I don't for one minute think ABC should have shown it on the air without knowing its authenticity. But if they held it from HS or CIA etc., that's a different story. We're not talking about a bunch of bogus TANG memos here, this is about national security.
But doesn't the MSM show AL-Jezeera stuff all the time without knowing if the tape's authentic? They trust this Middle Eastern station all the time.
You're so right, sorry, I was commenting on a couple of people who I thought had implied that ABC should have aired the tape already - but the choice wasn't only "sit on the tape or throw it straight on the air" - it was also "get it to Homeland Security immediately or else sit on the tape while claiming to do 'authentication'".....
It's not like ABC has remotely the same capacity to do 'authentication' as the CIA, etc. And this is not a case like the TANG memos where ABC might want to protect its 'scoop' while doing its own authentication (not that CBS did any) - on a matter of such immense national security importance, ABC had an obligation to let the appropriate national security experts do their own 'authentication' and responses on behalf of public safety.