Quote:
Originally Posted by Jim
A secret can be kept successfully (for a time) if all of the knowlegdeable parties feel their is a serious need to keep it.
The Manhattan Project, the Normandy landings... these secrets were kept because those who new felt there was so much at stake that the secret had to be kept.
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And the important words, even in those situations, are
for a time. Admittedly, both of those were revealed, when they were, in pretty big ways, but neither one was really secret for terribly long. Further, the secrecy of the Manhattan Project was substantially aided by the fact that, well, it wasn't in Manhattan! It was a bunch of scientists in the middle of nowhere. There were soldiers as well, but I don't think any of them had enough knowledge to really spill. However, there are multiple examples of people working with the US nuclear program who sold information to the Soviets. (There are multiple examples
even without getting into the Rosenbergs and discussing their guilt of innocence.)