"Secret" or "Top Secret"?

[kpete]

(Kpete: a game some may want to play...)

Tortoise says: (scroll down)

There is one more page on the NYSun web site that does not show up (at least on my computer). It is the cover memo for the July 7 version: It is approved by a William Wood rather than Thomas Fingar and also has one more line — Distro: S, D, P, PA

That’s probably not very important, but this one may be a biggi — (I can’t take any credit - it was spotted by Cecil Turner on Tom Maguire’s blog, 1.33pm): It looks like the word “TOP” has been deleted from the space before “SECRET” in both the July 7 and June 10 documents (except for the appended 2/19 memo). And before paragraph 4, there is a one-letter space between the opening parenthesis and the letter “S”, where the “T” has presumably been removed. These redactions seem to have been done to hide the actual classification level of the document. Assuming, of course, the deletions were made prior to declassification - I suppose it’s just possible (but very unlikley) that somebody at the NY Sun might have done some extra editing.

The gaps correspond to the number of spaces for “TOP” - very easy to see because its a fixed-space font. Also, there’s an underlined leading space before “Secret” in several places. Unlike underlined trailing spaces (which are common with word processors) I would assume that an underlined leading space is unlikely to occur without a preceding word.

Its very interesting, but I have no idea what it all means. Looking forward to hearing from the experts :0)


http://www.firedoglake.com/2006/04/17/sometimes-i-think-that-love-is-just-a-tumor-youve-got-to-cut-it-out/

http://www.nysun.com/pics/31062_2.php

[Neil Lisst]

1. it could be important

Either it means the docs were downgraded, OR it means someone marked out TOP because whoever they showed didn't have a TOP Secret clearance.

[MADem]

3. I sort of lean to the dual downgrading scenario

They needed to cut someone in on what was happening who was only qualified for SSSS, so they downgraded it to that point. If there are odd-looking redactions that don't all look like they were done at the same time, that's likely the cause.

But with this crew, ya never really do know, do you?

[Neil Lisst]

4. yeah, I favor that theory

It's been decades since I was in the military and handled Top Secret and Secret documents, but when documents were downgraded, I recall that being shown on the cover. The document's classification history was on its cover, so there were no unexplained things like whited out sections.

[libodem]

2. hummmm?

very interesting.

[DemInDistress]

5. that document seems awfully blurry,,,anyone else have that

trouble? I tried twice and the same result. Blurry as the truth coming out of King George the Imbeciles mouth.
can you help me clear that up?

[MADem]

6. It looked ok to me in terms of clarity

But there had to be some rolling declass going on, or something. If something is top secret, and NOFORN--which means no foreign dissemination, ya can't show it to them French, e.g.--the abbreviation for the paragraph should be (TS/NF). The parentheses incorporate the whole phrase.

If you look at that second paragraph from the bottom at page 2, that is the key one. It's the only one that has the suspicious space after the "(" and it also has a whitened out special handling.

In which case, the headers on the page are wrong. Unless this is a piece from another document...

I am not intimately familiar with the way they do that sort of thing at STATE. But something is off about this document, either it was downgraded twice and no one mentioned that, or something...I suppose they could try to put it down to shoddy typing, but it generally doesn't happen at that level...

[DemInDistress]

7. checked again and still blurry. like looking through frosted

glasses, I can't give an opinion on this..thanks anyway..


Dem