[semimojo]

I’m not talking about IBM negotiating with Microsoft.

I’m talking about MY government negotiating trade in secret. I see reasons to negotiate defense, weaponry, black operations, etc., in secret.

I see great danger is allowing secrecy beyond that

Our government negotiates every bill "in secret". You can watch congress "debate" bills on C-Span but none of us are naive enough to think that's where the real negotiations take place.

The real world is all about sausage making, and the most we can realistically hope for is that we get to see the finished sausage and decide whether we want to eat it or not.

[xzins]

There is a difference between a group that does it’s work in the open but isn’t reported on and a group that establishes their work area as a classified zone. I spent 24 years in the military, and I’ve seen the difference.

I admit that I often thought the most secretive of military papers should be classified ‘confidential’ instead of ‘top secret’. No one was interested in reading them.

Nonetheless, top secret came with all kinds of legal controls and penalties.