Fastabend Essay: How All This Ends: It's Fourth and Long, Go Deep.

To Whom It May Concern:

This is a request under the Freedom of Information Act. I hereby request the following records:

A copy of the essay, "How All This Ends: It's Fourth and Long, Go Deep." The essay was written by Major General David A. Fastabend, Petraeus's strategic advisor.

The essay is mentioned The Gamble: General David Petraeus and the American Military Adventure in Iraq, 2006-2008, by Thomas E. Ricks and James Lurie.

I also request that, if appropriate, fees be waived as I believe this request is in the public interest. The requested documents will be made available to the general public free of charge as part of the public information service at MuckRock.com, processed by a representative of the news media/press and is made in the process of news gathering and not for commercial usage.

In the event that fees cannot be waived, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 20 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Michael Morisy

Hi,

Could you re-open this request? USSOCOM indicated that the materials have been located and transferred over to this office for final determination.

You may see that correspondence here:

http://www.muckrock.com/foi/view/united-states-of-america/fastabend-essay-how-all-this-ends-ussocom/804/

Thanks,

Michael

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Aug. 14, 2011. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.

Thank you for your help.

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Aug. 14, 2011. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.

Thank you for your help.

Hi,

I wanted to follow up on this FOIA request, which was forwarded to this office from US Central Command.

Please let me know its current status, and please ensure this office has the most current mailing address, included below.

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Aug. 14, 2011. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.

Thank you for your help.

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Aug. 14, 2011. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.

Thank you for your help.

This is an administrative appeal of the denial of an Army FOIA request FOIA12-0177 for a copy of Major General Fastabend's unpublished essay: How This
All Ends. A letter dated February 15, 2012 and signed by Major General Peter C. Bayer, from the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff, G-3/5/7, denied in full the requested record.

I appeal the initial determination to withhold the record on the following grounds:

1) The material appeared not to be classified at the time of the request, and appears to have only been classified as a response to requests for it. This is based on responses from USSOCOM (http://j.mp/JYwyDZ) which indicated the agency had possession of the requested documents with no indication of their classification, and the initial reporting of the document's existence by Thomas E. Ricks, in which he indicated that the document was not classified.

2) Under Executive Order 13526 section 4, information may only be classified if:

(4) the original classification authority determines that the unauthorized disclosure of the information reasonably could be expected to result in damage to the national security, which includes defense against transnational terrorism, and the original classification authority is able to identify or describe the damage.

As the document provides strategic planning advice only extending into 2009, and as its contents (when unclassified) have been reported in detail, it is unreasonable to expect release of any parts of it would result in damage to national security, as many sections outline strategy currently and publicly in effect or strategies that have been discarded or which are now irrelevant.

3) The Freedom of Information requires the release of all segregable portions. This was not done.

4) The release of this document would be in the public interest, helping understand the context of decisions made in Iraq.

For these reasons, I appeal the decision to withhold the essay in full.

Sincerely,

Michael Morisy

This appeal has never been addressed or acknowledged. Please provide an update on its status.

Thank you.

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Aug. 14, 2011. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed. You had assigned it reference number #FOIA12-0177.

Thank you for your help.

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Aug. 14, 2011. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed. You had assigned it reference number #FOIA12-0177.

Thank you for your help.

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Aug. 14, 2011. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed. You had assigned it reference number #FOIA12-0177.

Thank you for your help.