Governments can claim the need to restrict information from the public in order to protect it.  The public can then counter that restriction of information inevitably leads to the curtailment of rights.  Obviously, there exists a tradeoff between the public’s security and the public’s right to know.

No government can keep everything from its people; virtually no government allows the unrestricted flow of information.  So, most governments can be characterized as points on a continuum, with those allowing the unrestricted flow of information on one end and those with complete control of information at the other.⁷⁶

The People’s Republic of China is near the controlled end, while Sweden is at or near the opposite end.⁷⁷ The United States is somewhere between the middle and unrestricted end, no doubt more open than its fellow democracy, the United Kingdom.⁷⁸   (Even these points are dynamic, constantly subject to change dependent upon many factors.)

76 Melanson, Philip H. Secrecy Wars. Potomac Books, Inc. 2002. p. 2
77 Ibid.
78 Ibid.

Next: The Pentagon Papers