Necessary Secrets: National Security, the Media, and the Rule of Law [Hardcover]

Gabriel Schoenfeld (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 24, 2010

An intensely controversial scrutiny of American democracy's fundamental tension between the competing imperatives of security and openness. "Leaking"--the unauthorized disclosure of classified information--is a well-established part of the U.S. government's normal functioning. Gabriel Schoenfeld examines history and legal precedent to argue that leaks of highly sensitive national-security secrets have reached hitherto unthinkable extremes, with dangerous potential for post-9/11 America. He starts with the New York Times's recent decision to reveal the existence of National Security Agency programs created under the Bush administration. He then steps back to the Founding Fathers' intense preoccupation with secrecy. In his survey of U.S. history, Schoenfeld discovers a growing rift between a press that sees itself as the heroic force promoting the public's "right to know" and a government that needs to safeguard information vital to the effective conduct of foreign policy. A masterful contribution to our understanding of the First Amendment, Necessary Secrets marshals the historical evidence that leaks of highly classified government information not only endanger the public but, in some extraordinary circumstances, merit legal prosecution of those who publish them.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The December 2005 publication of a front-page New York Times piece about an NSA wiretapping program is the inciting incident at the heart of this provocative consideration of the conflict between the need for government secrecy and the role of a free press. Schoenfeld (The Return of Anti-Semitism), senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, publicly accused the paper of violating the law when it published the article. Here, the author concerns himself less with the specifics of the 2005 incident than the larger theoretical and historical questions it raises. The book goes back to the First and Second Continental Congresses to show that the founders believed the defense of national security made complete transparency impossible. It then jumps ahead to the 1917 Espionage Act, the critical legislation, in Schoenfeld's thesis, locating where secrecy and security trump freedom of the press—as it did until Daniel Ellsberg's leak of the classified Pentagon Papers to the Times. If Schoenfeld's argument sometimes feels one-sided, he succeeds in scrutinizing an issue of vital importance and putting it into a much broader context. (May)
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From Booklist

In 2006, conservative commentator Schoenfeld published an editorial in which he called for the prosecution of certain New York Times journalists under espionage laws for reporting details of the National Security Agency’s warrantless wiretapping activity within the U.S. With this selection, Schoenfeld reasserts his complaint against the Times in the context of a broader discussion about the historical role of secrecy in American government. Examining the Founders’ attitudes toward government secrets as well as certain precedent-setting incidents such as Daniel Ellsberg’s release of the Pentagon Papers, he argues that the government should more aggressively assert its prerogative to control certain information, particularly that pertaining to national security, by prosecuting leakers and those who would publish sensitive leaked information. His primary frustration, however, is not with the government’s demonstrated reluctance to prosecute leakers (often for fear of further disclosures in court) but with the confidently adversarial stance of post-Watergate journalism in general. Though uncovering some fascinating and largely forgotten moments in American history—the 1931 Black Chamber affair, for example—this selection may put off some readers with its polemical tenor. --Brendan Driscoll

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 309 pages
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company; 1 edition (May 24, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393076482
• ISBN-13: 978-0393076486
• Product Dimensions: 1.2 x 6.5 x 9.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #732,451 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

For nearly two years ending in November 2012, Gabriel Schoenfeld was a senior adviser to the Mitt Romney for President Campaign. Today he is a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute in Washington, DC. His essays on national security and modern history have appeared in leading publications, including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, Weekly Standard, New Republic, Atlantic, National Interest, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, and Commentary, where from 1994 to 2008 he was senior editor. His books include: A Bad Day on the Romney Campaign: An Insider's Account; Necessary Secrets: National Security, the Media, and the Rule of Law; and The Return of Anti-Semitism.

Before joining Commentary, Schoenfeld was a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, DC, where he founded the research bulletin Soviet Prospects. Schoenfeld was an IREX Scholar at Moscow State University, holds a PhD from Harvard University's Department of Government, and is a United States Chess Federation master. The father of three daughters, he lives in New York City.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Worthwhile book on controversies over publication of leaked national security information August 12, 2010

By E. Jaksetic

Format:Hardcover

This book is an ambitious one, discussing the serious legal, political, and ethical issues raised by media publication of unauthorized disclosures of secret diplomatic, military, and intelligence information. (Because the phrase "classified information" is a relatively modern one, it would be a historical anachronism to use that phrase for secret diplomatic, military, and intelligence information that existed before that phrase came into use.)

