NY Times Vs National Security

[MobBoss]

Lots of stuff lately on the radio about the NY times breaking the story on the Fed Program to track terrorist financial transactions. Seems there is a call from some for the Justice Department to investigate the NY Times and for the Government to hold the Times accountable for running a story that may significantly impact our national security.

From what I understand this particular program was very effective and terrorists had virtually no clue they could be tracked by such methods. There can be hardly any doubt that the NY Times story on the program gives our enemies knowledge that they can use to avoid such tracking now.

The question is how far is too far where national security is concerned. At what point does a media outlet like the NY Times actually violate national security concerns by running such a story and in turn, what should be done to the NY Times as punishment for same?

 

[IglooDame]

As opposed to, say, tracing the source of the leaks and prosecuting people who are actually divulging secret information?

 

[downtown]

Nixon asked a lot of similar questions. The press won. There will be ugly boxes opened by going after the NYT, and perhaps some by not doing anything....in my humble opinion, the slippery slope is much much worse if we go after the paper.

You want to send somebody to jail, find the guy who told the paper.

 

[Bronx Warlord]

I have a problem with the times wanting to protect there sources for information yet at the same time wanting to reveal classified goverment programs that relate to national security.

If this were june of 44 with the way things are, would d-day have been exposed?

 

[skadistic]

You want to send somebody to jail, find the guy who told the paper.

Word. And when you find him convict him for treason and flog, draw and quarter him before burning whats left in a big pile.

I bet the leaker is from the north.



edited for my southern spelling woes.

 

[IglooDame]

Word. And when you find him convict him for treason and flog, draw and quarter him before burning wats lefy in a big pile.

I bet the leaker is from the north.

So do I - one would have to be somewhat literate in order to leak this kind of thing, right?

 

[downtown]

dammit, you took my joke!

 

[MobBoss]

Well, but why absolve the paper of all responsiblity? Example: If a paper had run the fact that we had broken the Japanese military code early in WWII wouldnt have that been unethical and treasonous?

How is this any different?

In my opinion, by NOT going after the paper, we simply encourage other media outlets to continue the same type of behavior. I mean, who elected the chief editor of the times the person who selects which gov secret gets published and which doesnt?

 

[Godwynn]

Was the government only tracking the money, or freezing it?

 

[MobBoss]

Was the government only tracking the money, or freezing it?

To my knowledge only tracking it. But I admit my overall knowledge of the issue is limited.

 

[malclave]

Was the government only tracking the money, or freezing it?

From what I've read of SWIFT, I don't think the government would be able to freeze a transaction (though I don't completely understand the program).

 

[Stylesjl]

Let the newspaper report it, if you don't like it then get the leaker. I almost always am distrustworthy of any government that witholds information for any reason

 

[eyrei]

Our government has been freezing the assets of terrorist organizations very aggressively since 9/11, so to say that the 'terrorists' had no clue they could be tracked by their money is assuming that they are all idiots. This was one of the first steps in the supposed 'War on Terror'.

But if you really want to see someone 'hang' for this, I suggest the person who leaked the information in the first place, as others have said. The NYTimes is not a government agency, and has a great deal of responsibility to report information they obtain, and none to keep it secret.

 

[MobBoss]

Our government has been freezing the assets of terrorist organizations very aggressively since 9/11, so to say that the 'terrorists' had no clue they could be tracked by their money is assuming that they are all idiots. This was one of the first steps in the supposed 'War on Terror'.

But if you really want to see someone 'hang' for this, I suggest the person who leaked the information in the first place, as others have said. The NYTimes is not a government agency, and has a great deal of responsibility to report information they obtain, and none to keep it secret.

So, if a newspaper had reported a story on "Magic" the program used to break the Japanese military code and notified the Japanese so that they could change to a new code thus harming our war effort - you would be ok with that since newspapers have a "great deal of responsibility to report information they obtain"?

Funny, but I disagree. I think the NY Times did indeed harm our national security in doing this and should be held accountable.....they should also be forced to turn over the name/identity of the person who leaked the story.

Also, this program was much different than that used to freeze assets. This program could be used to trace money transfers from say Saudi Arabia to Syria that were thought untraceable. Not the same thing.

 

[Mastreditr111]

I agree... they have a large degree of responsibility. Not as large as the leaker perhaps, but large enough that they should be forced to divulge his name and the info on the transaction. There is a right to free speech, so they had every right to print it, but there is NO right for journalists to obstruct justice in the name of "journalistic integrity." That form of chivalry died long ago in every other way... why hold it dear in this respect, other than to save your own a**?

 

[Mastreditr111]

Also, had the press divulged Magic, (which I would like to believe it would have held on to until allowed to due so, it was far more responsible back then) the U.S. war in the Pacific would have been vastly different. We may even have lost, but at the least it would have taken far more deaths to win... Hawaii may have come under occupation, because Magic produced the intelligence used to win at Midway. Had we lost, we would have had to turn our west coast into a fortress, and become a garrison state. Then we would have none of the freedoms we are arguing over right now.

 

[CaptainF]

Also, this program was much different than that used to freeze assets. This program could be used to trace money transfers from say Saudi Arabia to Syria that were thought untraceable. Not the same thing.

Different program, but they still know that the US Government messes with their capital.

 

[delsully]

Why are the Wall St. Journal and LA Times not being denegrated also? They both revealed the program along with the NYT.

 

[Mastreditr111]

Different program, but they still know that the US Government messes with their capital.

Yes, but if they don't know how they cannot figure out which capital has been messed with, unless we freeze it entirely.

 

[Alpine Trooper]

You have the choose the worse evil.