Event Detail

America is a notably open society, showcased by a First Amendment that allows the press an almost unique freedom to publish on national security matters. Yet America has also given high priority to national intelligence and takes pride in its numerous secret agencies. More than any other country America exemplifies the paradox of an open society defended by secret means.  Almost from its foundation the CIA has had to pursue espionage and covert action amid what might be called a national culture of unsecrecy that required sophistication and self-restraint on all sides. But after 9/11 the established conventions that made this consensus possible gradually collapsed. Over the next two decades following 9/11, what was once an animated national security conversation, admittedly testy at times, was displaced by something rather more chaotic, with many of these more recent issues focused on the White House. Why was America’s unique culture of unsecrecy finally unravelling?

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