The revelation that the Office of Vice President Richard Cheney has refused to comply with an executive order requiring it to file an annual report on how it handles classified national security information has drawn attention to several complex issues in the area of government secrecy.Executive Order 12958 — first signed by President Bill Clinton in 1995 and reissued by President George W. Bush in 2003 — seeks to establish a uniform, government-wide system for safeguarding classified information. Under the order, classification can only be mandated by officials and individuals who can clearly justify their action. The Information Security Oversight […]