+ + + Committee Members + James Goldgeier, Chairman + Kristin Hoganson + Adriane Lentz-Smith + Sharon Leon + Nancy McGovern + Timothy Naftali + Deborah Pearlstein + Kori Schake + Sarah Snyder + + + + Office of the Historian + + Kristin Ahlberg + Carl Ashley + Margaret Ball + Forrest Barnum + Sara Berndt + Josh Botts + Tiffany Cabrera + Mandy Chalou + Elizabeth Charles + Kathryn David + Cynthia Doell + Lynette Evans-Tiernan + Thomas Faith + David Geyer + Renée Goings + Michelle Guzman + Charles Hawley + Kerry Hite + Adam Howard + Alina Khachtourian + Virginia Kinniburgh + Michael McCoyer + Brad Morith + Christopher Morrison + Mircea Munteanu + David Nickles + Nicole Orphanides + Paul Pitman + Alexander Poster + John Powers + Kathleen Rasmussen + Matthew Regan + Amanda Ross + Seth Rotramel + Daniel Rubin + Ashley Schofield + Nathaniel Smith + Douglas Sun + Melissa Jane Taylor + Chris Tudda + Dean Weatherhead + Joseph Wicentowski + Alex Wieland + James Wilson + Louise Woodroofe + + + + Bureau of Administration + + Jeff Charlston + Corynne Gerow + Timothy Kootz + Thomas Opstal + Marvin Russell + Eric Stein + + + + National Archives and Records Administration + + Cathleen Brennan + Elizabeth Fidler + William Fischer + David Langbart + Don McIlwain + + + Public + Over 30 members of the public + +

+ Open Session, September 11 +

+

Adam Howard opened the meeting. He then introduced Santa Clara University Law + Professor David L. Sloss and UCLA Political Science Professor Eric Min, who + would speak to the topic of outside scholars’ use of the Foreign Relations (FRUS) series.

+

Professor Sloss thanked the Committee for the invitation and revealed that + after examining his own scholarly work he discovered that he had relied less + on the FRUS series than he originally believed. His prime example of his use + of FRUS was in doing research for a chapter in his 2016 book The Death of Treaty Supremacy. This book is a + comprehensive history of the “treaty supremacy rule,” contained in Article + Six of the Constitution. In the early 1950s, a main goal of the “Bricker + Amendment” (after Senator John W. Bricker of Ohio) was to separate the + treaty making powers of the president from the Constitution’s supremacy + clause. Sloss stated that he relied heavily on the FRUS series in his + research on the Eisenhower administration’s 1952–54 response to the Bricker + Amendment. The administration played a key role in defusing the Amendment by + creating a political consensus to agree to reinterpret the supremacy clause. + This reinterpretation changed the role of treaties in United States Federal + Law. Lastly, Professor Sloss acknowledged that his use of FRUS was + necessarily limited as his foreign relations scholarship tended to focus on + law and courts, and the FRUS series on diplomatic correspondence.

+

Professor Eric Min stated that his view in using the FRUS series might also + be different in that his main work dealt with using computational text + analysis and machine learning techniques to understand international + security relations from an alternative perspective. A question he and others + in his field have attempted to address is how threats exchanged between the + United States and adversarial countries impact the U.S. view of that + country, policies toward that country, and how credible they see those + threats. Another ongoing project is how much influence White House advisers + have over the formulation of foreign policy involving the president. The + number of FRUS applications to these projects have “taken off” in the last + 5–10 years with the advent of digitalization and online access to the + series. This easier access, along with improved text analytical tools and + machine learning methods, have shifted the role of FRUS in political + science. FRUS can now be looked at from a quantitative angle, converting and + using the huge number of words in the series to develop some form of + conceptual measures regarding international relations. Professor Min + stressed that he and his colleagues were not seeking to replace qualitative + historical analysis, but rather to extract interesting trends and patterns + that could help explain questions in international affairs.

+

Professor Min next offered some examples of how FRUS has been used in his + work. The series had been quite useful as a testing ground for the text + analysis methods they would later employ on data collected from NARA. Using + approximately 10,000 Soviet-related FRUS documents, Min and his colleagues + attempted to identify how often mentions of threat from the USSR came up in + these documents. This test led to many revelations about how feasible it was + to use these records. The group later published a paper, using National + Archives (NARA) records from the Berlin crisis of 1958–63, concerning how + seriously the United States saw public and private threats from the USSR. + Another example was a study of group decision making in foreign policy: How + much do White House advisers matter in creating foreign policy?

+

Approval of the Record

+

Historical Advisor Committee (HAC) Chair James Goldgeier began the session at + 11:15 a.m. with brief opening remarks recognizing the twenty-second + anniversary of September 11. He expressed appreciation for employees at the + Department of State (Department) and in other U.S. Government jobs for their + service on 9/11 and in its aftermath. He then turned to the approval of the + minutes from the June 2023 HAC meeting. Sharon Leon moved for approval. This + was seconded by Sarah Snyder, and the motion for approval carried with one + abstention by Kristin Hoganson who had not been present at the June + meeting.

