Bismarck Tribune - North Dakota News - Secrecy grows, could be costly for the nation.

Secrecy grows, could be costly for the nation.

Sep 09, 2007 - 04:03:58 CDT

The United States government excels at holding onto secrets with practiced tight lips. Government secrecy is growing, according to a comprehensive new study, and the quiet zone increasingly is located between the government and the country's own people.

Secrecy has people and government eyeing each other with suspicion, which is a lamentable state of affairs in what we regard as a free, democratic society.

A coalition of 67 organizations favoring openness studied the growth of government secrecy in the years up to 2006. The report, available for release on Sept. 1, didn't make the front pages of many newspapers - the Tribune included, on a newsy day.

If readers missed the story, here are a few sobering figures from the report as summarized by the Associated Press:

3 "From 2003-05, the FBI made 143,074 requests for telephone companies, Internet service providers, banks, credit bureaus and others to turn over data. ... The requests came in the form of national security letters, which are administrative subpoenas that do not require a judge's approval. In 2000, the FBI issued an estimated 8,500 such requests.

3 "Last year, the number of decisions to classify documents was 231,995. Though the figure was down from 258,633 in 2005, it was still significantly higher than before 2001.

3 "At the height of Cold War tensions between the United States and the former Soviet Union, the presidents used the state secrets privilege six times from 1953 to 1976, enabling the government to unilaterally withhold documents from the court system. Since 2001, it has been used 39 times."

Of course, mention of the year 2001 explains much, when 9/11 changed life in the United States.

There is good reason for confidentiality to further national security. There doubtless are some secrets that should be exactly that, for a time, certainly not forever.

Secrecy always is a matter of precarious balance, in individual, interpersonal and societal life. An ethicist, Sissela Bok, wrote that the freedom to decide what to keep secret is fundamentally human, but also "it risks damaging the judgment and character of those who exercise it, and conceals wrongdoing of every kind."

Our system demands an aggressive and vigilant Congress and a potent judiciary to hold the executive branch to a reasonable and justifiable level of secrecy.

If citizens want to penetrate the federal government's veil of secrecy, the Freedom of Information Act has existed for 40 years. While the number of requests for government disclosure has grown, so has the backlog.

Stinginess in turning loose of information is not new nor confined to the highest levels of government. When local bodies try to finesse a good set of North Dakota open records and open meeting laws, what's at work is the danger of wanting to keep matters quiet. When the state Health Department dispenses shreds of information about West Nile disease cases like the Delphi oracle, people's need for awareness on a serious public health issue needs to be considered, as well as patients' and families' understandable wishes not to be exposed to the idle curiosity of busybodies.

But no local or state entity could ever come close to having the immense power of secrecy that the U.S. government wields. It's a power that should be allowed to exist only in the minimum amount necessary to protect a free and honest society.

News > Opinion

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Comments

To retrev wrote on Sep 14, 2007 9:46 PM:

" Oh yeah. Typical right wing extremist. Talk tough and when called on it, say "oh he didn't mean it." Big talk. Can't deliver. "

Open it up wrote on Sep 14, 2007 9:43 PM:

" Democracy does not work well when there is secrecy. Bush and Cheney have done more damage to our country than any admin in recent memory. None of the Republicans would be a whole lot different that the current crowd. It is time for a change and I can't wait for a Democrat to be elected. "

Open it up wrote on Sep 14, 2007 9:42 PM:

" Democracy does not work well when there is secrecy. Bush and Cheney have done more damage to our country than any admin is recent memory. None of the Republicans would be a whole lot different that the current crowd. It is time for a change and I can't wait for a Democrat to be elected. "

rettev wrote on Sep 10, 2007 12:34 AM:

" I PO3 isn't advocating a nuke hitting the center of NY city, he's saying what's it going to take for you idiots to get it? Citizen, you need to keep up on your news and research for spouting off your stupidity, the Bush administration didn't out anybody....look it up...Smedley, I think it's REALLY, REAAALLLLY lame you keep claiming you are in Iraq. And saying a VIP recently visited in the area you are stationed, proves my point. You are about 5 cans short of a six pack. "

Smedley Butler wrote on Sep 9, 2007 2:24 PM:

