Secrecy in U.S. National Security: Why a Paradigm Shift Is Needed

This Perspective summarizes an examination of the adequacy of the present system for governing U.S. national security information secrecy. The authors examine the principal elements and processes of the secrecy paradigm. The way these elements and processes perform and interact with each other determines the paradigm's overall performance; the authors evaluate this performance and, where it is found wanting, offer recommendations to improve it.