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September 27, 2006
The NIE "Key Judgments" Fiasco Proves the Bankruptcy of Our Document Classification System
Then somebody leaked a passage from it to the New York Times.
Then, miraculously, the entire NIE "Key Judgments" document became safe for the public to see.
If this grotesque dance is not evidence that the whole concept of government document secrecy is corrupt and in need of overhaul, I don't know what is.
Please note that this is not a comment on, or criticism of, the leak or the President's decision to declassify the document. It is a comment on (and criticism of) our current rules for document "classification," and the ways in which we allow our "representatives" to decide what we are and are not allowed to know.
Posted by Eric at September 27, 2006 8:32 AM
Comments
Good grief. It's like these folks have never heard of FOIA.
ELM: Huh? Do you really think that the government would have turned this over in response to a FOIA request?!?
Posted by: sly civilian at September 27, 2006 9:03 AM
The control of information is a powerful tool. The natural tendency of any government is to control information that might cause citizens to question what it is doing. I'm willing to bet there is little in that NIE that really reveals sources and methods. There is likely about as much justification for classifying this as there was to classify the "Pentagon Papers."
Posted by: Bryan at September 27, 2006 11:30 AM
You're right that it needs fixing, but how?
I say, from now on, anyone who wants to classify a document must pay $5 out of their own pocket. See how long that lasts...
Posted by: Cyrus at September 27, 2006 3:09 PM