Striking the Balance Between Secrecy and Sunshine

From Jurist:

The Obama administration asked Congress to amend the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) last week to respond to the Supreme Court's decision last term in Milner v. Department of the Navy. As lawmakers ponder the administration's request, they should recognize the difficult trade-offs that secrecy entails.

Secrecy is necessary to preserve some government information from hostile individuals and entities around the world that look for ways to strike at the US. However, as Jack Goldsmith notes in his new book, Power and Constraint, secrecy also has adverse ex ante effects on government decision making.