November 1, 2004
[Have an opinion about this column? Visit the Secrecy
News discussion forum.]
KERRY ON OPENNESS AND SECRECY
Though it has gone largely unremarked by supporters and opponents
alike, John Kerry has an extraordinary Senate record as an investigator
and overseer of some of the government's most controversial, complex
and secretive activities.
He has repeatedly exposed abuses of the government secrecy system,
and has often prevailed in overcoming unwarranted secrecy.
One high point of his Senate career is his chairmanship of the Select
Committee on POW/MIA Affairs, which culminated in a 1200 page final
report in 1993.
Perhaps it is a sign of the anemic state of American democracy that
this monument of government accountability is out of print and forgotten.
But it is a remarkable document -- lucid, passionate and decent.
Among other things, the Committee report is a testament to the power
of openness and declassification and to clarify and to heal.
The Kerry Committee's achievements included "the most rapid and
extensive declassification of public files and documents on a single
issue in American history" as of 1993.
A decade before the 9/11 Commission wrestled with the White House
over access to the President's Daily Brief, members of Senator Kerry's
committee sought and gained limited access to PDBs in the first
Bush Administration.
"Nothing has done more to fuel suspicion about the government's
handling of the POW/MIA issue than the fact that so many documents
related to those efforts have remained classified for so long,"
the Kerry Committee report concluded.
"The Committee believes that its legacy will be that it removed
the shroud of secrecy which for too long has hidden information
about POW/MIAs from public scrutiny."
Though it pulled few punches and displayed a willingness to find
fault with individuals and agencies inside and outside of government
(and to praise others, such as then-Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney),
Senator Kerry's Committee was still able to function effectively
on a bipartisan basis.
Of course, the policies of a hypothetical President Kerry cannot
be reliably predicted based on the practices of Committee Chairman
Kerry.
But it is noteworthy that as a Senator, Kerry demonstrated an exceptionally
vivid understanding of the pitfalls of executive branch secrecy
and the essential function of government accountability in a democracy.
The executive summary of the 1993 Report of Senator Kerry's Select
Committee on POW/MIA Affairs may be found here.
BUSH ON OPENNESS AND SECRECY
The documented increase in government secrecy under President Bush
is partly driven by the heightened state of security associated
with military action and the threat of terrorism. But it also reflects
a seeming disdain for public deliberation and official accountability
that predates September 11, 2001.
The President's secrecy policies are within the parameters of the
law and the Constitution -- with the exception of the refusal by
the CIA and the Justice Department to release historical intelligence
budget information, which violates the Constitutional statement
and account clause, we believe.
But Bush Administration secrecy places a premium on strong executive
branch authority at the expense of congressional oversight, freedom
of information and even such mundane things as making the President
available to answer questions from the press. As a result, the character
and the possibilities of citizenship in our democracy are increasingly
constrained.
In a small but telling example, the telephone directory for the
Department of Defense, which for many years used to be for sale
at the Government Printing Office Bookstore, has been deemed "for
official use only" in the Bush Administration and is no longer available.
A wall between the public and its government that did not previously
exist has now been erected.
(The White House's own telephone directory is also stamped "for
official use only," though it may be purchased by anyone for $35
from the private Bureau of National Affairs. Meanwhile, the Department
of Energy, which handles information and materials as sensitive
as any in government, makes its telephone directory available on
the web.)
Many of the Bush Administration's official policies and pronouncements
on secrecy may be found here:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/bush/index.html
A recent, mostly critical discussion of Bush Administration secrecy
policy is presented in "Groups raise concerns about increased classification
of documents" by Gregg Sangillo, National Journal, October 23:
http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/1004/102704nj1.htm
© 2004, Federation of American Scientists.
All opinions expressed in this article are the author's and do not
necessarily reflect those of Military.com.
|
