Scientists Unpeel Cheney Secrecy

Want to reach the right person in the vice president's office? Want to find out who works there and what the heck they do?

After numerous reporters complained about the secrecy of Vice President Dick Cheney's office, the Federation of American Scientists has posted a link in its bulletin, Secrecy News, to the telephone directory for the vice president's office.

It's a 2004 version, so it's slightly dated, and Secrecy News redacted the phone and fax numbers, but it does offer some sense of who does what in the vice president's office, and "it provides a good sense of the size and structure of the OVP," says FAS. The federation declares as one of its missions to tear down the shutters of secrecy that the federal government puts on even basic information, like who does what where.

"The OVP will not even confirm how many staff people work there, who they are, or much of anything else," says FAS in its latest edition of Secrecy News. The OVP's exemption from the Freedom of Information Act doesn't help reporters or citizens either, the FAS says.

By Chitra Ragavan