The author surveys American history -- from the beginnings of the United States to the present -- in an effort to identify the key issues raised by unauthorized disclosures of diplomatic, military, and intelligence secrets and their publication. The author's survey of American history is interesting, and it provides useful context and background information for his discussion of unauthorized disclosures. The author discusses arguments made in favor of publishing leaked secrets, arguments made against the publication of leaked secrets, and the strengths and weakness of the arguments on both sides.

For the most part, the author is critical of media publication of unauthorized disclosures of secret diplomatic, military, and intelligence information, and he challenges many of the arguments that have been made in favor of such publication. But, the author also notes the problem of over-classification of some government information, the value of a free press to an informed citizenry, and the practical and political difficulties of criminal prosecutions of leakers and the recipients of leaks. The author's effort at presenting the pros and cons of unauthorized disclosures and the government's response to unauthorized disclosures is an admirable effort at being fair, but it occasionally may leave the reader with the feeling that the author is ambivalent and perhaps hesitant about some of the positions he takes in the book.

Anyone interested in the subject of national security leaks should read this book.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars An incredibly timely book December 3, 2010

By Fiona Lowther

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

If ever there was a timely book, "Necessary Secrets" is it: With the Wikileaks scandal in the headlines, every American should be reading "Necessary Secrets." The author seems to have tried to provide a balanced analyses of our country's news media vs. government/military secrets -- and has pretty much succeeded. All readers may not agree with his conclusions, but this book should help each make up his/her own mind on the subject.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Necessary Balance September 29, 2010

By D Bishop

Format:Hardcover

Consider the following quote from the New York Times story "Iran Fights Malware Attacking Computers" dated September 25, 2010.

"The New York Times reported in 2009 that President George W. Bush had authorized new efforts, including some that were experimental, to undermine electrical systems, computer systems and other networks that serve Iran's nuclear program, according to current and former American officials. ...The program is among the most secret in the United States government, and it has been accelerated since President Obama took office, according to some American officials. "

If it's "the most secret" program, why is the New York Times reporting it? Schoenfeld doesn't discuss this particular case in his book but he looks carefully at the arguments made for and against such revelations.

Frankly I'm surprised by the lack of other five star ratings. His book is well researched, well written and his arguments are balanced, thorough and clearly presented.

He follows the subject from the historical period through to the present. I preferred reading his twentieth century examples over those from earlier periods, but I understand his reasons for reaching back.

I wouldn't say it's a gripping read, but it's clear, fluid writing allows the reader to move quickly through parts of less interest. I also give it credit for succeeding in a somewhat more difficult literary category, which blends history, law and political philosophy.

He covers the Pentagon Papers release by Daniel Ellsberg. Having read Ellsberg's "Secrets" years ago, Schoenfeld's alternate perspective was enlightening.

To the extent you're an implacable opponent to American foreign policy and cheer revelations that weaken it then you probably won't like this book. But the book is not about foreign policy and makes no judgment there.

It's about the intersection between press freedom and national security from legal, moral, political and historical perspectives, a broad and well considered analysis. While you know his position - a moderate one, he balances it by a fair and extended presentation of opposed positions.

He makes a strong case that the weight of law and reason supports his position, while recognizing the practical limitations to protecting national security. Additionally there is the heightened mistrust of government since Vietnam and subsequent overwhelming internalization by the press that the constitution is on their side and that press-freedom trumps harm to national security; a harm they interpret as abstract, indirect, and/or overblown.

In some cases, "exposing wrongs" (as they've self-elevated themselves to identify) is mere rationalization for the commercial benefits of getting the scoop and selling papers. But in the end, it's individuals in the press and their confidential sources elevating their individual interpretation of right and wrong above the law.

This despite the fact that there are (a) internal avenues for whistle blowers to vet concerns and report abuse, (b) our governments are democratically elected, and (c) the "people" the press professes to serve by its undemocratic, self-interested decisions to publish is the same "public" that is harmed by that decision.

His book, you might say, provides "necessary balance".