Who really shot Kennedy? Well, not quite, but yesterday the Central Intelligence Agency did declassify the federal government’s six oldest classified documents, detailing secret writing techniques used during World War I.
“These documents remained classified for nearly a century until recent advancements in technology made it possible to release them,” CIA Director Leon Panetta said. “When historical information is no longer sensitive, we take seriously our responsibility to share it with the American people.”
One of the documents outlines the chemicals and techniques for developing secret writing ink and a method for opening sealed letters. Another reveals the German formula for secret ink.
“The CIA recognizes the importance of opening these historical documents to the public,” said Joseph Lambert, the Agency’s Director of Information Management Services. “In fiscal year 2010 alone, the Agency declassified and released over 1.1 million pages of documents.”
The records will be available on CIA.gov and in the CIA Records Search Tool (CREST) at the National Archives.
