The over-classification problem in government

For this episode, I speak with Henry Sokolski, executive director of the Nonproliferation Policy Education Center, about NPEC's influential paper, "Over-classification: How Bad Is It, What’s the Fix?"

The over-classification of national security information has been a long simmering issue in Washington policy circles. But that debate was cast into the spotlight after 21-year-old Air National Guardsman Jack Teixeira was arrested in April for allegedly leaking reams of highly sensitive documents on the Internet. In May, members of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence introduced legislation aimed at reining in over-classification.

NPEC's paper published earlier this spring - two years in the making, and released weeks before Teixeira's arrest - has a wealth of information and examples of over-classification challenges, as well as recommendations for addressing them. So can Washington come together to address its secrets obsession? "Part of me is optimistic, part of me is, I wouldn't say cynical, but skeptical," Sokolski said.

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