Post 9/11 Privacy and Secrecy

POST 9/11 PRIVACY AND SECRECY: A REPORT CARD
[SOURCE: C-Net|News.com, AUTHOR: Declan McCullagh and Anne Broache]
Since September 11, 2001, the federal government is concealing more information about its own activities, while engaging in more surveillance of Americans' private lives. The change has been dramatic. In the 1997 fiscal year, the federal government spent $3.4 billion on securing classified information, a figure that rose to $7.7 billion for 2005. Similarly, the government declassified 204 million pages of documents in 1997 but a mere 29.6 million in 2005. At the same time, surveillance of Americans by the federal government has steadily increased. President Bush has acknowledged bypassing the checks and balances of the courts when enlisting the National Security Agency in an extensive surveillance program. Congress is discussing whether to rewrite that law.
http://news.com.com/Post+911+privacy+and+secrecy+A+report+card/2100-1028_3-6113518.html?tag=nefd.lede

See also:
* Post-9/11 antiterror technology: A report card
http://news.com.com/Post-911+antiterror+technology+A+report+card/2100-1028_3-6113064.html?tag=nl