"I don't want to talk about intelligence matters. I will say, however, that intelligence-community estimates should not become public in the way of this city and in the way of Congress"
About this Quote
Diplomacy is often theater in a lower key: the art of refusing to say the thing everyone knows is at stake. Warren Christopher opens with a feint - "I don't want to talk about intelligence matters" - and then immediately talks about them, not by substance but by process. That pivot is the whole move. He’s drawing a bright line around secrecy while signaling to insiders that a leak has already happened, and that it has changed the terrain.
The phrase "intelligence-community estimates" is deliberately bloodless, bureaucratic language meant to drain the drama out of whatever assessment is roiling Washington. He doesn’t argue the estimate is wrong; he argues its circulation is wrong. Subtext: the real danger isn’t merely misinformation, it’s politicization. Once estimates become public "in the way of this city and in the way of Congress", they stop being analytic products and become ammunition, chopped into talking points, selectively quoted, waved around in hearings, used to box in policy options. "This city" is the quiet indictment - a knowing reference to Washington’s reflex to turn secrets into leverage.
Christopher is also protecting two constituencies at once: intelligence officials who fear being scapegoated for policy choices, and executive-branch decisionmakers who need room to maneuver without having every contingency pre-litigated in public. It’s statesmanly caution with an edge: he’s not just defending classification; he’s warning that democratic oversight can mutate into a spectacle where the appearance of accountability erodes the conditions for sober judgment.
The phrase "intelligence-community estimates" is deliberately bloodless, bureaucratic language meant to drain the drama out of whatever assessment is roiling Washington. He doesn’t argue the estimate is wrong; he argues its circulation is wrong. Subtext: the real danger isn’t merely misinformation, it’s politicization. Once estimates become public "in the way of this city and in the way of Congress", they stop being analytic products and become ammunition, chopped into talking points, selectively quoted, waved around in hearings, used to box in policy options. "This city" is the quiet indictment - a knowing reference to Washington’s reflex to turn secrets into leverage.
Christopher is also protecting two constituencies at once: intelligence officials who fear being scapegoated for policy choices, and executive-branch decisionmakers who need room to maneuver without having every contingency pre-litigated in public. It’s statesmanly caution with an edge: he’s not just defending classification; he’s warning that democratic oversight can mutate into a spectacle where the appearance of accountability erodes the conditions for sober judgment.
Quote Details
| Topic | Privacy & Cybersecurity |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
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