Posted on 06/27/2006 8:20:46 AM PDT by Halfmanhalfamazing
In the wake of the decision by the New York Times to reveal covert tactics used by our nation to track terrorist financing as a means of defeating them, Bill Keller offered the following as part of his explanation:
Since September 11, 2001, our government has launched broad and secret anti-terror monitoring programs without seeking authorizing legislation and without fully briefing the Congress. Most Americans seem to support extraordinary measures in defense against this extraordinary threat, but some officials who have been involved in these programs have spoken to the Times about their discomfort over the legality of the government's actions and over the adequacy of oversight. We believe The Times and others in the press have served the public interest by accurately reporting on these programs so that the public can have an informed view of them.
However, that doesn't quite square with what the Times wrote on September 24th, 2001, less than two weeks after Islamifascist terrorists killed almost 3,000 New Yorkers. Back then, the Times demanded that the federal government take action against the networks that support and control these lunatic jihadis. In fact, the Paper of Record demanded a very specific kind of action, one that the New York Times has now kneecapped in a bitterly ironic twist (via Hugh Hewitt):
The Bush administration is preparing new laws to help track terrorists through their money-laundering activity and is readying an executive order freezing the assets of known terrorists. Much more is needed, including stricter regulations, the recruitment of specialized investigators and greater cooperation with foreign banking authorities. There must also must be closer coordination among America's law enforcement, national security and financial regulatory agencies. ... Washington should revive international efforts begun during the Clinton administration to pressure countries with dangerously loose banking regulations to adopt and enforce stricter rules. These need to be accompanied by strong sanctions against doing business with financial institutions based in these nations. The Bush administration initially opposed such measures. But after the events of Sept. 11, it appears ready to embrace them.
The Treasury Department also needs new domestic legal weapons to crack down on money laundering by terrorists. The new laws should mandate the identification of all account owners, prohibit transactions with "shell banks" that have no physical premises and require closer monitoring of accounts coming from countries with lax banking laws. Prosecutors, meanwhile, should be able to freeze more easily the assets of suspected terrorists. The Senate Banking Committee plans to hold hearings this week on a bill providing for such measures. It should be approved and signed into law by President Bush.
Take a close read through that editorial. Back then, the Times stated it would not be satisfied with merely freezing the assets of terrorists and their supporters. They wanted the identification of all account owners mandated by Congress and, presumably, accessible to the "specialized investigators" the Times demanded. The Times also wanted the Bush administration to pursue greater cooperation between international banking authorities and these new investigators.
When will we decide when treason is treason
Their reporters on the front can take up "point" with patrols or otherwise cover the story on their own...
typical lib hypocrites... they support the troops, just not any Christian, Republican, heterosexual troops...
f'ing asshats..
If you ever wanted hard proof that the NY Times will print whatever it thinks will advantage its political allies and/or damage its enemies regardless of principle or consistency or even the need to address a past, contradictory assertion... here ya go.
I hope and pray that President Bush will instruct AG Gonzales to indict the NY Slimes.
Never happen. The best we can hope for is that they will go for the leaker. Then they could drag in the NYT to reveal the source. Televise this and hammer the Times. Jail those that would not reveal the source. No other action will be taken since we have a problem - the JD.
I have been hoping the Justice Dept would finally begin to do its job for a couple of years now but no, the administration is too afraid of the Times to allow Justice to act.
It looks like other people are picking up on your research.
Welcome to Free Republic. I'll take Secretary Snow's statements that the NYT did to this program over a new freeper's statements and questions.
Hey TROLL! Do they know that we were doing this using the SWIFT system?
I smell ozone...
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This was bound to happen. The premise behind the First Amendment as it applies to the press--that a vigilant watchdog is necessary, sufficient--indeed, possible--to protect against man's basest instincts--is tautologically flawed: The fox guarding the White House, if you will.... |
We'll never hear from that freeper again. He outted himself too soon.
Obviously they did not know we were monitoring their cell phone usage early on in Afghanistan because after it was leaked by the press the cell phone activity ceased or was used sparingly. So yes, the terrorists are stupid and you cannot assume intelligence on their part.
What if one of the so called terrorists were not reminded of the fact that we are monitoring financial messages and transfers and he/she slips up and tries a financial transaction? With the NY Times leaking this information, they have just provided the enemy with information, or reminded them, to be waring of such transactions that will make it harder for us to take them out.
It seems you're wrong.
If ALL terrorists knew what we were doing, some of these wouldn't have been captured using the SWIFT program:
SWIFT data have "enabled us ... to identify terror suspects that we didn't know, as well as to find addresses and other identifiers for those terrorists that we did know about. It provided key links in our investigations of al-Qaida and other deadly terrorist groups."
Levey declined to identify any terrorist apprehended as a result of the SWIFT data, but Tony Snow, the White House spokesman, said the information had helped capture Nurjaman Riduan Isamuddin, known as Hambali, an Indonesian described by Bush as "one of the world's most lethal terrorists" after his 2004 arrest in connection with the Bali bombing that killed 202 people the previous year.
"It's provided information on domestic terror cells," Snow said. "It helped identify a Brooklyn man convicted on terrorism-related charges last year."
SWIFT's extensive U.S. operations enabled Treasury to issue what the organization called "compulsory" subpoenas in this country, officials said Friday. But Levey insisted that stringent safeguards were put in place to protect banking privacy and to ensure that U.S. intelligence had access only to records of persons whose possible terrorist connections it could prove.
"We started with really narrowly crafted subpoenas all tied to terrorism," Treasury Secretary Snow said. But because SWIFT "didn't have the ability to extract the particular information from their broad database ... they said, 'We'll give you all the data.'" Once a suspect was identified, U.S. officials had to present SWIFT with evidence of terrorist connections - in the form of a name on a watch list, or a classified cable - and were allowed to access information tied only to that name.
Rev. White
Since Jun 27, 2006
"Help me understand this. Do you actually believe terrorists have no idea we do this stuff? They have no idea we're tracking phone calls and financial transactions? No one can be that stupid."
Nice try, one day Brown Shirted left wing troll!
By the way your posting of this inane reply has left an electronic bread crumb trail to you. You had best hope, who ever pays you is listed as one receiving funds from the al Qaeda serial killers.
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