US Intelligence Chief asserts system of withholding information 'erodes national security'

Slamming the US intelligence community’s system of classifying information, Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Avril Haines asserted that the agency’s system of withholding information “erodes national security” because it withholds far too much information from the public. In a letter addressed to lawmakers, Haines stated that the current national classification system undermines national security and democratic goals and prevents the US government from sharing information in a timely manner with allies, policymakers and the public. 

According to the Wall Street Journal, the DNI had written a letter earlier in January to US Senators Ron Wyden and Jerry Moran. Her statement is among the most forceful acknowledgements from a sitting intelligence official of a problem that transparency advocates have warned keeps important information about US government activities hidden from the public.

In her letter, Haines wrote, “It is my view that deficiencies in the current classification system undermine our national security, as well as critical democratic objectives, by impeding our ability to share information in a timely manner" with allies, Congress and the public.”

She added, “Not only does this damage public trust,” but it "reduces the Intelligence Community's capacity to effectively support senior policymaker decision-making."

Further, Haines went on to say that the issue is growing as the volume of classified material “continues to grow exponentially in a digital-first environment”. She also provided the lawmakers with other non-public examples of efforts within the intelligence community to try to address the problem. “It is a fundamentally important issue that we must address,” she said. 

Biden admin's efforts 'simply not sufficient' 

The US government's secret files are believed to contain billions of important documents. It is pertinent to mention that back in October, the two senators, Ron Wyden and Jerry Moran, had requested information on the system of classification, which they said costs $18.5 billion per year to maintain. The two US senators had called the Biden administration’s efforts to address the issue “simply not sufficient”. 

Now, Haines’ letter may signal an intention by the Biden administration to reform the classification process and make the operations of the US federal government far more transparent to the public in a bid to regain credibility and national trust. According to CNN, among the attempts that are already underway to cut into the backlog are efforts at the State Department and the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency aimed at modernising and digitising records to make them easier to search, with the aim of expediting reviews for declassification.

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