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The article reports that a sometimes neglected cost of secrecy in the conduct of the U.S. foreign affairs is that it can hinder, rather than expedite, the effective formulation of policy. A comprehensive evaluation of the utility of foreign policy-making in camera would weigh this cost, along with the cost in democratic accountability, against the benefits of secrecy often postulated. Hence this brief article explores only a fraction of the issue, the ways in which secrecy can detract from effective policy-making.