It is also worth noting that this week, while the headlines were clogged with war, President Bush signed an executive order making it easier for government agencies, including the White House, to keep documents classified and out of public view.
The order does a number of things. It authorises a further three-year delay to the declassification of any government materials. It adds any documents sent by foreign governments to the US, no matter how routine, to the classified category, and it expands the powers of the CIA to prevent declassification of sensitive documents.
However, of most concern to White House detractors is the power given, for the first time, to the vice president to veto the release of information by designating what should be classified. Given Mr Cheney's clear disregard for the public's right to know what is going in inside the White House, that is a worrying development.
David Teather GuardianUK March 28, 2003 {gosh, a whole month already}
