Over a million pages of records previously declassified under the Freedom of Information Act have been reclassified by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) since 9/11. The pages were pulled in an effort to prevent terrorists from gaining maps of federal facilities, presidential protection records, nuclear or chemical weapons blueprints or old government studies on terrorism and counterterrorism. In a mad dash, boxes upon boxes of files were yanked from shelves and safely locked away, presumably next to the Ark of the Covenant in a government warehouse somewhere.

Let’s hope the terrorists didn’t make a copy while the files were on display, because the boys at NARA never checked to see what they had released. Half of FEMA’s huge database with details on all federal buildings and the Surgeon General’s studies on biological weapons were among the documents reclassified.

The CIA and Pentagon already pulled files that they felt they had released too “hastily,” removing all the really good stuff in a controversial and scary decision. But the scope was small compared to NARA’s ongoing internal review. If they actually follow through with their own guidelines, as many as 650 million pages would have to be pulled.

Not all the documents pulled contained plans for secret underground bases. One- hundred-fourteen-year-old plans by the Lower Colorado River Authority were deemed too dangerous for the public’s eyes, as were the plans for the Lyndon B. Johnson Memorial Museum and hundreds of thousands of equally innocuous documents. NARA still hasn’t looked at the vast majority of the papers reclassified and probably won’t due to budget restrictions.

Of course an honest, God-fearing American can still get a hold of most of these documents upon request under the Freedom of Information Act, provided he slips the guy at the front desk a pack of Marlboros and promises he isn’t a terrorist.

Some restrictions may still apply. If you asked NARA for the blueprints of the Multiple Reentry Vehicles from a Titan II missile, your request would be denied and some humorless men in oversized suits would probably want to have a talk with you.

But, if you’re looking for a study of Iowan corn farming in 1968, and you actually know the file and date you’re looking for, odds are NARA can help you. Just be sure not to put the words “diesel” and “fertilizer” in the same sentence in your request.

There’s no guarantee that someone with a Sharpie isn’t going to black out half the information you requested, but occasionally that’s a good thing. For instance, among the documents pulled were the 1960 Bureau of Indian Affairs’ enrollment records for Inuit children that contained social security numbers. Apparently, many seemingly innocuous documents were ripe for identity theft.

Americans are sick of government secrecy that rots the soul of a free society, but they absolutely despise being blown up or having their credit cards stolen. Seems we’ll all have to wait while the librarians at NARA sort out the paperwork of freedom.