Automatic Declassification Of Documents

I'd be VERY curious about various things that are being declassified as we speak. An open government is crucial to maintaining the publics trust. On the other hand, there are still things that do indeed need to be kept secret. For example, say there was a document that Reagan wrote out that detailed how he planned on bringing down the Soviet Union? That would definitely need to be kept secret. Or how about a document on how we thwarted a bombing that revealed tactics and methods used?

What's even more weird is that everyone likes to think of the Bush administration as this very secret, dark government that won't share a thing with anyone without kicking and screaming. But then in the article it states:

The first deadline was imposed in an executive order that President Bill Clinton signed in 1995, when officials realized that taxpayers were paying billions of dollars to protect a mountain of cold war documents.

The order gave agencies five years to declassify documents or show the need for continued secrecy.

When agencies protested that they could not meet the 2000 deadline, it was extended to 2003. Bush then granted another three-year extension, but put out the word that it was the last one, despite the new emphasis on security after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and a new war in Iraq.

"The Bush administration could have said, 'This is a Clinton thing,' and abandoned it," Aftergood, said. "To their credit, they did not."

Odd that Bush gets credit for something in the media. It's so very rare when that happens. Usually he has second guessers who love to question tough decisions and say how they'd do things without giving an example.

Travis

travis@rightwinglunatic.com