"It's the most powerful privilege the government has. It's the nuclear option. It never fails." - William Weaver, senior adviser to the National Security Whistleblowers Coalition. http://www.fas.org/sgp/jud/statesec/index.html ''' The State Secrets Privilege: Selected Case Files "Use of the state secrets privilege in courts has grown significantly over the last twenty-five years. In the twenty-three years between the decision in Reynolds [1953] and the election of Jimmy Carter, in 1976, there were four reported cases in which the government invoked the privilege. Between 1977 and 2001, there were a total of fifty-one reported cases in which courts ruled on invocation of the privilege. Because reported cases only represent a fraction of the total cases in which the privilege is invoked or implicated, it is unclear precisely how dramatically the use of the privilege has grown. But the increase in reported cases is indicative of greater willingness to assert the privilege than in the past." ... '''