Augmenting state secrets: Obama's information war

This article will argue that while the Obama administration promised considerable change in the areas of transparency, intelligence gathering, and national security, it has differed very little from the Bush administration. In fact, it will contend that in many instances, the administration has actually augmented and increased its activities in its "secret war" on information and those actors deemed to be adversaries and threats to "states secrets." Instead of a dramatic break from the policies of his predecessor, Obama's approach to the balance of national security objectives and privacy concerns, has deeply contravened the administration's initial pronouncements of a new "openness" and "transparency." It will be shown that these actions have also extended to the global stage, particularly those that have impacted the U.S.-Russian "re-set" and bilateral relations with Germany. Indeed, from the treatment of whistleblowers to the assertive expansion of National Security Agency (NSA) surveillance programs, it has been an amplified "business as usual" approach that could significantly mar the Obama administration's legacy.