What rough beast, its hour come round at last

A shape with lion body and the head of a man,
A gaze blank and pitiless as the sun


The above is Cheney's own special "secret" classification which applies to things that aren't TOP SECRET or CLASSIFIED, but that he still wants to keep under wraps.

Even talking points for reporters are sometimes stamped "Treated As: Top Secret/SCI." Experts in and out of government said Cheney's office appears to have invented that designation, which alludes to "sensitive compartmented information," the most closely guarded category of government secrets. By adding the words "treated as," they said, Cheney seeks to protect unclassified work as though its disclosure would cause "exceptionally grave damage to national security."

Jon Stewart sums it up best:


From an incredible four-part behind the scenes look on Cheney in the Washington Post.