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"Security reasons" doesn't pass the smell test -- US adversaries are going to see the report regardless of what time it's released, whereas significantly fewer
by lend000 5y ago
"Security reasons" doesn't pass the smell test -- US adversaries are going to see the report regardless of what time it's released, whereas significantly fewer of its own citizens will.
> That stuff even creeps into HN discussion in a way and to a degree that is not the norm here.
HN discussion isn't some sacred thing, and probably never was. This is an interesting topic (and depending on the true nature of it, arguably the most interesting topic) and there's plenty of information to sift through. If HN discussions were meant to be stifled around official, manicured government and corporate press releases, that sounds more like naïveté than a free thinking scientifically-minded forum. Some of us are interested in other things besides the most elegant possible Haskell one-liner.
- DoreenMichele 5y agoLet me try to say that a little more clearly: A. Maybe they keep it vague for security reasons knowing that other countries will read it, not just the American public. B. Maybe they publish it on a Friday in hopes of getting the least amount of nuttiness out of the American public. When you publish something for all the world to see, you have to take into account both of those dynamics, not just one or the other. They will both occur. Addressing only one or the other will go bad places.
- jasonwatkinspdx 5y agoOne simple reason to not go into depth on the evidence is it would reveal the capabilities of radars and similar sensors. Likewise, if they know one of these was say a drone test by a contractor from a grey/black program they're obviously not going to disclose that. So there's a bunch of banal reasons security could apply here.