Americans are hardworking. Most of them follow the law and pay their taxes. They expect and are indeed entitled to certain information from their own government, including where their money is going, how certain programs are functioning, and whether the various agencies and departments are doing what they are saying.

Most important of all, the public has the right to know when and where their armed forces are deployed around the world, what missions those forces are conducting, and whether those missions are succeeding or failing. The semiannual consolidated war powers report submitted to Congress by the president is supposed to provide some of this information to the public. Yet year after year, the report has become a relatively meaningless exercise in symbolism stuffed with overt generalities and so few specifics as to make the entire publication a meaningless check-boxing exercise.