+

Implementation of October 1991 Foreign + Relations of the United States (FRUS) statute and other matters + of concern to the Office of Historian (OH)

+

Foreign Service Institute (FSI) Deputy Director Shelby Smith-Wilson was + momentarily delayed, so OH Director and Executive Secretary Adam Howard + spoke next. He thanked David Sloss and Eric Min for their presentations in + the prior session, indicated that additional presentations will be + forthcoming at future HAC meetings, and noted that a panel is currently + being considered by the International Studies Association for its April 2024 + Annual Convention. The panel, Howard stated, will include many distinguished + political scientists, including Goldgeier, Min, and Elizabeth Saunders + (Georgetown University). Among the topics the panel will address will be the + use of FRUS by political scientists. Howard hopes there will be further + conversations in the future on the uses of FRUS in political science and + other fields. Howard also introduced John Powers who was recently hired at + OH for the new position of Director of the FRUS Declassification + Coordination, Publishing, and Digital Initiatives Division (DPD).

+

Smith-Wilson then joined the session and spoke after Howard. She began by + acknowledging the significance of the day, September 11, and what that day + means to the United States and to the Department. She said that she was a + first tour Foreign Service Officer serving at the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi on + that day. Smith-Wilson then reported on the OH accomplishments this quarter. + First, OH conducted multiple training sessions this summer for Foreign + Service interns on the history of U.S. foreign policy and of the Department. + The interns are undergraduate students, and the intern program is a + merit-based summer program designed to promote talent and diversity in the + Foreign Service. This summer was the first time OH has participated in the + intern program. Second, OH provided essential support to FSI’s upcoming + commemoration and dedication ceremony for the opening of the Codebreaker + Café on the FSI campus in a new building that overlooks Arlington Hall, + which was once the top-secret location of U.S. women codebreakers during + World War II. OH worked with the NSA museum to acquire codebreaking + equipment, including an enigma machine, which will be on display at the + Codebreaker Café ceremony. Third, Howard participated in a video interview + with FSI’s Change Management Office, which is aimed at capturing FSI’s + “Pathway to Progress” since its founding in 1946. In the interview, Howard + discussed how FSI has evolved to address emerging priorities and to respond + to the changing geopolitical landscape. His interview will be included as + part of a larger video project designed to help FSI staff and students + understand Department history, important benchmarks, collaborations, and its + response to global shifts. Smith-Wilson then highlighted OH’s continuing + implementation of its reorganization plan, including the hiring of Powers + into his new position as the OH Director of DPD. OH has also hired two new + historians: Brooks Swett in the FRUS Compilation and Review Division and + Stephanie Freeman in the Historical Studies Division. Smith-Wilson next + commended the HAC on its Annual Report. She, FSI Director Joan Polaschik, + and Under Secretary John Bass have now read the report and are currently + working on responses to the Report. Finally, Smith-Wilson highlighted + changes taking place within FSI. She started with details about FSI’s new + Office of the Provost, the first of its kind in FSI history, and established + under the National Defense Authorization Action of 2023. The Office of the + Provost will further enhance FSI’s training and professional development to + its workforce. She noted that in May 2023, FSI created an internal Change + Management Office, which she supervises, to help facilitate the + implementation of all the changes that will be taking place at FSI. She + expects these changes to take place over the next 12 to 18 months. FSI is + also forming a new Board of Visitors, which will be composed of external + subject matter experts. The Board will assist with the better alignment of + FSI training with policy priorities and adult education. She said that the + HAC provides a great model for FSI to follow. The Federal Register notice + about the Board has already been published, its charter was also formally + approved, and FSI is currently in the process of selecting Board + members.

+

Goldgeier thanked Smith-Wilson for attending the HAC meeting and for her + remarks about the Annual Report. He also announced that going forward the + HAC would change the timing of when it finishes the report. The HAC usually + finalizes the previous year’s report in June, which means it’s not quite up + to date. For this coming year the Annual Report will run from January 1, + 2023, through June of 2024, which will put the report on a cycle to cover + July 1 to June 30 so that when the report is issued it will be more up to + date.

