Secrecy in the Name of Security

The national security state is a governmental framework that strongly prioritizes national defense and security. During the Cold War and the subsequent “War on Terror,” the United States began to place an especially strong emphasis on gathering intelligence, expanding military operations, and employing surveillance—all in the name of protecting the nation from perceived threats. These actions were often carried out unbeknownst to the general American public, which created a culture of secrecy. Because of the “complicity of congress” and an “increasingly imperial presidency,” secret bureaucracies (such as the CIA) were successful in keeping the American people in the dark about their sometimes unethical and extreme operations. Sabotage, psychological warfare, assassination of foreign leaders, and “no-touch” torture are just a few examples of the actions that secret bureaucracies were able to take “on behalf of the governed but without the consent of the governed” (Dean).

The United States government used concerns about national security to justify withholding information from the public, but this “culture of secrecy” quickly began to spread into civilian institutions and was used to cover up controversial or harmful government actions—even those that didn’t directly relate to national security (Dean). One example of this is the Cold War nuclear build-up in rural Nevada and Utah. In order to remain competitive in the global arms race, the US government decided it was necessary to have domestic nuclear test sites and the Nevada Test Site was established in 1951. Because they could see the “big mushroom clouds” during the day and the “sky light up before daylight,” civilians that lived close to the NTS were cognizant of the fact that nuclear tests were being carried out, but had no idea of the dangers this posed to their own health and the health of their livestock (Fox). The government intentionally withheld information from the residents of this area as they continued to downplay the risks, suppress scientific evidence of harm, and not provide any assistance to civilians starting to feel the effects of exposure to radioactive fallout. The case of the Bulloch brothers and other local ranchers who began to observe their livestock suffering unexplained deaths and abnormalities exemplifies how the national security state prioritized nuclear testing over the livelihoods of American citizens (Fox).

Although I would argue that there is currently increased transparency in the United States government as a result of whistleblowers, and that public oversight is more prevalent than it once was, I think the national security state still exists today. Although nuclear testing has stopped, a fundamental aspect of the national security state is the “suppression of accurate information,” which is still prevalent in areas such as surveillance, intelligence operations, and military interventions (Fox). There is no doubt that the national security state has evolved to fit modern threats and operations—for example, recent concerns focus more on development of cybersecurity and artificial intelligence rather than nuclear weapons—, but it still continues to operate within a framework of secrecy. Some may argue that social media makes it easier for the general public to be connected and educate themselves about government actions, but I think it still rings true that “secrecy [becomes] a crucial component of many decisions and even well-informed residents [are] unable to learn much detail about activities in their own communities” (Fox).