Recently, House Resolution 14 has been forwarded to declassify about 28 redacted pages of the Senate Intelligence Committee’s 9/11 Report:
Rep. Walter Jones (R-NC), Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-MA) and former Sen. Bob Graham (D-FL) met on January 7 with families of those who were killed in the 9/11 attacks as well as representatives from the 9/11 Families United for Justice Against Terrorism for a press conference in support of H. Res. 14, a bill that would make public 28 pages of information redacted from the “Joint Inquiry into Intelligence Activities Before and After the Terrorist Attacks of September 2001″ report. This bill was discussed in the 113th Congress as H. Res. 428.
What exactly is in these 28 pages? We don’t know. That’s the point. They were classified by former president George W. Bush and have continued in that classification throughout Obama’s tenure, in spite of many efforts to declassify them.
What is the point of hiding the content of the pages, and what would it mean to declassify them now? That is the question at the heart of the declassify movement. These pages were apparently classified in order to protect crucial elements of America’s counter-terrorism efforts. For instance, if the pages reveal tactics or sources that the US continues to use, it would make sense to continue their classification. But many citizens and lawmakers are concerned that the pages have been redacted merely to protect the US government from accountability.
I’m not sure which way I lean on the topic. It has become harder and harder to trust the federal government’s good intentions as of late. Which has made it easier for me to lean toward declassifying pretty much everything just to keep the feds honest. At the same time, I am not for diluting our ability to predict and defend against terror attacks. And I would hate for any more sensitive information to fall into the hands of people who have proven their ill intentions toward the US. So I’m torn. What are your thoughts? Declassify? Or keep the pages redacted? Sound off below.