The White House b-slaps the Times
EmailPresident Bush lashed out at last week’s revelation (in the NYT, LAT, and WSJ) that the US was snooping in the database of the Brussels-based international bank cooperative SWIFT.
"[T]he disclosure of this program is disgraceful. We’re at war with a bunch of people who want to hurt the United States of America, and for people to leak that program, and for a newspaper to publish it does great harm to the United States of America," the President said. "What we were doing was the right thing."
For its part, BELGIUM DOESN’T SEEM SO SURE.
Belgian Justice Minister Laurette Onkelinx, who learned of the program from the news media, has requested that Belgium’s national security services and counter-fraud office to study "if these actions taken by the U.S. and SWIFT are okay under Belgian law," said a spokesman.
NYT Executive Editor Bill Keller says: "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."
Congressman Peter King, R-NY, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, has called the New York Times story "treasonous" and is ruging Attorney General Alberto Gonzales TO PROSECUTE THE NEWSPAPER.
Added White House Press Secretary Tony Snow: "Certainly nobody is going to deny First Amendment rights. But the New York Times and other news organizations ought to think long and hard about whether a public’s right to know in some cases might override somebody’s right to live. And whether, in fact, the publication…could place in jeopardy the safety of fellow Americans."
What say you?
– jt
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Shouldn’t a responsible, proficient administration be chastising its own personnel, including the President and Vice President, for the Niagra of classified and secret information that has flowed from the Bushites in the last 6 years?
If it’s always somebody else’s fault, that is an admission of ineptitude and a failure of the leadership.
Posted by: Margaret Barton | June 26, 2006, 5:15 pm 5:15 pm
This administration has lost all credibility in my eyes. That the media is stepping up and allowing US citizens to make informed judgments about our elected officials is a good thing! Those same officials have not demonstrated any success at doing their own oversight.
Posted by: Anonymous | June 26, 2006, 5:38 pm 5:38 pm
I thought all criminals knew about paper trails and how to avoid them. If I were al Q I’d be into oil tankers and diamonds. This is all smoke and mirrors. What about terror at home, a streak of jealousy causing murders everywhere? These sort of problems cannot be solved with wars and more wars! It is way past time for some new ideas.
Posted by: anonymous | June 26, 2006, 9:57 pm 9:57 pm
The Bush administration got us into a war in Iraq based on faulty intelligence and that is no crime? The New York Times prints the news to us (Americans) and the reporters are to be held for treason because they told us the truth about our rights being taken away? Tell me what the difference is!!!! I am an Independent and I am mad!!!! If you aren’t mad you are not sane. It is my opinion and I think it is the opinion of the majority of Americans……If we are told lies daily we could start to believe them….
Posted by: an Independent | June 26, 2006, 10:30 pm 10:30 pm
Not only did I see the President’s petulant tirade against the New York Times yesterday evening on WNT, I also heard the outrage, and outrageous statements, from Rep, Curt Weldon on “The News Hour with Jim Lehrer.” Rep. Weldon improbably loaded his sturm und drang to proudly declaim that Congressmen and news reporters have taken a vow not to release classified information.
Excuse me? Since when do news reporters swear not to release classified information when they deem it in the public interest? It is all too obvious that Rep. Weldon is parroting the administration’s position that the only good press is a press which reports only what the administration wants reported. It is also painfully evident that, when caught performing yet another borderline, secretive operation in the name of fighting terrorism, this administration behaves like the child caught with its hand in the cookie jar: it will blame anyone it can with such moral outrage as to take the spotlight off the legality of what it is doing. If this administration thinks it is protecting our rights with such transparent subterfuge, I’ll choose to take my chances without their so-called protection!
Posted by: chuck | June 27, 2006, 8:39 am 8:39 am
Thank God that The Times still has a backbone and will tell the truth to the American people. Every day, this administration becomes more totalitarian. Be glad that there is a free press today, because tomorrow it may well be taken from us.
Posted by: Veronica Johnson | June 27, 2006, 10:26 am 10:26 am
Mr. King calls the act of the NYT Treason — I think a good majority of American’s feel going to war for all the wrong reasons is an act of Treason!! I applaud the NYT for taking the stand they did, and I am glad that they and other news organizations are getting their voices back.
It is ironic how mad the Republicans get when the “truth” is spoken out loud for all to hear.
It is the truth which make people angry, not the lies!
Posted by: Paulette Clark | June 27, 2006, 11:30 am 11:30 am
Spellbinding comments.
At great risk and peril of getting all kinds of vitriol splashed on my new pants I would like to weigh in.
Since the horrendous attack on 9/11, for the past five years, terrorist activities directed at the US have been limited to the war fronts.
Efforts to bring further terror to our mainland have been thus far effectively thwarted.
Our young service men and women, volunteers all, have carried out complicated missions and engaged a centralized group of madmen with success.
What concerns me is that The NYT and others have set an editor as the arbitraitor of what defense efforts should be secret. Release of these secrets increases the peril to all and aids the enemy. This undermines the single central purpose of any government, protection of its citizens. At some point the Fourth Estate becomes a Fifth Column
Posted by: flyover | June 27, 2006, 6:37 pm 6:37 pm
flyover: you say “the single central purpose of any government, protection of its citizens.” I most heartly agree! However, I do not see this administration following this course. There are far too many examples to list here, if you cannot think of any I bid you to research the effects of the Bush administration’s policies on healthcare, on disaster prevention and relief, on environment, etc (not even mentioning the “bring it on” attitude — how much did that do to protect our solders in a war zone?)
Posted by: Lon | June 27, 2006, 11:57 pm 11:57 pm
Margaret Barton: “Shouldn’t a responsible, proficient administration be chastising its own personnel, including the President and Vice President, for the Niagra of classified and secret information that has flowed from the Bushites in the last 6 years?”
Uh, you do understand that the leakers are mostly, and probably all, long term employees of government departments that were there before Bush was elected and may well be there (if they are not caught and prosecuted for violation of the laws protecting classified information) long after Bush is history. The leaks are not from “Bushites” as you so put it. The leaks are from long term government employees with either a genuine concern or an axe to gring. So far, nothing I’ve seen that the leakers and NYT have exposed warrants ‘genuine concern’ and in my opinion are leaks designed to ‘get Bush’ – and damn the cost to the nation. What genuine public interest – other than ‘just knowing’ – has been served? Given that the information obtained by both the NSA and SWIFT programs is not private and is available to other government and non-government organizations, these operations do not constitute us giving up any essential liberties (ala Benjamin Franklin’s famous saying).
Look, our fellow Americans that work day-in and day-out in the CIA, FBI, Treasury, and other government organizations to track, find, and stop terrorists *must* have the tools to do the job. Yet some Americans seem to want them to announce everything they’re doing to us and therefore to our enemies and keep the enemy well informed of all our efforts to stop them.
Can someone tell me exactly what operations (if any) you would allow to be run in secret? And please explain why. I want to understand where you guys think it is ok to draw a line to balance the public’s right to know with the ability to run an effective intelligence gathering program.
Posted by: F15C | June 29, 2006, 4:31 pm 4:31 pm