Why the Secrecy Shield?

The Pentagon has made a decision that threatens to keep the American public and Congress in the dark about how things are going with the Bush administration's high-priority missile defense program.

As revealed in Defense Daily, a defense trade publication, the Pentagon's Missile Defense Agency has decided to classify as "secret" details of targets and countermeasures to be used in all future flight intercept tests of the Ground-Based Midcourse Defense system. Beginning with the next test, now scheduled for late July, the policy will be to withhold specifics about the targets or decoys used.

On its face, this new classification policy seems reasonable. If the Pentagon reveals which kinds of targets it can hit and which it misses, an enemy will have an advantage. Similarly, if the Pentagon reveals which decoys and countermeasures work against this system, an enemy can employ only the most effective decoys.