Posted on 06/24/2006 5:18:09 AM PDT by frankjr
The duo of Eric Lichtblau and James Risen have published the details of yet another classified national-security program. This time, they exposed the workings of a database of financial records that the administration has used to track al Qaeda's banking transactions:
The Bush administration has made no secret of its campaign to disrupt terrorist financing, and President Bush, Treasury officials and others have spoken publicly about those efforts. Administration officials, however, asked The New York Times not to publish this article, saying that disclosure of the Swift program could jeopardize its effectiveness. They also enlisted several current and former officials, both Democrat and Republican, to vouch for its value.
Bill Keller, the newspaper's executive editor, said: "We have listened closely to the administration's arguments for withholding this information, and given them the most serious and respectful consideration. We remain convinced that the administration's extraordinary access to this vast repository of international financial data, however carefully targeted use of it may be, is a matter of public interest."
According to the NYT's own reporting, the program is legal. The program is helping us catch terrorists. The administration has briefed the appropriate members of Congress. The program has built-in safeguards to prevent abuse. And yet, with nothing more than a vague appeal to the "public interest" (which apparently is not outweighed in this case by the public's interest in apprehending terrorists), the NYT disregards all that and publishes intimate, classified details about the program. Keller and his team really do believe they are above the law. When it comes to national security, it isn't the government that should decide when secrecy is essential to a program's effectiveness. It is the New York Times. National security be damned. There are Pulitzers to be won.
UPDATE: The LA Times missed out on April's Pulitzer bonanza, when the NYT and Washington Post both won for exposing classified programs. Not this time around. Allah sent the link and added:
They're actually competing to see which of them can most effectively undermine Bush's counterterror program using the pretext of privacy concerns. Amazing.
Amazingly predictable, given the perverse incentives.
"A nation can survive its fools and even the ambitious. But it cannot survive treason from within. An enemy at the gates is less formidable, for he is known and he carries his banners openly against the city. But the traitor moves among those within the gates freely, his sly whispers rustling through all alleys, heard in the very halls of government itself. For the traitor appears no traitor; he speaks in the accents familiar to his victim, and he wears their face and their garments and he appeals to the baseness that lies deep in the hearts of all men. He rots the soul of a nation; he works secretly and unknown in the night to undermine the pillars of a city; he infects the body politic so that it can no longer resist. A murderer is less to be feared. The traitor is the plague."
- Marcus Tullius Cicero, Roman Orator --- 106-43 B.C.
yeah, but people know who the traitors are. their cover has been blown for a long time.
"a matter of public interest" --- lol, more like a matter of Al Queda interest.
The N.Y.Times publishing this story proves once again exactly why Al Qaeda didn't fly a plane into the New York Times Building.
What a lame argument...of course the public would be interested in all classified information, which is why we devour movies and books containing mystery and action! Especially, if we think they may allude to real things and programs.
But, the appeal of fiction in hopes it may contain an elemnt of truth is NOT treason on the part of the author or the readers. In this particular case as well as several other recent headline grabbers...it IS treason and the NYT, LAT and WAPO should be charged with something that makes them accomplices to the release of classified information.
Yes, iih, but I wish more of the public would more quickly know the truth about them and the rest of the old media.
****
Do not fear the enemy, for your enemy can only take your life. It is far better that you fear the press, for they will steal your HONOR. That awful power, the public opinion of a nation, is created in America by a horde of ignorant, self-complacent simpletons who failed at ditching and shoemaking and fetched up in journalism on their way to the poorhouse.
-Mark Twain
"We remain convinced that the administration's extraordinary access to this vast repository of international financial data, however carefully targeted use of it may be, is a matter of public interest."
We who? These holier than Thou, sanctimonious bastards dont look on themselves as Americans first with the best interests of American safety as a concern. Rather, they see themselves as above the fray, mere observers chosen by the nonexistant Devine Providence (in their minds) to referee the war on terror. They couldnt care less if their actions hurt one side or the other. But they always hold America to a much higher standard than any of our enemies. The slightest mistake from the US or its allies brings howls of protests, butchering American POWs by the other side brings not a word of disgust or condemnation.
Yet they wonder why their subscription rates continue to fall and they continue to lose influence. But in their minds they are still leader of the pack and the most important people in the world. Yet in reality, they dont rate cleaning the toilet of one American patriot.
It is a law of hubris that the foolish will always take one step too many and fall into a trap of their own making. I welcome the fact that the NY Times has apparently arrived at this point relative to its treasonable attitudes towards national security. It is my fondest wish that the Administration, if not the Legislature, takes them apart piece by piece because of this irresponsible reporting openly condoned by their organization. I will muster whatever support I can from the state of Georgia to expedite this process. Pride cometh before a fall and predictably the overly confident never have parachutes. I look forward to observing their impact from a distance. Hopefully it will be public and an object lesson of the dangers of narcissism and deceit.
Licorice: "Me and my homies have given this the most serious and respectful consideration.
We have decided that we would be much safer if you stupid dhimmis would hang
some of these seditious traitors already, beginning with Bill Keller and
my Mistress' ex-competition for my savior, the hottie Emma Gilbey, now Ms. Keller."
I just don't understand why traitors aren't delt with as such by the government. Aiding our enemies is a hanging offence, It's long past time that this law was enforced.
bump
At a minimum, the government should revoke the NYT press access to the White House and Pentagon press breifings.
Some would say that's not good enough... for if it was... John Forbes Kerry would not be in the Senate today.
Do not fear the enemy, for your enemy can only take your life. It is far better that you fear the press, for they will steal your HONOR. That awful power, the public opinion of a nation, is created in America by a horde of ignorant, self-complacent simpletons who failed at ditching and shoemaking and fetched up in journalism on their way to the poorhouse.
-Mark Twain
This should be repeated often, and painted on the NYT building.
I want Bill Keller's financial data....why can't I have it??
People in Massachusetts don't care a WHIT about treasonous people....they only care about abortions and gay sex.
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