Can anyone name one revelation of classified info that hurt the US?

By a reporter. I'm not talking about spies here.

Maybe I'm just being forgetful here but I can't think of any offhand. However, I can think of hundreds of revelations that have actually helped the country and the debate that is waged within the country.


Part 2.

Beyond the identities and missions of operatives, location and capabilities of troops, etc, what information really needs to be classified? Should anything be classified for longer than 20 years?

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Plame was the result of a political agenda, not a reportorial one.

in the kind of places that have death squads.

But I highly recommend Victor Marchetti's The CIA and the Cult of Intelligence, written in the late 1970s. It may still be found in used bookstores and libraries.

It was subjected to pre-censorship by the CIA, but you can still see enough dirt. Basically, the book says that most classification is intended NOT to keep the info from the enemy (they've usually infiltrated), the people who are the object of the covert operation (they definitely know about it or at least suspected), or the rest of the world. The purpose is to keep the info from the American public.

Look at Reagan's "covert" support for the Contras in Nicaragua. The Sandinistas knew about it. The villagers who were getting attacked knew about. The Left in the U.S. knew about it. The world press knew about it. Only the general American public dependent on the MSM took years to find out about it.

Reported in US papers during the war that our subs could dive to 350 feet. Before that Japanese only set their dept charges to 200 feet. After that we lost subs because of that getting back to Japan.

I agree things should not classified for 20 years. Repugs have classified stuff just to keep saint ronny from stinking.

That is something that is obviously questionable.