The linchpin of the classification system and the device that allows government secrets to stay secret is the code name. Every program, exercise, and operation has a code name. Individuals, offices, and enemies are all granted code names. Only those who are cleared to know certain information will know a code name, and the higher the clearance, the more extensive one's code vocabulary. Indeed, so Byzantine is the classification hierarchy that even the different levels of clearance to know secret names have secret names of their own. Like cherry blossoms or shooting stars, secret names are evanescent, gone the moment they are apprehended by those without the need to know. If national security in and of itself is no longer a justification for this degree of classification, one might be inclined to ask what is. |