+

Once Smith-Wilson concluded, Howard introduced FRUS General Editor Kathleen + Rasmussen, who detailed recent progress of and developments in the FRUS + series. Rasmussen began by announcing that OH has resumed research in + Department of Defense (DOD) records for the first time since the start of + the pandemic. Six FRUS historians submitted requests for Reagan, George H.W. + Bush, Clinton, and George W. Bush-era records for volumes on European + Security, North Africa, Southern Africa, non-proliferation, the former + Soviet Union, Rwanda, Central America, and China. Rasmussen thanked numerous + DOD officials for their support and assistance in getting access to these + records. Rasmussen also noted that OH has begun doing preliminary research + in the George W. Bush presidential records, which are at the National + Declassification Center (NDC) at the NARA facility in College Park, + Maryland. She said that FRUS historians are able to do this research in + these records, which are relatively recent, because of the December 2021 + Congressional amendment to the FRUS statute enabling FRUS researchers access + to records only 20 years after their creation as opposed to 26 years. Two + FRUS historians, Daniel Rubin and Forrest Barnum, are currently identifying + and copying records of interest to the entire FRUS team. She also said a + working group had been formed to plan the George W. Bush sub-series. The + working group members include OH staff members Alex Wieland, Nicole + Orphanides, Louise Woodroofe, Brad Morith, Matt Regan, and Charles Hawley. + Rasmussen concluded by thanking the numerous NARA officials who have helped + with this access. In regard to the status of FRUS volume publication, + Rasmussen said that Poland 1982–1988 has just been submitted to the + declassification process, which leaves only eight out of fifty-two volumes + remaining of the Reagan series to submit to the declassification process. + She anticipates two more volumes will be submitted by the end of 2023, three + in 2024, and the final three in 2025. At the conclusion of Rasmussen’s + presentation, no one had any questions or comments.

+

Howard next introduced OH’s new DPD Division Director, John Powers, to make a + few remarks and answer questions. Howard said that Powers’ position was + newly created to reduce the management burden of the General Editor. Prior + to this new position, the management of editing, declassification, and + publishing was the General Editor’s responsibility, along with overseeing + the research and compilation of the FRUS series. Howard stressed Powers’ + qualifications for this new position as the former NSC Director of + Information and Access Management, the Associate Director of + Declassification Management and Director of Access Management of NARA’s + Information Security Oversight Office (ISOO), and the Supervisory Archivist + for the Richard Nixon Presidential Materials Project at NARA.

+

Powers began by thanking OH for welcoming him. He spent his initial time with + OH getting to know as many members of the OH staff as he could to learn + about what they do and how he could assist them to do their work. He also + had introductory meetings outside of OH with IPS, as well as colleagues at + OH’s interagency partners, including DOD and the Department of Energy (DOE). + He stated that DOE had recently returned documents for release that will + permit OH to publish two volumes. He plans to continue with these meetings + later this month to discuss ways to increase the declassification process + productivity and enhance interagency cooperation. Powers said he has already + had a chance to work with OH colleagues, Sara Berndt and Nathaniel Smith, as + well as colleagues in the Department’s Bureau of Intelligence Research + (INR); Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs (WHA); and the U.S. Embassy in + Chile, to declassify records related to the 1973 coup in Chile, which, he + pointed out, had occurred fifty years ago on September 11. Powers then + provided a summary of his biography to introduce himself to the HAC members. + After college and time in the U.S. Army and private sector, Powers said he + began his government career at the National Archives where he became an + archivist. During his 2-year stint as an archivist at the Lyndon Johnson + Presidential Library, Powers recalled that he had the opportunity to assist + an Army researched named H.R. McMaster, who would later become his boss as + National Security Adviser when Powers worked at the NSC. In 2007, he moved + to ISOO where he set up a program to help federal agencies improve the + declassification process. He then briefly discussed his work with the + Interagency Security Classification Appeals Panel (ISCAP) team and his ten + years supporting the Public Interest Declassification Board. He also noted + that he helped write sections of Executive Order 13526. He finished by + describing some of his accomplishments during his tours with the NSC: + co-leading the interagency process that led to the declassification of + Presidential Daily Briefs and leading the declassification project for + Argentina. He said that one of his most important NSC duties was reviewing + FRUS manuscripts and he praised the work of the FRUS historians. He + concluded by stressing that he joined OH because of his firm belief in its + mission and his interest in helping address the challenges of the current + declassification process.

+

Powers then asked meeting participants if they had any questions or comments. + HAC member Deborah Pearlstein said that she was thrilled that Powers had + joined OH because of his experience with the declassification process and + added that she was looking forward to meeting with him to discuss the + challenges facing the FRUS series and to hear Powers’ thoughts on ways to + make improvements. HAC member Timothy Naftali concurred with Pearlstein.

+

Howard concluded this session soliciting final questions from meeting + participants. Only one participant had a question about the plan to put DOS + telegrams from the early 1980s on NARA’s Access to Archival Databases (AAD) + website, and NARA representatives David Langbart and Don McIlwain said that + declassification review of the telegrams is in progress.

+

Howard then thanked the participants and the audience for attending. The + session then concluded.

+
June 2023

Advisory Committee on Historical Diplomatic Documentation @@ -68675,7 +68991,6 @@

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