" "Maybe a nuke right in the center of New York City will change these views of the liberals but I doubt it." Talk about anti-American point of view. No real American would advocate attacks against fellow Americans. I believe the head of the Arkansas GOP said something just as ludicrous a few months ago. This right-wing extremism as voiced by GOP neo-cons is not healthy for the future of our republic. Neither is left-wing extremism. Semper Fidelis (from Iraq) "

NoDak John wrote on Sep 9, 2007 1:45 PM:

" Rugby Reader, obviously you have not kept up with the news behind the news as some of us have. As government grows and grows and grows FAR beyond it’s legal limits, the need for secrecy become a prime mover. When crimes committed by persons at the highest levels of government are classified as “National Security” and similar classifications to keep those crimes “swept under the rug”, it is the people who suffer. Fortunately there are those who are willing to really “put their heads on the chopping block” knowing full well that they may become a “person of interest” and who will be dealt with in a very nasty manor. Those few brave souls deserve our thanks for their courage. Fortunately there are also some judges who have really gone against the present “norm” and have held those committing these crimes to be in violation of the law and force them to answer to the law. If you want to put the whole burden on this administration, might I suggest you do a little “digging” and you will find that it is not AN administration, but it IS a trend which continues to grow due to the Poly ticking and nefarious acts of far to many, as was pointed out in this article. Greed and avarice are not peculiar to a race or creed but are far too common in mankind in general in the era of the ME generation. "

Come on now... wrote on Sep 9, 2007 12:35 PM:

" It would be hard for the current administration and their "so-called" contractors to get away with all their profiteering if they weren't allowed to hide so much from the citizens of the country. In the past, politicians and the lobbyists they represent have intentionally profited from their position. Secrecy now enables them to CREATE more opportunities to generate wealth for themselves at our expense. The sad part however, is even though the Bush administration is the most prolific and extreme practitioner of this treasonous fraud, the American public is powerless to stop the current administration. It would be nice to believe an administration change will end this outrage, but I personally have my doubts. America is being lead on a path to destruction, that will take decades, maybe centuries to reverse and correct, especially in the eyes of the world. "

Right-wing Nut-job Whacko wrote on Sep 9, 2007 12:20 PM:

" To PO3 - That's just beautiful. Americans advocating terrorism against Americans. Sounds just like Hannity, Limbaugh, Giuliani, Kristol, and the rest of their war-mongering ilk. "

Citizen wrote on Sep 9, 2007 10:19 AM:

" Excellent Editorial. Our government and its agencies must operate with a certain level of transparency. This is not to say we cannot have some secrecy when dealing with terrorism. P03 I don’t know what you are talking about regarding the New York Times, perhaps you are just talking. The Bush Administration outed Valerie Plame. You seem to have a ring through your nose and are being led by people who want to turn our nation into a police state; and who are they? They are the terrorists. Your comment about liberal views that nothing is sacred and no one is guilty of crimes is pure rubbish that you heard someone on television say and you just accepted it without any critical thinking at all. Perhaps the television pundit who said it has links to Al Qaeda and should be investigated for sedition. Finally, your statement about a nuclear device exploding in central New York City, something that is possible, and still not changing the views of the liberals is totally out of line especially is view of this Tuesdays date. As citizens we need to demand vigilance on the part of our government while still respecting the rights of the citizen. "

PO3 wrote on Sep 9, 2007 8:55 AM:

" I don't like the govt keeping secrets from the people, but we all know that politics plays a big role in what is reported by the media and what isn't. National security secrets have been exposed by liberals in the media such as the New York Times. In ww2 they would have been tried for treason, but since our society in general is based on liberal views that nothing is scared and no one is guilty of any crimes anymore that rarely or will never happen for exposing our secret agents to possible death if they are outed by the media. Its a new ball game now days where we tell our enemies who want to kill us exactly what our plans and missions are. Maybe a nuke right in the center of New York City will change these views of the liberals but I doubt it. "

Rugby Reader wrote on Sep 9, 2007 6:36 AM:

" Let's give credit where credit is due - the Cheney/Bush regime is responsible for the current state. That being said, we the people bear some of the blame for letting our government get away with the things it does, rather than hold those responsible accountable. "

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