ABSTRACT
Security—secrecy in many forms—permeates the world of intelligence. Security procedures protect vital collection activities, both human and technological. In the Church Committee Report, a philosophical and historical essay on secrecy in the United States declared that there were no directives regarding protection of information, or for guarding against foreign military intelligence, until the Civil War. The protection of secret, or classified, information is subject to occasional exception for public purposes, but its control within the government is managed under a complex system of security. Secure communications, care in disseminating materials, careful maintenance of records, and monitoring of the system's functioning are all parts of security. Security, in its various forms, is challenged by some, but it is supported by the Congress, which itself practices secrecy. With rare exceptions, congressional respect for security is reflected in all its oversight work on matters of national security, including intelligence.
