I ask you, doesn't this ring true??

The central tenet in the Beltway religion is secrecy. That's how political and media operatives feel important and Serious: by having access to information about what our Government is doing that is denied to most Americans. If you want to persuade a Senator or journalist of anything, send a military or intelligence officer to hold a "classified" briefing or to provide a special leak, flatter them with how Super Secret the information is that they alone are hearing, and use the Utmost Serious Tones to make clear to them that these are matters of the highest importance. Feed a Beltway denizen scraps of secret information and they will be deeply grateful and unfailingly loyal.

I can just totally see Cheney's operatives going around congress in 2003, whispering all sorts of crapola into every Democrat's ear: Ooooo, secret - top secret, be one of the kewl kids like me, and vote for torture and the forever war!

It's from a worthy article by Glenn Greenwald. go read