When Should State Secrets
Stay Secret?:
Accountability, Democratic
Governance, and Intelligence by Genevieve Lester (Author)
Contrary to popular
assumption, the development of stronger oversight mechanisms actually leads to
greater secrecy rather than the reverse. When Should State Secrets Stay Secret?
examines modern trends in intelligence oversight development by focusing on how
American oversight mechanisms combine to bolster an internal security system
and thus increase the secrecy of the intelligence enterprise. Genevieve Lester
uniquely examines how these oversight mechanisms have developed within all
three branches of government, how they interact, and what types of historical
pivot points have driven change among them. She disaggregates the concept of
accountability into a series of specified criteria in order to grapple with
these pivot points. This book concludes with a discussion of a series of
normative questions, suggesting ways to improve oversight mechanisms based on
the analytical criteria laid out in the analysis. It also includes a chapter on
the workings of the CIA to which a number of CIA officers contributed.
