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."
Not true. It is illegal to publish gov't secrets.
We already know there is an investigation ongoing on both the CIA leak and the NSA leak; this will be added as well. The President will not publicize this investigation. The media screamed bloody murder on behalf of their hero Joey WIlson and his non-spy wife, and yet they are silent on this. These media clymers should be jailed until they reveal their sources. Fitzy has set the precedent for that by jailing Judy Miller; the DOJ should follow this precedent and jail these individuals NOW.
Journalists, are generally, the lowest scum of the earth.
Great post Dio!
I think we use the firing squad and hanging. That's good enough for me.
The Slimes and its puppets in the MSM ARE THE ENEMY. They simply hate America as it is. They want a socialist-homosexual utopia. Thus, they are simply aiding and abetting their faithful followers abroad and here. They are giving intel to their friends of gee-had. They are the enemy. Problem is, many Americans simply do not know or care.
I'm all for handing the entire staff of the Slimes over to Al-Quaeda in exchange for a used AK-47 and a tub of hummus.
I'll even supply them a video recorder.
But the really, really important thing is who leaked Valerie Plame's name? The nation is in grave peril for that leak.< /sarcasm >
One practical way to address these leaks and their publication is to create viable information that is equally compelling yet lacking verifiability. This may be used as a way to sting the real leakers. Saturate the leak market with so much false information (which has the appearance of truth) that is of little value to the leakers because they cannot claim veracity for themselves. Whatever they leak may or may not be true, so publications will be less willing to publish what they hear.
In the meantime economic warfare against the NYT. Probably no one here subscribes to it, but it you do, get rid of it. Same for Boston Globe, which is owned by NYT. Take it a step further and let companies know that if they advertise in the NYT then we'll boycott their products.
I haven't read the NYT for about 40 years, ditto for Boston Globe but I can smell them from about 1500 miles away. NYT stock should go to zero, if people understand it's the enemy within.
They are, without a doubt our enemy. We need to treat them as such.
That is not the way the New York Times reports the news when the liberals controlled both houses of congress and cut the funds.
Not this time. We won't let it happen. Get on the phone and shoot off your emails.
Cute but meaningless. 18 U.S.C. §798 is what you can charge those who leaked the information under. The Supreme Court ruled in New Your Times Co. v U.S. (aka Pentagon Papers case) that the First Amendment outweighed the Executive Branch's claim of secrecy, so the Times can print what information they get regardless.
Just sent email to VP Cheney's office. I'm guessing it's GWB and not the VP who doesn't have the stomach to slam the MSM.
Not since the Supreme Court ruled that the First Amendment supercedes government claims of secrecy in the Pentagon Papers case.
Nice post.
Many do not care, and many are on the enemies side, but the right thinking patriots of this country need to prevail, and we need to start now.
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