Is the U.S. government too secretive?

The Associated Press

Government is not always forthcoming with information.

Featured Topic | Posted 1 year 46 weeks ago

Is the U.S. government too secretive?

Secrecy is vital to national security, but too much secrecy erodes democracy. Most Americans understand that. Nearly nine in 10 Americans say it's important to know presidential and congressional candidates' positions on open government, but three out of four view the federal government as secretive, according to a survey released Sunday.

Scripps Howard News Service and Ohio University conducted the survey in conjunction with Sunshine Week, a nationwide effort by media organizations to draw attention to the public's right to know.

Is the U.S. government to obsessed with secrecy? Has a culture of secrecy undermined American freedom?

Ben likes: The Bush secrecy myth

Gabriel Schoenfeld/The Wall Street Journal

The Bush administration has been lambasted for excessive secrecy. But its persistently passive attitude toward the torrent of leaks that have sprung from its intelligence and national-security apparatus make it one of the country's least-secretive administrations. It would be much better for the country if the administration took seriously the dangers of transparency in an age when the revelation of secrets can get us killed by the thousands. This would involve not only the vigorous enforcement of existing laws, but exercising leadership to change a culture in which leakers are hailed by the press as "whistleblowers," even as they flout their oaths of office and violate the law.

Joel likes: The next president should open the record

Steven Aftergood/Niemen Watchdog

“Excessive administration secrecy... feeds conspiracy theories and reduces the public's confidence in government,” Sen. John McCain has said. “I'll turn the page on a growing empire of classified information,” said Sen. Barack Obama. “We'll protect sources and methods, but we won't use sources and methods as pretexts to hide the truth.” “We need a return to transparency and a system of checks and balances, to a president who respects Congress's role of oversight and accountability,” said Sen. Hillary Clinton.

The most troubling and the most secretive Bush Administration actions are those in the realm of national security policy, and that is the first place, though not the last, where the next Administration could constructively shed new light.