Posted on 12/21/2005 8:54:24 PM PST by doug from upland
Jonathon Risen, New York Times
Dateline: New York
Dec. 21, 1943
In an exclusive interview with a Navajo Indian, the NEW YORK TIMES has learned that Navajo Indians have been forced into service by the U.S. military establishment.
It is shocking that, in the middle of the 20th Century, such abuse of our Native Americans could be taking place without approval of the courts. Neither President Roosevelt nor Secretary of War Stimson has given a public comment or returned a telephone call.
The TIMES has learned that so-called Navajo Code Talkers have been used by our military for secure communications. It can now be reported that they have served all six Marine divisions, Marine Raider battalions, and Marine parachute units, transmitting messages by telephone and radio in their native language. The Japanese have not been able to break the code.
In May 1942, the first 29 Navajo recruits attended boot camp. Then, at Camp Pendleton, Oceanside, California, this first group created the Navajo code. They developed a dictionary and numerous words for military terms. The dictionary and all code words had to be memorized during training.
Once a Navajo code talker completed his training, he was sent to a Marine unit deployed in the Pacific theater. The code talkers' primary job was to talk, transmitting information on tactics and troop movements, orders and other vital battlefield communications over telephones and radios. They also acted as messengers, and performed general Marine duties.
When a Navajo code talker received a message, what he heard was a string of seemingly unrelated Navajo words. The code talker first had to translate each Navajo word into its English equivalent. Then he used only the first letter of the English equivalent in spelling an English word. Thus, the Navajo words "wol-la-chee" (ant), "be-la-sana" (apple) and "tse-nill" (axe) all stood for the letter "a." One way to say the word "Navy" in Navajo code would be "tsah (needle) wol-la-chee (ant) ah-keh-di- glini (victor) tsah-ah-dzoh (yucca)."
Most letters had more than one Navajo word representing them. Not all words had to be spelled out letter by letter. The developers of the original code assigned Navajo words to represent about 450 frequently used military terms that did not exist in the Navajo language. Several examples: "besh- lo" (iron fish) meant "submarine," "dah-he- tih-hi" (hummingbird) meant "fighter plane" and "debeh-li-zine" (black street) meant "squad."
In our next report, we are prepared to name the Navajos who have assisted the Marines, and we will also name the additional personnel who are familiar with the code.
A source has come forward, exclusively to the TIMES, who has delivered to our offices what he purports to be the complete code being used in the South Pacific. If we are able to ascertain that the information is genuine, we will publish the entire code in a special edition next Sunday. It will be available at newsstands everywhere.
Home » blogs » Brent Baker's blog
Kudos to CBS's Roberts for Picking Up Democrat Harman's Defense of Bush's “Spying”
Posted by Brent Baker on December 21, 2005 - 21:14.
Though Bob Schieffer introduced Wednesday's CBS Evening News by using loaded language as he pointed out how, “to protest the President's decision to continue spying on American citizens, a federal judge took the unprecedented step of resigning from the court that issues warrants in such cases,” an event also highlighted by ABC and NBC, unlike those networks, CBS White House correspondent John Roberts informed viewers how “the President got support today from an unusual quarter: Democrat Jane Harman, a key figure on the House Intelligence Committee.” He highlighted how she asserted that “I believe the program is essential to U.S. national security” and, in a slam at the leaker and the New York Times, that the “disclosure has damaged critical intelligence capabilities.” Schieffer, however, remained most interested in the resignation. After Roberts wrapped up his story, Schieffer marveled to him: “I want to go back to this federal judge resigning. I must say in all my years in the news business, I've never heard of a federal judge resigning in protest over anything.”
ABC held its “eavesdropping” coverage to an anchor-read brief, but one devoted to the judge, while in a full story on the Patriot Act and Bush's “decision to order spying inside the U.S. without a warrant,” NBC's Kelly O'Donnell highlighted the resignation. (Transcript excerpts follow.)
(As of the time of this posting, Harman's Web site does not have the statement posted, nor do the press or minority pages for the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, on which she is the ranking Democrat. And I can only find brief references to in online news services, such as a sentence in an AP story on Yahoo News.)
On the December 21 CBS Evening News, over matching text on screen from Harman's statement, Roberts relayed:
"The President got support today from an unusual quarter: Democrat Jane Harman, a key figure on the House Intelligence Committee. 'I believe the program is essential to U.S. national security,' she said in a statement, 'and that disclosure has damaged critical intelligence capabilities.' But Harman added she's worried the spying goes beyond what she was briefed on. New concerns were raised today that the eavesdropping accidentally swept up purely domestic conversations. But the deputy National Intelligence director insists that 'One end of these communications are always outside the Unites States of America.'"...
Over on ABC's World News Tonight, anchor Elizabeth Vargas announced, over video of Robertson walking on a sidewalk:
“And one more item from Washington: There is more fallout over President Bush's program to eavesdrop on Americans without warrants. A federal judge has resigned from the court that oversees government surveillance and intelligence cases. James Robertson reportedly did so to protest the President's actions. The Washington Post says the judge is worried that the President's surveillance program is tainting the work of the court and may, in fact, be illegal.”
In a story on the NBC Nightly News pegged to the debate over the Patriot Act, Kelly O'Donnell interjected:
“But in the President's war on terror, defining the line between liberty and security is drawing new fire and new fallout over his decision to order spying inside the U.S. without a warrant. In protest, this federal judge, Judge James Robertson, has resigned from the special court known as FISA, set up to oversee government wiretaps. The White House vigorously defends the surveillance program, saying it's limited to al-Qaeda suspects and those associated with the group and had no comment on the judge's resignation.”
Scott McClellan: “I don't know the reason why the judge resigned from the FISA court. The FISA court's important one.”
O'Donnell: “Another FISA judge confirmed the resignation to NBC News, and says the remaining ten judges on the court plan to meet soon to discuss the once secret program.”
Ping
This is for real? If they do this, then they most assuredly are guilty of treason. There is no question this time.
And yes, I am tired.
According to Michael Medved that was not the case. It's a Hollywood embellishment.
The title is WHAT IF IN HISTORY. This was an attempt to stick it to the NEW YORK TIMES. Had today's reporters worked at the TIMES thens, we might have not won WW II.
I got it. Went back and read again. I got confused when I saw Risen's name. Sorry.
The Navajo code wasn't a code. It was the use of a language.
Sage to Sage. It's after midnight. GO TO BED! lol!
I used some fact about the Navajo Code Talkers and wove a story about a treasonous NEW YORK TIMES.
Sorry. . . .
(sad)
In particular, I wanted to stick it to Risen.
I had the extreme priveledge of meeting 8 of the Code Talkers this year at the Albuquerque Balloon Festival this year. I think that they would understand your article.
BRAVO Doug!
That's okay. I'm looking for other good ideas to use to stick it to the traitors.
You qualify for today's scrappleface award. :) Nite, Doug.
I heard a segment from an interview that Donald Rumsfeld did recently (I can't remember who interviewed him, damnit - I'm drawing a blank!). He said he remembered that the press just hammered FDR mercilessly all during WWII. So it's not a democrat president issue - the media just can't stand having America win any war, even one where our survival as a nation was so clearly threatened by a "traditional" enemy.
That must have been a great experience. We owe them an incredible debt.
Send away, my friend. I bet James Risen might like to see it.
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