Alasdair Roberts, Ph.D. is an associate professor at Syracuse University. Blacked Out is a study of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), and how the governments in various countries, though primarily the US, have dealt with the often-times problematic need to be accountable to the people, yet also maintain a level of secrecy to permit policymaking to occur.
At 336 pages you would be mistaken if you think this is a quick read. Although concise, it contains a huge amount of detail. The compendious footnotes would keep a researcher busy for some considerable time.
I found it fascinating; I can honestly say that I learned something on every page.
The first version of the FOIA was enacted in 1966. However, it was not until the Watergate scandal that the Freedom of Information march gained momentum. Alasdair Roberts does an excellent job of explaining how the government was forced to become more open to public scrutiny. A newer, cleaner government started to emerge, because of the accountability.
According to Blacked Out, this freedom of access came to a screeching halt with the arrival of the Bush administration. What I found curious when reading the book was that this change was not a result of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, but was inherent in the very makeup of the government. 9/11 merely offered a plausible rationale to further the restrictive practices.
Blacked Out contains many case studies, and they all make for great reading. It was hard to know which to select in writing this review.
The author is critical of Donald Rumsfeld. Although many others were involved, there is compelling evidence that Rumsfeld was a key figure in restricting access to information not only to the outside world, but even to interested agencies within the government.
The Bush administration's reticence to share information may have been a catalyst in causing the Iraq war.
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