The NYTimes' history of arrogance was looking a bit anemic--there were no major Communist regimes to support in the last several years (other than Red China.) So Pinch Sulzberger is hitting for the fences, with the opposing team being the United States of America's Bush Administration.
A few months ago, the Slimes published its stories about "domestic spying" which wasn't exactly "domestic," nor was it exactly "spying." But that wasn't the point, after all.
NOW the Slimes, against the expressed and vigorous entreaties of the Administration, has published another story which will cripple intelligence-gathering in the War on Terror.
...like the NSA phone taps this program simply monitors wire and financial transfers from a Belgian clearinghouse (Swift) that is a nerve center for billions of dollars worth of international financial transactions. Counter-terrorism officials say that it has been a valuable tool in fighting the war on terror and identifying previously unknown terrorists, as well as bolstering cases against others.
...data has provided clues to terror money trails and ties between possible terrorists and organizations financing them, the officials said. In some instances, they said, the program has pointed them to new suspects, while in others it has buttressed cases already under investigation.
Among the successes was the capture of a Qaeda operative, Riduan Isamuddin, better known as Hambali, believed to be the mastermind of the 2002 bombing of a Bali resort, several officials said. The Swift data identified a previously unknown figure in Southeast Asia who had financial dealings with a person suspected of being a member of Al Qaeda; that link helped locate Hambali in Thailand in 2003, they said.
The most galling part is that both Republicans and Democrats specifically asked the NYT not to publish the story because of the nature and success of the program. Did the Times care? Of course not.
Ankle Biting Pundits has the rest here.
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3 comments:
Oh, Al--you're so full of it.
The Slimes has repeatedly jeopardized national security by exposing methods of intel collection.
This is not a "robust and engaged fourth estate;" this is a bunch of arrogant Intellectualoids who should be put in jail for a while.
In days not far past, the NYTimes and all OTHER newspapers kept certain information out of the press at the request of the Gummint for "national security" purposes--and sometimes, for even less noble purposes (e.g., the details behind LBJ's Bobby Baker problem, or JFK's womanizing.)
Seems to me that even in "a democracy" (which this country is NOT) that there are matters of the National Interest which over-ride the consderation of selling a newspaper.
By the way, being "a democracy" has no bearing on this; and "freedom of the Press" has restrictions much like "speech."
It would be an interesting treason trial, anyway.
There are things far worse than the truth being told
You got THAT straight, Al.
Like being blown up because the enemy knows too much...
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