U.S. Treasury To New York Times: “Irresponsible”
via Michelle Malkin:
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Mr. Bill Keller, Managing Editor
The New York Times
229 West 43rd Street
New York, NY 10036
Dear Mr. Keller:
The New York Times’ decision to disclose the Terrorist Finance Tracking Program, a robust and classified effort to map terrorist networks through the use of financial data, was irresponsible and harmful to the security of Americans and freedom-loving people worldwide. In choosing to expose this program, despite repeated pleas from high-level officials on both sides of the aisle, including myself, the Times undermined a highly successful counter-terrorism program and alerted terrorists to the methods and sources used to track their money trails.
Your charge that our efforts to convince The New York Times not to publish were “half-hearted” is incorrect and offensive. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Over the past two months, Treasury has engaged in a vigorous dialogue with the Times - from the reporters writing the story to the D.C. Bureau Chief and all the way up to you. It should also be noted that the co-chairmen of the bipartisan 9-11 Commission, Governor Tom Kean and Congressman Lee Hamilton, met in person or placed calls to the very highest levels of the Times urging the paper not to publish the story. Members of Congress, senior U.S. Government officials and well-respected legal authorities from both sides of the aisle also asked the paper not to publish or supported the legality and validity of the program.
Indeed, I invited you to my office for the explicit purpose of talking you out of publishing this story. And there was nothing “half-hearted” about that effort. I told you about the true value of the program in defeating terrorism and sought to impress upon you the harm that would occur from its disclosure. I stressed that the program is grounded on solid legal footing, had many built-in safeguards, and has been extremely valuable in the war against terror.
Additionally, Treasury Under Secretary Stuart Levey met with the reporters and your senior editors to answer countless questions, laying out the legal framework and diligently outlining the multiple safeguards and protections that are in place.
You have defended your decision to compromise this program by asserting that “terror financiers know” our methods for tracking their funds and have already moved to other methods to send money. The fact that your editors believe themselves to be qualified to assess how terrorists are moving money betrays a breathtaking arrogance and a deep misunderstanding of this program and how it works. While terrorists are relying more heavily than before on cumbersome methods to move money, such as cash couriers, we have continued to see them using the formal financial system, which has made this particular program incredibly valuable.
Lastly, justifying this disclosure by citing the “public interest” in knowing information about this program means the paper has given itself free license to expose any covert activity that it happens to learn of - even those that are legally grounded, responsibly administered, independently overseen, and highly effective. Indeed, you have done so here.
What you’ve seemed to overlook is that it is also a matter of public interest that we use all means available - lawfully and responsibly - to help protect the American people from the deadly threats of terrorists. I am deeply disappointed in the New York Times.
Sincerely,
[signed]
John W. Snow, Secretary
U.S. Department of the Treasury
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Publisher’s Note: We’ll be shorting the stock tomorrow…
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Technorati Tags: Homeland Security, NSA, Terrorism, NY Times, U.S. Treasury
June 26th, 2006 at 6:49 pm
Hadn’t posted mine yet - glad to see you got this out, Cal.
June 26th, 2006 at 8:09 pm
Mr. Bill Keller, Managing Editor
The New York Times
229 West 43rd Street
New York, NY 10036
Dear Mr. Keller:
Thank you for bringing the Bush Administration’s flagrant violation of our rights to light, once again. I know that this decision was carefully considered, all of the options weighed, and filled with great anxiety and trepidation. The president and his men are a powerful group, not one to be taken lightly nor underestimated, and it shows great bravery, courage and commitment to sound journalism and your principles to print such material.
Your critics on the Right will, no doubt, call for your dismissal if not indictment. However, their ill-will towards any unbiased, and honestly fair and balanced, reporting should worry you not; in fact, the extreme vitriol coming from talk radio and the right blogsphere should only indicate the worth and substance of your reporting.
Speaking truth to power is difficult at any time and especially at times like this, when the President thinks — and is told by those who work to keep him in his bubble — he is above the rule of law.
Mr. Keller, it is Patriots like you that keep America the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave. Keep up the good work!
I close with a quote found on http://www.CaliforniaConservative.org, as it fits both this situation, and the overall tone set by the corrupt and dishonest Bush administration:
“An honest man can feel no pleasure in the exercise of power over his fellow citizens.”
– Thomas Jefferson
Sincerely,
June 26th, 2006 at 8:23 pm
Mr. Keller, the reporters and publishers of the New York Times should be tried for sedition. Who appointed the news meda as guardians of the government? How do they justify selling US secrets for blood money?
I am tired of the media’s smug self satisfaction with itself. I imagine they’d have loved to provide the formulas to the Soviets in WWII because of “public interest.”
Hang them all.
June 26th, 2006 at 8:43 pm
Well, “Stop Bush!”, your comments are sophomoric at best, delusional more likely, and coolaid laced to be sure! If you think that the NYT and it’s current actions are what keeps this country the land of the free and home of the brave, you are affected greatly by coriolis of the mind in the southern blogosphere! (northern blogosphere goes right!)
I am sure you believe that the NYT has repeatedly reported something that is being done not by a corrupt government. The NYT is taking the time to destroy our national security through attacks with the intention of scoring points with the lost cause left.
Sad. The NYT is going to lose readership and ultimately fail.
June 26th, 2006 at 9:04 pm
Hey Stop Bush! Thanks for promoting our site in your cheeky little missive (with an embedded link and all!)
Now why don’t you send it out to *all* of your closest friends — all 5 of them — Sitemeter counts liberals just the same.
Tootles!
June 26th, 2006 at 9:18 pm
The Irresponsible Times
The National Review has an editorial about the New York Times Al Qaeda Intelligence Network that is absolutely correct. What the Times did was absolutely reprehensible. They disclosed a Top Secret program that was effective, completely legal, and was …
June 27th, 2006 at 9:04 am
The government is guilty of Treason!
June 27th, 2006 at 9:11 am
Secret Squirrel, you don’t need to gather any more nuts…it appears you’ve over-eaten.
August 11th, 2006 at 11:46 pm
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