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> the idea that you can keep a secret that 100,000+ people are in on is just silly 100,000 would be hard, but 10,000 vetted employees threatened with the power
by kingkongrevenge 17y ago
> the idea that you can keep a secret that 100,000+ people are in on is just silly
100,000 would be hard, but 10,000 vetted employees threatened with the power of the state for the rest of their lives is definitely done in militaries all over the world.
Look at the never ending revelations about the early Soviet era. Many aspects of the GULAG system are only becoming clear now.
I do not find the argument that governments can't keep secrets convincing at all. Even if the seal isn't airtight there is often such a highly effective ability to muddy the waters the truth becomes impossible to see through the disinformation.
- Retric 17y agoThe US government failed to keep instructions for building Atomic bombs from Russia. After realizing that failure they then designed and built the far more powerful Hydrogen bomb, which was quickly copped by the Russians. This information has then leaked around the world. You can trace every atomic bomb program in the world back to information gathered from the US. PS: Governments have discovered the best way to keep secrets is to tell as few people as possible. There are not 10,000 people who know how to create the best radar absorbing paint used by the Air force. So, even as we are constantly compromised each leak is limited to what that person or computer system knows.
- kingkongrevenge 17y agoSo Counter Intelligence was weak in that case. It's an anecdote, and there are plenty of anecdotes about well kept secrets throughout history.