Sure, but can't someone have the sense to go back to such sources and re-negotiate, say that it's really really important to clear this up in the public because not only has US credibility been grossly and falsely impugned but it puts a dark shadow over the credibility of all western intel agencies? It is particularly important to explain the real facts in light of ongoing dangers with Iran, North Korea, etc. and the need for the publics of various nations to know that intel agencies do have some competence. OK, I suppose if it's the French who have been promised confidentiality, well they could not care less.....
That's mainly what I was getting at. . .
Even if we twisted the French's arm on it, there'd still be concerns about not exposing, say, MI6 assets by declassifying something. There was stuff from World War II that wasn't declassified for 50 years because of this type of problem.
I think there was an attempt to get around the problem around July 2003 by leaking Martino's French connection to certain reporters in the UK. That had some effect, but unfortunately the whole story about that can't be told/verified without the French confirming Martino's work for them and declassifying their files on it, which naturally they're not going to do. I think we'd have to get a source inside French intelligence to cooperate to really get the whole story leaked out. Maybe someone in the Italian press can do it--the Italians have been doing the best job of covering this IMO.