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Words & ReflectionsHow and Why Leaking of Secrets HappenJournalists and senior intelligence officials are talking about ‘protecting governmentsecrets without infringing on the right to report on the government.’Terrorism, War, and the PressEdited by Nancy PalmerHollis Publishing Company. 316 Pages. $19.95 Paperback.In “Terrorism, War, and the Press,” theJoan Shorenstein Center on the Press,Politics and Public Policy has assembledpapers written by visiting fellows,including those from the U.K.,Northern Ireland, India, Israel andthe United States. Each has livedthrough, reported on or studied theseissues. In his contribution to this collection,first published in January2003, entitled “U.S. Government Secrecyand the Current Crackdown onLeaks,” Jack Nelson, former Washingtonbureau chief for the Los AngelesTimes and a 1962 Nieman Fellow, exploresthe practice of government leaks,their uses by journalists, and the impactthey can have. Excerpts from hispaper follow. The paper can be foundat www.shorensteincenter.org.“In the never-ending sparring matchbetween the government and the newsmedia, no subject produces more frictionthan the practice of leaking classifiedinformation. Government officials—atleast those who don’tleak—denounce the practice. They sayit can damage intelligence operationsand reduce the government’s ability todetect and deter terrorists or otherenemies.“Journalists, on the other hand, saythey couldn’t do their jobs without theleaks. Almost all leaks come from governmentofficials, they point out. Andin an era of managed news and wholesaleclassification of government documents,such back-channel informationis often the only way the public cangain an understanding of what its governmentis thinking and doing.“Not surprisingly, the debate overleaks has become increasingly heatedsince the September 11th terrorist attacksand the showdown with Iraq overgiving up any chemical and biologicalweapons and abandoning its quest todevelop weapons of mass destruction.Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeldcalled for jail terms for leakers andPresident Bush joined him in denouncingthem. An intelligence official evensuggested sending ‘swat teams intojournalists’ homes’ if necessary to rootout reporters’ sources. …“Several participants said one of themost significant achievements of theDialogue 1 meetings, aside from weighingin on Ashcroft’s decision not toseek anti-leaks legislation, has been arecognition on both sides of the needfor the media and the government tobe educated about both the dangersand the values of leaks. ‘National securityleaders need to understand thatsome leaks are good for democracyand the country even though othersare bad,’ says Jeffrey Smith. ‘The pressneeds to understand more about thesensitivity of national security leaks.Everybody understands you don’t publishthat the 82nd Airborne is planningto land somewhere, but not everyoneunderstands that it’s a national securityproblem to report that Osama binLaden’s cell phone calls have been intercepted.’…“The war on terrorism and the showdownwith Iraq clearly have given agreater sense of urgency to the issue ofunauthorized disclosure of sensitivenational security secrets. Journalistssuch as those attending the Dialoguesessions say they clearly are more concernednow about the dangers of suchdisclosures. …“In today’s climate, leaks undoubtedlywill become an even more burningissue. With the war on terrorismraising serious concerns about violationsof press freedom and other civilliberties, the news media and the governmentshould continue the Dialoguesessions to broaden understanding onboth sides. Dialogue meetings make iteasier for both sides to avoid knee-jerkreactions. Also, the more sophisticatedthe news media’s understanding of theproblems, especially when dealing withsensitive intelligence, the greater themedia’s ability to avoid needless damage.”■1Editor’s note: A group of Washington journalists and senior intelligence officials have met since the fall of 2001 for an “informal, ongoing dialogue aboutthe issue of protecting government secrets without infringing on the right to report on the government,” with investigative journalist Scott Armstrongand Jeffrey Smith, former general counsel of the Central Intellignce Agency, as facilitators.74 Nieman Reports / Winter 2003