2007-03-14 06:10:04 · 8 answers · asked by Chris 5 in Politics & Government ➔ Other - Politics & Government
i wish... but if they did, we would know who killed kennedy...
2007-03-14 06:14:07 · answer #1 · answered by Tang 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It depends on the secret and the level of classification. Generally 50 yrs is the limit. However if the information would damage the country's reputation, harm descendants of government figures or could cause problems it is usually reclassified for a longer time.
If the U.S. had sunk the Maine in Havana to provide an excuse for the Spanish-American War it would be a forever secret. If the U.S. had leaked to the Germans that the Lusitania was carrying munitions in order to provoke an attack that would give us an excuse to get into WWI it would be a forever secret. If many dastardly acts by any country were known, it could hurt that country, so they remain forever secret. [ Note - I said "if" in the previous examples and do not believe that any of them are true.]
2007-03-14 22:12:15 · answer #2 · answered by Taganan 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It all depends on the subject. Top secret files have an expire date, if they are too secret the expire date gets extended. File get reclassified all the time.
2007-03-14 13:16:29 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
In theory, the Freedom of Information Act makes the government prove that any information they have at any time needs to be kept secret, but there are always loopholes.
2007-03-14 13:21:37 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I'm not sure. But we have the Freedom of Information Act, allowing people to make requests, which are reviewed and responded to.
Sometimes a FOIA request will still not make the info public, but I'm sure there's a pretty well developed field of law setting forth standards.
2007-03-14 13:18:08 · answer #5 · answered by American citizen and taxpayer 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes.
2007-03-14 13:17:28 · answer #6 · answered by You Ask & I Answer!!! 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
They might - I can't tell you though - it is a secret.
2007-03-14 13:17:30 · answer #7 · answered by LongJohns 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
it depends if they have something to hide.
2007-03-14 13:13:37 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