There are some people in the United States who for some unknown reason want this country attacked again. The only reason I can come up with is so they can print even more stories claiming administration officials had evidence of an impending attack and failed to do anything about it. How else can you explain the New York Times repeated disclosure of classified material which is harming the efforts of the US to protect the American people from future attacks? Once again the ones who are disclosing US secrets are the famed pair of Eric Lichtblau and James Risen. These are the same ones who broke the ‘domestic wiretapping’ non-scandal. I have posted on this issue several times including here.
Let me get this straight. Lets say a terrorist from Iran makes calls all over the world setting up attacks. Now lets say he calls someone in the United States named Ahmed. Ahmed then calls several other people. According to the MSM and some members of Congress, the NSA is not only prohibited from finding out who terrorist called, but they can not even find out who Ahmed called. This is pure stupidity.
And now the two traitors are at it again. This time Lichtblau and Risen disclose the existence of a massive data mining program which examines international banking transactions.
Under a secret Bush administration program initiated weeks after the Sept. 11 attacks, counterterrorism officials have gained access to financial records from a vast international database and examined banking transactions involving thousands of Americans and others in the United States, according to government and industry officials.
The program is limited, government officials say, to tracing transactions of people suspected of having ties to Al Qaeda by reviewing records from the nerve center of the global banking industry, a Belgian cooperative that routes about $6 trillion daily between banks, brokerages, stock exchanges and other institutions. The records mostly involve wire transfers and other methods of moving money overseas and into and out of the United States. Most routine financial transactions confined to this country are not in the database. (emphasis added by TRS)
Viewed by the Bush administration as a vital tool, the program has played a hidden role in domestic and foreign terrorism investigations since 2001 and helped in the capture of the most wanted Qaeda figure in Southeast Asia, the officials said.
Why is such an important tool in the fight against terrorism being divulged? When ‘getting a story’ becomes more important than protecting the people of the United States, something is out of whack. Its much like the ‘domestic wiretapping’ issue, because once again Congress in secret briefings have been informed of the existence of this vital tool. Again, like the ‘domestic wiretapping’ issue, US citizens are not the targets. This is a non-issue.
Nearly 20 current and former government officials and industry executives discussed aspects of the Swift operation with The New York Times on condition of anonymity because the program remains classified. Some of those officials expressed reservations about the program, saying that what they viewed as an urgent, temporary measure had become permanent nearly five years later without specific Congressional approval or formal authorization.
Where do the loyalties of the New York Times lie? Is it with the US or is it with the terrorists, because what I have seen over the last couple of years leads me to believe these two reporters are siding with the terrorists. When someone comes up and says I have this information and will not reveal their names, it ought to tell you that this information should not become public. The fact that this is classified information has hindered Lichtblau and Risen in the least bit. In fact it seems as if they revel in the turmoil they cause.
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.” (emphasis added by TRS)
Can you believe the arrogance of this fool? Since when does the once proud New York Times decide what is in the public interest? I like what Professor Brainbridge says on how the Times and the rest of the MSM going to destroy America.
Last time I checked, nobody had elected the NYT editorial board to decide what’s in the public interest. Worse yet, although I very much doubt Keller gets it, but this sort of arrogance is precisely why so many of us are sick and tired of the MSM. Indeed, this sort of stuff is also precisely why a lot of folks think the MSM is part of the problem.
I could not have said it better. The MSM will destroy this country if good people do not stand up for what is right.
Referring to the disclosure by The New York Times last December of the National Security Agency’s eavesdropping program, she [Dana Perino, deputy White House press secretary] said, “The president is concerned that once again The New York Times has chosen to expose a classified program that is working to protect our citizens.”
Absolutely! When is this administration going to start prosecuting Times’ reporters for printing classified information? I would imagine after throwing a few of the reporters and editors in prison would put a damper on this illegal activity.
Revealing classified information damaging to the US should NEVER be a ‘matter of public interest.’ It’s time for this administration to make an example of the Gray Lady.
I thought Vice President Dick Cheney responded putting the issue of disclosure of classified material most succinctly in a speech before fundraisers the next day.
“What I find most disturbing about these stories is the fact that some of the news media 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,” Mr. Cheney said, in impromptu remarks at a fund-raising luncheon for a Republican Congressional candidate in Chicago. “That offends me.”
It offends me too. These people should not be put on a pedestal as heroes, but thrown into prison as traitors for aiding and abetting our enemies. The Times article tells of many terrorists captured as a result of this once secret program. They tell of terror plots revealed. But then they give excuse after excuse for disclosing the existence of this effective tool against terrorism because of its ‘potential abuse.’ I could abuse my car too. Are you wanting to talk about that too. What utter morons! In the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in Strength and Love :
“Nothing in the world is more dangerous than a sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.”
Tags: Bias, Iraq, Politics by Chuck
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