Again Quote by Michael Hayden
“Despite a campaign that was based on a very powerful promise of transparency, President Obama, and again in my view quite correctly, has used the state secrets argument in a variety of courts, as much as President Bush.”
About This Quote
Source Speech: Public remarks on transparency and national security, 2010
President Obama invoked state secrets in courts similarly to Bush, despite promising transparency.
In simple terms: Obama used secrecy despite transparency pledge.
Key Takeaway
Recognize the tension between openness and security.
Themes
politics
transparency
security
law
trust
Mood
skeptical
critical
Type
political
legal
When to use this quote
- policy debates
- legal challenges
- media scrutiny
- public trust
Key Concepts
constitutional law
executive power
public expectation
Questions to Reflect On
- How should leaders balance secrecy with public promises?
- What safeguards can ensure accountability?
A Different Perspective
Balancing secrecy and transparency is complex and often contested.
![“Throughout [Barack] Obama's career, he promised to limit the state secrets doctrine which the Bush-Cheney administration had abused enormously.” quote by Nat Hentoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/088/nat-hentoff-1615_administration_throughout-barack-obama-s-career-he-prom_1144188.jpg)
![“One of the saddest and most damaging legacies of the [George W.] Bush administration is the increased assertion of the "state secrets" privilege, which kept organizations like the ACLU - which had cases of people who had actually been tortured and held in indefinite detention - from getting their…” quote by Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/800/edward-snowden-555_administration_one-of-the-saddest-and-most-damaging-leg_190850.jpg)
