Anti-Leak Law Avoids the Problem

In John Kingdon's classic book Agendas, Alternatives and Public Policy he discusses the garbage can model of decision making common in government and higher education, and at least three times refers to solutions looking for problems. We have a great example in Feinstein's anti-leak legislation reported by the Washington Post. The legislation would make it illegal for CIA analysts to brief the press on events unless they are named publicly. From the article:

Feinstein acknowledged that she knew of no evidence tying those leaks or others to background sessions, which generally deal broadly with analysts’ interpretations of developments overseas and avoid discussions of the operations of the CIA or other spy services. 

Eliminating unclassified background briefings “doesn’t serve any valid purpose,” said Steven Aftergood, an expert on classification issues for the Federation of American Scientists. “It seems like an expression of pique, not a sensible response to a real problem.”

Looks like Anonymous will have to be an alternative source for reporters.