Okay, so you were more interested in the secrecy angle. It probably helps to think of secrecy under the broader term of information management. If something is

Okay, so you were more interested in the secrecy angle. It probably helps to think of secrecy under the broader term of information management. If something isn't secret per se, but the information is suppressed so that it doesn't become common knowledge, isn't the outcome broadly the same? I'd argue that's what we're seeing here. That's how the US is getting away with arming Al-Qaeda (or at least former Al-Queda) to fight against ISIS, for example, even though they frequently fight alongside each other. If the US public was more aware of this then there's be greater pressure to stop, but that pressure is virtually non-existent due to the complicity of the mainstream media, helping to keep it away from public debate.