Secrecy Shuts Down a National-Security Debate

Although Dec 15’s Republican debate had a heavy focus on national security, candidates devolved frequently into posturing and bravado. But when, finally, a real debate over national-security policy began to peek through the fog, it was quickly shut down. It began with a question about government surveillance directed at two of the three senators on the stage, Sens Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Marco Rubio (R-FL). This summer, Sen Cruz voted for the USA Freedom Act, which reigned in some of the National Security Agency’s spying powers, ending a program that allowed the agency to scoop up massive amounts of information about Americans’ phone calls. Sen Rubio, for his part, opposed it.

Almost immediately after their debate exchange, the communications director for Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr (R-NC), tweeted, “Cruz shouldn’t have said that.” The next day, Chairman Burr said he had requested that his staff look at transcripts of the debate in order to determine whether Sen Cruz had leaked classified information. The backlash to Sen Cruz’s remarks reinforces the lack of an open, democratic discussion of surveillance programs. And although elements of the programs must remain classified to preserve their effectiveness, the total blackout on information about them keeps the public from being able to make informed decisions about the lawmakers and officials they elect.