State Secrets and Redaction: The Interaction Between Silence and Ideographs

Abstract

The study adds to the understanding of the interplay between ideographs, as well as developing the concept of redaction as a form of silence. This study will explore the tensions between the positive ideographs <privacy> and <national security> in the post-9/11 context of a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review legal opinion. Using Burke's cluster analysis, as well as building on Brummett's notion of strategic silence, the study examines how the FISCR substantially changed the relationship between the two ideographs. The study concludes that the FISCR situated strengthening national security as the purpose of the case it ruled on, which privileged national security over privacy, and used silence to justify its decision.