Pat Buchanan - Times 2, Bush 0

Behind the Times' defiance of the law surely lies a gnawing need for redemption. First, it was revealed Jayson ("Burning Down My Master's House") Blair had hoked up three dozen stories and smoked them right past the Times' editors, who were blinded by the brilliance of their black prodigy. Then, there came the revelation that editor Howell Raines directed the paper to run three dozen stories on the human-rights atrocity at Augusta National. After that, there was the Judith Miller fiasco, where the Times stood firm – then folded in the face of some really big-time fines.

Keller and publisher Arthur Sulzberger appear to have decided the way to recapture lost credibility is to publish national security secrets, as in the Pentagon Papers days of yore.

And, thus far, for all their huffing and puffing, the Bushites have blinked. But this cannot stand. For appeasement will beget new acts of arrogance and aggression by the Times, and other newspapers, until a White House finds the courage to demand that the Times, too, obeys the laws and respects our national security secrets, even if it means putting Bill and Art in the Graybar Hotel for a spell.

I agree the NY Times should be required to appear in court to defend its action.

However, before this happens, the government needs to be thoroughly prepared. The usual crop of liberal lawyers is already salivating, sucking up to the Times and offering all sorts of defenses which the Times could use. It will be a landmark case. Oh to be a lawyer with a gig on the Times defense team.

The Times' paid-for op-ed lackeys are currently in full-defense mode:
"If you want to learn the truly dirty secrets of how our government prosecutes this war, the story of how it vilified The Times is more damning than anything in the article that caused the uproar." (Frank Rich)
"A Secret the Terrorists Already Knew: The Bush administration's protests that the press revelations about a financial monitoring program may tip off the terrorists are overblown." (Richard Clarke)

I think President Bush should announce that a thorough investigation is taking place, including a damage assessment that will be compiled over the next several months; and then, when the Justice Department is ready, they should proceed with legal action.

I think he may have done that to underscore the fact they it's been suggested that they put him in the position and afforded him such defference simply because he was black. I think Jason made that sort of accusation in his book. It relates to the compliants of agreessive affirmative action policies - that some, in their rush to level the playing field or otherwise socially engineer, put someone in a position they are not qualified for and/or apply different standards to them and don't maintain the same levels of QC or oversight.

From the article, "

Times 2, Bush 0

Posted: June 30, 2006
1:00 a.m. Eastern

© 2006 WorldNetDaily.com

"For people to leak that program and for a newspaper to publish it does great harm to the United States of America."

So said President Bush of the New York Times' revelation of a secret U.S. program to monitor the international cash transfers of suspected terrorists. "Disgraceful," added an angry president.

Vice President Cheney assailed news organizations that "take it upon themselves to disclose vital national security programs, thereby making it more difficult for us to prevent future attacks against the American people."

Of the Times' decision to expose the secret program, House Speaker Dennis Hastert says: "This is not news. This is something that has been classified; something that is top secret."

Treasury Secretary John Snow wrote Times editor Bill Keller, "In choosing to expose this program despite repeated pleas from high-level officials on both sides of the aisle ... the Times undermined a highly successful counter-terrorist program and alerted terrorists to the methods and sources used to track their money trails."

The U.S. government has thus declared that what the Times did was reprehensible and rendered aid and comfort to the enemy.

But if Bush believes that, why hasn't his Justice Department been directed to investigate these crimes against the Espionage Act and acts of treason in a time of war?

Rhetoric aside, the core issue here is this:

Does Bush believe the Times committed a crime in exposing the secret financial tracking program and the secret National Security Agency program to intercept U.S. phone calls of suspected terrorists – for which the Times won a Pulitzer? If he does, why has he not acted?

Why has he not ordered Justice to dig out the disloyal leakers and prosecute their media collaborators, who refused White House requests not to compromise these vital programs? If Bush believes what he is saying, why does he not do his duty as the chief law-enforcement officer of the United States?"

I, for one, do not assume for one minute that President Bush has not ordered someone in the Justice department to "dig out the disloyal leakers and presecute their media collaborators". Isn't it possible that a new "secret" program is now in place to do just that? What better way to find a leak than to act as if you aren't even looking for a drip.

"Rhetoric aside, the core issue here is this: Does Bush believe the Times committed a crime in exposing the secret financial tracking program and the secret National Security Agency program to intercept U.S. phone calls of suspected terrorists – for which the Times won a Pulitzer? If he does, why has he not acted? Why has he not ordered Justice to dig out the disloyal leakers and prosecute their media collaborators, who refused White House requests not to compromise these vital programs? If Bush believes what he is saying, why does he not do his duty as the chief law-enforcement officer of the United States?"

I should have previewed my post. The only section of the article I meant to quote was this one.

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