History
Government Transparency in Classified Intelligence Operations
Quick fact
The U.S. intelligence budget is disclosed only as a total—for fiscal year 2023 it was over $100 billion—but individual program costs remain secret, illustrating how the government chooses what to reveal to let the public know oversight exists without exposing operations.
Why this is interesting
You likely assume your government keeps some secrets—but how can you trust what you can't see? What does 'transparency' really mean when operations are themselves classified?