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As we have noted since the beginning of the current anti-terrorist operations, we have been extremely pleased by the wisdom and patience being displayed by our leaders. One little crack in the facade is, however, the apparent ascendance of the 'noids. That is, as time goes on, fanatical secrecy is beginning to rear its ugly head. The media, as always, fights this tendency by holding the feet of the secret-keepers to the flame of disclosure.
This is not new. A half century ago, when Willy was serving his country in Army Intelligence, a similar argument was taking place within the ranks of agents concerning the need for encryption. The hard liners...the 'noids...wanted to emulate the Russian model, which was to encrypt each and every military communication at all times. One of the side effects of this doctrine was to give us an enormous amount of practice analyzing...and breaking...their ciphers. As was well known in intelligence circles, the weakest link in all secret communications is human error. During WWII, the Japanese Imperial Code was broken when a single radio operator was broadcasting the daily weather report, dutifully encrypted. Having trouble getting through to his intended audience, he made a critical error. He rebroadcast the same report in CLEAR TEXT, thus providing a key for the Americans, who had received both broadcasts. Later, during naval battles, this intelligence coup was used to great advantage to destroy the Japanese navy.
So, the prevailing American approach to cryptography was to use clear text all the time...EXCEPT during emergencies. Thus, the Russians got no practice whatsoever breaking our codes. This effect was noticeable during the Hungarian uprising of 1956, when we had no trouble locating all the Russian forces, while they didn't have clue one as to what we were doing.
But, there was another interesting phenomenon that occurred during that uprising. Our HUMINT (human intelligence) during that era was very poor (compared, say, to the Russians, Germans or British). So after the events begun to escalate, while we were aware of the locations of Russian forces, we had no firsthand knowledge of what they were doing. Noting this, some enterprising enlisted men, in violation of military/civilian doctrine at the time, tapped into the civilian wire services from all over the world and displayed their output continuously on teletypes we had resurrected from our equipment bins. These sources provided us with intelligence...from the site of the action in Budapest...that was far superior to any input we were getting from our military sources. This relatively short event was to presage developments to come in the next decade.
Much has been written about the rise of television news reporting during Vietnam War. Many ascribe the eventual U.S. defeat to that alone. Others, with different agendas...including us...see it as the first real proof of the value of openness and honesty in mass communications, a trend that has continued to this day.
But now, the 'noids are once again beginning to ply their ugly trade behind the national emergency engendered by the events of 9-11. Jack Nicholson says on the stand in the courtroom drama A Few Good Men, "You can't handle the truth!" Jack's character...a gung-ho Marine officer...was referring to Tom Cruise's character and the civilian oriented "pussies" he was seen...by Nicholson's character...to represent.
So it is with the vampire wing of our government. The same people who want to attack Iraq and "eliminate" (read: kill) Sadaam Hussein, that urged the U.S. to move IMMEDIATELY after 9-11 to bombard and murder and maim to "show our strength," do not believe that we, the people, can stand the truth. They recently got the administration to urge, via its spokesperson, that CNN and others not broadcast bin Laden's or al Qaida's speeches on U.S. television. The reason? There might be...MIGHT be...secret messages regarding tactical operations contained within those speeches.
Those same speeches were filled with threats to destroy our culture, create continuous fear and trepidation among Americans, and, if necessary, kill us all with thousands of willing suicidal bombers! What "secret" were they withholding? Of course, there are many steganographic...the art of hiding messages within other messages...methods for efficiently transmitting tactical information to soldiers (or suicide bombers). The terrorists are known to have used those techniques skillfully in the very attacks of 9-11. Why would THEY abandon those methods for public methods at this time?
No, we believe that the real reason they do not want us exposed to the rhetoric of the terrorists is the off chance...and we would say, given the content of those speeches...the VERY off chance that we might "fall for" the propaganda. People who urge those things do not and never will understand the value of the truth. They think that we are stupid and careless, while they themselves are brilliant and careful. It never occurred to them that the "watch" lists...which contained the names of at least two of the terrorists who hit the WTC...could have rolled up the entire operation if we, the people, had access to them. It never crossed their dim, medieval minds that if just a few of the hundreds of people who encountered these men had access to their pictures and descriptions on the Internet...just those two guys...investigation of them and their friends might have rolled up their entire operation before they could spring it!
But, that was then and this is now. Let's not let them make the same mistake again. Right now, the F.B.I. is obtaining, from civilians, literally hundreds of thousands of tips concerning suspicious activity around the country. However, almost NONE of this information is finding its way into back public knowledge except through vague "warnings" that tend to instigate panic and mindless fear, but little else.
If the U.S. government and their newfound friends around the world are to prevail in the war on terrorism, they MUST begin to trust us...all of us throughout the entire world...with the truth. That doesn't mean that they should reveal tactical military plans...which might indeed put troops at mortal risk...or secret negotiations with foreign governments...the media are already skilled at digging these latter out via "leaks" and informing the public. No, what we need is information, rapid and truthful. The day of "Loose lips sink ships" is over. Nowadays, keeping lips sealed is much more likely to sink ships, as our government's policies aptly demonstrated in the previous decade. Our government...and all others in the world...have been singularly ineffective in preventing terrorism. The Russian and Israeli models of hitting terror with terror have not worked. Nor is it certain, despite their uncharacteristic prudence, that the Alliance will be able to "smoke 'em out" and "get 'em" in Afghanistan.
So trust us, Government. Tell us the truth. We surely couldn't do worse with it than you have!
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