4 ms·

Should all kinds of truth always be released? I think a bit more sophistication is necessary here. For instance, should the launch codes for our nuclear weapo

by yters 17y ago

Should all kinds of truth always be released? I think a bit more sophistication is necessary here. For instance, should the launch codes for our nuclear weapons be made public?

rosser 17y ago
I think you're offering a bit of a straw-man here. There's a vast difference between truthful documentation of past misdeeds and disclosing information that could in the future be used to cause great harm -- the difference between, "Regime X has used chemical weapons on its own people," and, "Here's how you make mustard gas."
- bilch 17y ago
  From what I understand, mustard gas isn't hard to make at all. ("There are several routes to this compound, none of which require sophisticated technology and/or special materials.", Federation of American Scientists: Chemical Weapons Production and Storage) The process is more or less described in Wikipedia.
  - deleted 17y ago
    [deleted]
rdtsc 17y ago
I was thinking more of 'we just bombed 50 civilians in Afghanistan and we are very sorry.' kind of information. Or 'we have captured someone in Albania today, flew him to Latvia to get tortured, but it turns out it was the wrong guy. We have let him go and we are very sorry. Our government will pay him some restitution for the harm caused.'. Then our citizens will start to ask questions. 'How come our government is doing that?', 'Why not bring them to trial?', 'What about world court? should they hold the trial instead?', 'What are our tax dollars used for?' and other such discussions. I think a lot of this information will not compromise national security, but it is compromising our image internationally. And I think that is why it is hidden. It is shameful and wrong. Not because it can be used to launch rockets or crack our cyber-security.
- richardw 17y ago
  And if bringing those kinds of acts to light will reduce the chance they happen again, then it's the right thing to do. Bombing civilians shouldn't just be a mistake you sweep under the carpet, because if it were your own civilians you'd move heaven and earth to have them honored.
- yters 17y ago
  Sometimes that too can be classified. I do agree that should be disclosed at some point. But a third party indiscriminately leaking such material without understand the consequences is not a good way to do it. It could very well lead to many US service members getting killed, increasing Taliban support amongst the locals, perhaps even getting innocent Afghanis or Iraqis killed, etc. A better way is to get the necessary clearance, understand what's going on, and work your way through the legal chain. There is not a time crunch right now, and without a time crunch, it's best to stay inside the system. The moral issue is very important, but sometimes getting focussed on a single moral issue can violate even higher moral mandates.
arethuza 17y ago
Well, the fact that they were once set to 00000000 has been made public: http://www.damninteresting.com/ive-got-the-same-combination-on-my-luggage http://www.damninteresting.com/ive-got-the-same-combination-...

by yters 17y ago

Should all kinds of truth always be released? I think a bit more sophistication is necessary here. For instance, should the launch codes for our nuclear weapons be made public?

rosser 17y ago

I think you're offering a bit of a straw-man here. There's a vast difference between truthful documentation of past misdeeds and disclosing information that could in the future be used to cause great harm -- the difference between, "Regime X has used chemical weapons on its own people," and, "Here's how you make mustard gas."

bilch 17y ago
From what I understand, mustard gas isn't hard to make at all. ("There are several routes to this compound, none of which require sophisticated technology and/or special materials.", Federation of American Scientists: Chemical Weapons Production and Storage) The process is more or less described in Wikipedia.
- deleted 17y ago
  [deleted]

rdtsc 17y ago

I was thinking more of 'we just bombed 50 civilians in Afghanistan and we are very sorry.' kind of information. Or 'we have captured someone in Albania today, flew him to Latvia to get tortured, but it turns out it was the wrong guy. We have let him go and we are very sorry. Our government will pay him some restitution for the harm caused.'. Then our citizens will start to ask questions. 'How come our government is doing that?', 'Why not bring them to trial?', 'What about world court? should they hold the trial instead?', 'What are our tax dollars used for?' and other such discussions. I think a lot of this information will not compromise national security, but it is compromising our image internationally. And I think that is why it is hidden. It is shameful and wrong. Not because it can be used to launch rockets or crack our cyber-security.

richardw 17y ago
And if bringing those kinds of acts to light will reduce the chance they happen again, then it's the right thing to do. Bombing civilians shouldn't just be a mistake you sweep under the carpet, because if it were your own civilians you'd move heaven and earth to have them honored.
yters 17y ago
Sometimes that too can be classified. I do agree that should be disclosed at some point. But a third party indiscriminately leaking such material without understand the consequences is not a good way to do it. It could very well lead to many US service members getting killed, increasing Taliban support amongst the locals, perhaps even getting innocent Afghanis or Iraqis killed, etc. A better way is to get the necessary clearance, understand what's going on, and work your way through the legal chain. There is not a time crunch right now, and without a time crunch, it's best to stay inside the system. The moral issue is very important, but sometimes getting focussed on a single moral issue can violate even higher moral mandates.

arethuza 17y ago

Well, the fact that they were once set to 00000000 has been made public: http://www.damninteresting.com/ive-got-the-same-combination-on-my-luggage http://www.damninteresting.com/ive-got-the-same-combination-...