Can Big Secrets Be Kept?

One tactic used by Official Conspiracy Theorists is to claim that secrets cannot be kept among large amounts of people for very long. There would have to be a leak, say they. I say rubbish. Secrets small, medium and large are kept indefinitely. All the time. To prove this, I will ask any who disagree this simple question:

What are the accomplishments of the NSA?

The National Security Agency (NSA) has been around since 1952, but its very existence was a secret for decades. The official joke was "NSA = No Such Agency". Nowadays, the NSA is acknowledged to exist. We know it is under the control of the executive branch, and is involved in spying on foreign governments. We know they have about 30,000 employees. 

But what have they actually done in, say, the last 30 years?

30,000 employees x 40 hours/week x 50 weeks / year x 30 years = 1.8 billion man-hours. That's a lot of something. But what? What have they done? 30,000 is a LOT of people, a whole lot more than the number required to pull off 9/11. THEY know what they do. Why don't we know? 

Because . . . it's a secret. 

How much does the NSA spend? That information is: CLASSIFIED. "CLASSIFIED" is government-speak for "it's a secret". There must be a lot of folks who know the NSA budget. Certainly the employees know how much they personally spend on their various activities. Yet, no leaks. 

How is it that nobody can tell me the answers to these questions? 30,000 people, many decades. No answers. Secrets kept. Big secrets, many people, long time, no leaks. 

In fact, the same could be said for anything "CLASSIFIED". Where are the plans for a nuclear weapon? Not a simplified conceptual schematic, like this. But an actual manufacture specification? We know such plans exist.  

People who have top secret clearance have their responsibilities made very clear to them. They are under orders to keep secrets. It is a very high stakes game. The rewards are quite handsome. Punishments for violations are very severe. 

Do you want to prove me wrong? Simple. Send me some top-secret documents. 

Do you want to understand how the truth of 9/11 could be kept under wraps indefinitely? Simple. It's CLASSIFIED.