lundi 31 octobre 2016

Classified vs. unclassified: How is this determined?

I'm wondering if anyone here has personal experience dealing with the classifying or declassifying of information and the rationale for various levels of access. I've been surprised in the past to discover what has been kept secret, because I don't know enough about the context. This is based on reading news reports of declassified documents, but unfortunately I don't remember details. So I am making up a scenario:

U.S. troops are massing on somebody's border as anyone can see from satellite surveillance. You can count the planes, the tanks, the number of soldiers etc. You can see the aircraft carriers, artillery pieces, the works. No one is even trying to keep it a secret. Yet some detail that might seem innocuous might actually have deep significance. Maybe there has been an inordinate uptick in deliveries of halal field rations, meaning the U.S. plans to be feeding a lot of Muslims for some reason. Planning an occupation maybe, or anticipating significant cooperation from local or regional militias.

I'm often surprised to find out what information is allowed out vs. secrets that are closely guarded for years or even decades. I'm putting it in U.S. Politics because of the way the issue has dogged Hillary Clinton, but mods it could be in history too. Forgive me if my scenario is totally silly; I just wanted to provide an example.


via International Skeptics Forum http://ift.tt/2f6TGUL

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