Some Thoughts on National Security Leaks

I must have been quite a rube when I joined the Air Force. I worked in weapon system development and my first job required the use of two file-cabinet sized safes for the classified material. I was so afraid of accidentally leaving a safe unsecured that I probably checked the doors three or four times after I had secured them. The thought of an accidental compromise was always in the back of my mind. If you wanted to push an obsessive/compulsive person over the edge just give him a safe stuffed with the government’s secrets.

Now I learn the government has taken pity on us overly cautious people. I’ve since found that one can mistakenly stuff classified documents in ones clothes and only lose your security clearance for three years. Or we can disclose national secrets direct to the New York Times without any apparent threat of prosecution (or that would have been leaked too).