SECRECY often makes it very easy for people to commit crimes. This is why the workings of government should always be out in the open. In a transparent system, every action by a public official can be scrutinized, making it more difficult for abuses of authority to occur. But there is a time when the government needs secrecy, precisely in order to serve the public to the best of its abilities.

It is not only in time of war that some of the governm