THE
Select Research Resources
Below are listed
collections of original, declassified documents relating to
I.
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT WEBSITES:
You can search for
declassified documents using the FOIA pages of key government agencies, such
as:
CIA FOIA: http://www.foia.cia.gov/
State Department FOIA: http://www.foia.state.gov
FBI FOIA: http://foia.fbi.gov/
The upside
of these web pages is that you can acquire newly released declassified
documents. The downside is that the
documents are episodic and random: the websites only provide documents that
individuals have asked to be declassified.
II. PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARIES:
Every
The upside
of the libraries is that you can acquire declassified documents pertaining to
some of the most important issues that faced a particular president. The downside is that the websites only
provide documents that the individual library chose to display, typically a
small number.
III. PUBLISHED
The FAU Library has a
large body of published government documents, including reports from Congress, and
the Foreign Relations of the
The upside
here is that you can easily browse the holdings by walking through the library;
you can also get documents from other branches of government (such as
Congress). The downside is that our
library tends to be weak on issues prior to when the university was founded.
IV. DECLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS REFERENCE
SYSTEM
and DIGITAL NATIONAL SECURITY ARCHIVE:
These are two extremely
useful collections of
The upside
is search ability: If you are looking to search for particular declassified
documents, then these databases may be the best way to go. The downside, of
course, is that you have to drive to
V.
FOREIGN RELATIONS OF THE UNITED STATES SERIES:
The Department of State
publishes collections of declassified documents pertaining to
The upside
of these document collections is that they are very comprehensive on the most
important issues that the
Most are available in
book form in the Government Documents section of the FAU library. Many are also
available online from one of two sources:
Recently published volumes are here:
http://www.state.gov/www/about_state/history/frusonline.html
Older volumes are here:
http://digicoll.library.wisc.edu/FRUS/
Below are links to digitized versions of the key FRUS
volumes pertaining to
FOREIGN
RELATIONS OF THE UNITED STATES
1964-1968,
Volume XVIII; Arab-Israeli Dispute, 1964-67
FOREIGN
RELATIONS OF THE UNITED STATES
1964-1968,
Volume XXI; Near East Region; Arabian Peninsula
FOREIGN
RELATIONS OF THE UNITED STATES
FOREIGN
RELATIONS OF THE UNITED STATES
1964-1968,
Volume XXXIV; Energy, Diplomacy, and Global Issues
[relevant sections
include “water for peace,” “energy,” “1967 oil embargo,” and “hijacking.”]
VI. NATIONAL SECURITY ARCHIVE
DOCUMENTS ONLINE:
The National Security
Archive is a non-profit organization that works to get the government to
declassify documents for public benefit.
It has published numerous collections of once-classified documents on a
wide-range of issues, including several that relate to the
The upside
of these document collections is that they are often of a manageable size and
they often have editorial introductions which guide you through the
collection. The downside is that the
archive’s holdings are not especially strong for topics regarding the
For more information on
the National Security Archive, see http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/.
For a list of Archive publications, see: http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/nsa/publications/sets.html
Note that these
collections are not always comprehensive, and you may
need to search for additional sources.
Below are listed key document
collections available online relating to the
The Record on
CURVEBALL
Declassified
Documents and Key Participants Show the Importance of Phony Intelligence in the
Origins of the
Pakistan:
"The Taliban's Godfather"?
Documents
Detail Years of Pakistani Support for Taliban, Extremists
Iraq: The
Media War Plan
Declassified White Paper and
PowerPoint Slides on Pentagon's "Rapid Reaction Media Team" for
TOP SECRET
POLO STEP
Post-Saddam
Iraq: The War Game
"Desert Crossing" 1999
Assumed 400,000 Troops and Still a Mess
New State
Department Releases on the "Future of Iraq" Project
New Documents Provide Details on
Budgets, Interagency Coordination and Working Group Progress
U.S.
Intelligence and the Indian Bomb
Documents Show
Saddam's Iron
Grip
Intelligence Reports on Saddam
Hussein's Reign
State
Department experts warned CENTCOM before Iraq war about lack of plans for
post-war Iraq security
Planning for post-Saddam regime change began as early as
October 2001
CIA Whites Out
Controversial Estimate on Iraq Weapons
Main Subject of Today's Senate
Intelligence Report Remains Largely Secret
Mohammad Mosaddeq and the 1953 Coup in Iran
New Volume Reexamines a Seminal Event in Modern Middle Eastern History
The Saddam
Hussein Sourcebook
Declassified secrets from the U.S.-Iraq relationship
The October
War and U.S. Policy
Kissinger gave green light for Israeli offensive violating 1973 cease-fire
Eyes on Saddam
Shaking Hands
with Saddam Hussein
The
Iraq and Weapons of Mass
Destruction
The Tilt: The U.S. and
the South Asian Crisis of 1971
U.S. Propaganda in the
Middle East
The early Cold War version
Operation Desert Storm:
Ten Years After
Documents shed light on role of intelligence, stealth technology and space
systems in the Gulf War
The Secret CIA
History of the Iran Coup, 1953
20 Years after
the Hostages
Declassified documents on
Pakistan:
"The Taliban's Godfather"?
Documents
Detail Years of Pakistani Support for Taliban, Extremists
"A Comprehensive Strategy to Fight Al-Qaeda"?
Rice versus
Government
Releases Detailed Information on 9/11 Crashes
Complete Air-Ground Transcripts
of Hijacked 9/11 Flight Recordings Declassified
FAA Believed
Second 9/11 Plane Heading Towards NY for Emergency Landing
Released 9/11 Hijacking Reports
Further Detail Confused
9/11 Commission Staff Report on FAA Failings
Published on Web
Document Updates Previous Archive Posting on Censorship of Aviation Warnings
Leading up to 9/11
Bush
Administration's First Memo on al-Qaeda Declassified
Document Central to Clarke-Rice Dispute on Bush Terrorism Policy Pre-9/11
Volume I -
Terrorism and U.S. Policy
Volume II -
Afghanistan: Lessons from the Last War
Volume III - BIOWAR
The Nixon administration's decision to end
Volume
IV - The Once and Future King?
From the secret files on King Zahir's reign in
Volume V - Anthrax at
Sverdlovsk, 1979
Volume VI - The Hunt
for Bin Laden
Background on the role of Special Forces in
Taliban File
Update: U.S. Pressed Taliban to Expel Usama bin Laden
Over 30 Times
Only three approaches in first
year of Bush administration
The Taliban
File Part III
The Taliban
File Part IV
Mullah Omar Called
Update: The
Taliban File Part IV
Pre-9/11