Secrecy

In a single recent year the U.S. classified about five times the number of pages added to the Library of Congress. Depending on whom you ask, government secrecy is either the key to victory in our struggle against terrorism, or our Achilles heel. Secrecy saves: counter-terrorist intelligence officers recall with fury how a newspaper article directly led to the loss of information that could have avoided a terrorist killing. Secrecy corrupts: From extraordinary rendition to Abu Ghraib, we have learned that, under the veil of classification, even our leaders can give in to dangerous impulses. Secrecy explores the tensions between our safety as a nation, and our ability to function as a democracy.