Obama Orders Review of Government Secrecy

President Obama has ordered a sweeping review of the government's secrecy policy, the Washington Post reports. Obama sent a memo to government officials reaffirming his administration's commitment "to operating with an unprecedented level of openness," and directed his national security adviser  to review how classified information is handled and to recommend changes that will bring greater transparency.

Obama has created a task force, headed by Attorney General Eric Holder and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, to improve federal agencies' sharing of unclassified national security information when appropriate. He asked advisers to look into restoring the "presumption against classification" that was introduced under the Clinton administration and removed under President Bush. (More Obama administration stories.)