Posted on 06/26/2006 2:11:34 PM PDT by pissant
THE VICE PRESIDENT: "In the decade prior to 9/11, we spent more than $2 trillion on national security. Yet we lost nearly 3,000 Americans at the hands of 19 men armed with box cutters and airline tickets. In the case of al Qaeda we are not dealing with large armies that we can track, or uniforms we can see, or men with territory of their own to defend. Their preferred tactic, which they boldly proclaim, is to slip into countries, blend in among the innocent, and kill without mercy and without restraint. They have intelligence and counterintelligence operations of their own. They are using the most sophisticated communications technology they can get their hands on.
"In pursuit of their objectives, they have carried out a number of attacks since 9/11 – in Casablanca, Jakarta, Mombassa, Bali, Riyadh, Baghdad, Istanbul, Madrid, London, Sharm al-Sheikh, and elsewhere. Here in the U.S., we have not had another 9/11. Obviously, no one can guarantee that we won't be hit again. But the relative safety of these past nearly five years now did not come about by accident. We've been protected by sensible policy decisions by the President, by decisive action at home and abroad, and by round-the-clock efforts on the part of the people in our armed forces, law enforcement, intelligence, and homeland security.
"Some in the press, in particular The New York Times, have made the job of defending against further terrorist attacks more difficult by insisting on publishing detailed information about vital national security programs.
"The first was the terrorist surveillance program. Sometimes the press calls it domestic surveillance, it is not domestic surveillance. It's a program aimed at the communications that are international in nature – at least one end of the communication has to be outside the United States, and one end has to be affiliated with or associated with al Qaeda.
"The second program that The New York Times has now disclosed is the terrorist financial tracking program, just within about the last week or so. These are both good programs. They provide valuable intelligence. They are very carefully managed to safeguard the civil liberties of the American people. They have been successful in helping break up terrorist plots. They are done in accordance with the Constitution, and there has in both cases – both programs have been properly notified to the appropriate officials in the United States Congress.
"The New York Times has now twice – two separate occasions – disclosed programs; both times they had been asked not to publish those stories by senior administration officials. They went ahead anyway. The leaks to The New York Times and the publishing of those leaks is very damaging. The ability to intercept al Qaeda communications and to track their sources of financing are essential if we're going to successfully prosecute the global war on terror. Our capabilities in these areas help explain why we have been so successful in preventing further attacks like 9/11. The New York Times has now made it more difficult for us to prevent attacks in the future. Publishing this highly classified information about our sources and methods for collecting intelligence will enable the terrorists to look for ways to defeat our efforts. These kinds of stories also adversely affect our relationships with people who work with us against the terrorists. In the future, they will be less likely to cooperate if they think the United States is incapable of keeping a secret.
"What is doubly disturbing for me is that not only have they gone forward with these stories, but they've been rewarded for it, for example, in the case of the terrorist surveillance program, by being awarded the Pulitzer Prize for outstanding journalism. I think that is a disgrace."
Another TROLL.
Do not try to argue reasonably with an ill informed loser.
People who try to act smarter than their pay grade are not worthy of your response.
Common sense escapes the UN-AMERICAN pig.
Inquiry into leak of NSA spying program launched
Friday, December 30, 2005
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The Justice Department has opened an investigation into leaks to the media about the National Security Agency's classified domestic surveillance program.
I don't think the majority are blaming the Bush admin for this. People just want to see the words of disgust followed up with the hammer of the law.
But yes, there are investigations, but we cannot just focus on the leakers. It's time to nail the press to the wall as well.
The majority of negative posts I've seen today on the various threads about this story complain that the administration is not being tough enough, or the President and/or Treasury Secretary should throw everyone in jail, etc. That's the gist of the knee-jerk comments.
There already is an investigation underway about the previous leak/NYT betrayal of national security, and I wouldn't be at all surprised if this newest incident is added to the case. Unfortunately, we've learned that DC investigations literally take years to unfold.
Do the Editors of our large news organizations realize that they are once again being used like whores?
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NO !!
I hear ya. I think the perennial Bush critics are the ones complaining loudest, as usual. But I think everyone here agrees that the Times MUST NOT be allowed to walk away from this, regardless whether we find the leaker. We know who the publisher is already.
Yes, and I hope their sales and ad revenue plummet because of this. Putting them out of business would be the best punishment of all.
That would be good. But I would like to see Keller and Pinchy doing hard time as well.
And they even lied about the efforts that the gov't put in trying to talk them out of running with the story. What disgusting cretins.
Bless you for this very moving post!!
This should be THE campaign ad for 2008, but I don't think the current Repub party has the stones to use it !!
Tell me pissant, why should I have to voice my two cents? Right is right, and wrong is wrong. Are you telling me that the people now in power will not do what is right without putting that finger into the air to see which way the wind is blowing? If so, why should I vote republican over democrat?
My point was, and is now, that I could have spent my life in prison for disclosing Top Secret information, yet the NYT, LAT and so on, get a pass.
Put your ass on the line for 20 years or so, then see how you feel about media lefties getting a pass for something you WOULD have been prosecuted for.
I'm not knee jerking. I'm Pissed!!!
Journalists, are generally, the lowest scum of the earth.
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No, it's Congressmen, Lawyers, used car salesmen, and then Journalists .
In that order !!
LOL, neat watching those transitions!
Thankyou DC!!
What would GW1 do with this POS?
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He would stop at the border and leave it for one of his sons to clean up !!
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