Comments on: Jesse Helms on Secrecy http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/2008/07/jesse_helms.html Secrecy News from the FAS Project on Government Secrecy Thu, 24 May 2012 10:04:11 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v= By: Anna http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/2008/07/jesse_helms.html/comment-page-1#comment-1594 Anna Fri, 11 Jul 2008 20:31:33 +0000 http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/?p=1819#comment-1594 Helms was one of the sponsors of the legislation mandating an absolute 30 year rule for publication of the Foreign Relations of the United States (FRUS) series and creating a statutory advisory committee. I always thought he did so for the wrong reasons, that is, a deeply held suspicion of the "liberal" State Dept. Other conservatives have also opened records for that reason. In the 1950's Sen. William Knowland insisted that all the material on Yalta be published since he was sure FDR had made some secret treaties. Helms was one of the sponsors of the legislation mandating an absolute 30 year rule for publication of the Foreign Relations of the United States (FRUS) series and creating a statutory advisory committee. I always thought he did so for the wrong reasons, that is, a deeply held suspicion of the “liberal” State Dept. Other conservatives have also opened records for that reason. In the 1950′s Sen. William Knowland insisted that all the material on Yalta be published since he was sure FDR had made some secret treaties.

]]> By: Steven Aftergood http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/2008/07/jesse_helms.html/comment-page-1#comment-1576 Steven Aftergood Sat, 05 Jul 2008 22:48:47 +0000 http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/?p=1819#comment-1576 Thanks for the excellent question and observation. I can't immediately point to any criticism of secrecy from him during the Reagan years, when it would have served a useful purpose. It may be that he opposed secrecy not as a matter of principle, but only when it suited his political agenda. Alternatively (and more charitably), maybe his appreciation of the virtues of open government developed over time and only came to fruition late in his career. Thanks for the excellent question and observation. I can’t immediately point to any criticism of secrecy from him during the Reagan years, when it would have served a useful purpose. It may be that he opposed secrecy not as a matter of principle, but only when it suited his political agenda. Alternatively (and more charitably), maybe his appreciation of the virtues of open government developed over time and only came to fruition late in his career.

]]> By: Mark Fenster http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/2008/07/jesse_helms.html/comment-page-1#comment-1575 Mark Fenster Sat, 05 Jul 2008 22:36:54 +0000 http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/?p=1819#comment-1575 Did Helms's dislike of secrecy and legislative forays in the area just span the 1990s -- which is the time period of all his actions you describe in your post? Perhaps most pertinent, was he at all interested in the issue during the Reagan presidency? Put another way: was he concerned about secrecy qua secrecy, or did he fundamentally disagree with the Clinton administration's foreign policy, and did he see the efforts you described as attempts both to rail against those who disagreed with him, and to insinuate that those agencies he really disliked -- like the State Dept -- were involved in some nefarious scheme? If he did have a long record of promoting open government, I think that'd be wonderful and worth promoting, but between his work with the Reagan Administration in Latin America and his history as a segregationist in North Carolina, I kind of doubt it. Did Helms’s dislike of secrecy and legislative forays in the area just span the 1990s — which is the time period of all his actions you describe in your post? Perhaps most pertinent, was he at all interested in the issue during the Reagan presidency? Put another way: was he concerned about secrecy qua secrecy, or did he fundamentally disagree with the Clinton administration’s foreign policy, and did he see the efforts you described as attempts both to rail against those who disagreed with him, and to insinuate that those agencies he really disliked — like the State Dept — were involved in some nefarious scheme?

If he did have a long record of promoting open government, I think that’d be wonderful and worth promoting, but between his work with the Reagan Administration in Latin America and his history as a segregationist in North Carolina, I kind of doubt it.

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