“.......vast majority of them classified to hide the truth from the American public, the secrets covertly justify/protect bad policy decisions and actions.......”
That VAST majority of classification is done because it's easier to classify things then to spend time reading the arcane rules and regs on whether the topic should be classified or not!
The numbers do tell a story, but its not quite as sinister as you think. Much material is over classified and there is material that's classified by one agency and not by another. Yes there are examples of documents classified to hide stupidity but its not as common as you think. Its hard to classify bad policy decisions because when the “policy maker” makes his/her decision and the policy implemented the consequences are usually public maybe not immediately but eventually it's “out there” for all to see. The “system” is set up to classify even the most innocuous or mundane communication unless the document creator takes action to prevent it.Human beings being what the are its easier to take no action then to take action.
Like dumbing deviancy down to “acceptability” and then relaxing the security rules to accommodate the new norm. The consequences might not be immediate but eventually it has to be dealt with.
Its hard to classify bad policy decisions because when the “policy maker” makes his/her decision and the policy implemented the consequences are usually public maybe not immediately but eventually it’s “out there” for all to see.
If only this were true. Wikileaks exposed lies through omission about North Korea, Iran, Saudis, Israel, Palestine, China, Syria, etc... the omission of the truth allowed weak policy decisions, non-response to growing threats / attacks, and dangerous inaction from our policy makers.