The National Security Archive

The National Security Archive is an independent non-governmental research institute and library located at The George Washington University that collects and publishes declassified documents concerning US foreign policy and national security. The Archive obtains its materials through a variety of methods, including the Freedom of Information act, Mandatory Declassification Review, presidential paper collections, congressional records, and court testimony. Archive staff members systematically track U.S. government agencies and federal records repositories for documents that either have never been released before, or that help to shed light on the decision-making process of the U.S. government and provide the historical context underlying those decisions. The Archive advocates against excessive government secrecy and works to inform the public debate, ensure government accountability, and defend the rights of US citizens. Precedent-setting Archive lawsuits have preserved and brought into the public domain materials about significant historical and contemporary policy decisions. The Archive's mission of guaranteeing the public's right to know also extends to other countries outside the United States, and the organization is currently involved in efforts to enact and implement freedom of information legislation in nations around the world. To use the Archive's collections, search visit our reading room at George Washington University's Gelman Library, or ask your university or public library to subscribe to the Digital National Security Archive published by ProQuest/Chadwyck-Healey. Related Web sites administered by the National Security Archive include: and