WHO LEAKED?
I’ll have much more to say about the right of privacy in the age of terror in an article I’m writing for The American Thinker but something the President said in his radio address today defending his eavesdropping program stuck out like a sore thumb:
This is a highly classified program that is crucial to our national security. Its purpose is to detect and prevent terrorist attacks against the United States, our friends and allies. Yesterday the existence of this secret program was revealed in media reports, after being improperly provided to news organizations. As a result, our enemies have learned information they should not have, and the unauthorized disclosure of this effort damages our national security and puts our citizens at risk. Revealing classified information is illegal, alerts our enemies, and endangers our country.
The information was “improperly provided” to the New York Times. And according to the newspaper’s story, they had been sitting on this juicy little morsel of a secret for more than a year.
First, for the President to use the term “improperly provided” regarding a leak involving the National Security Agency is a monumental understatement. The NSA has extraordinarily strict rules about things like leaks. In short, if you’re an employee and you get caught leaking, you go to jail for a very long time.
Secondly, the fact that the Times sat on this information for a year may prove that whoever the leaker was, they are probably not with the agency any more. One would think that the eavesdropping operation was so compartmentalized within the agency, that discovering the leaker - or at least narrowing the list of suspects - would be fairly easy. That is, if the leaker was from the NSA. And this opens the question of who else knew about the surveillance program. There were a few attorneys at Justice and the White House along with some high-level FBI anti-terrorist officials. And of course, some Congress critters whose inability to keep a secret is matched only by their belief in their own superior wisdom in matters of national security not to mention civil liberties issues.
My guess would be that the leak came from someone on one of the Intelligence Committee staffs. It wouldn’t be the first time and it would be logical in the context of the hyper-partisanship on Capitol Hill. This leak was meant to damage not only the program itself but the Bush Administration as well. The consequences to our national security may prove that the leaker has bitten off more than they bargained for.
Bush Answers The Times
In today’s weekly radio address President Bush provided a rare live speech in answer to yesterday’s big NY Times story used to deflect attention from the Iraqi elections, and to the filibustering of the PATRIOT Act in the Senate. The
Trackback by Joust The Facts — 12/17/2005 @ 2:08 pm
Yes…another part to this whole story that pisses me off…a major investigation into who leaked Plame’s name…will we see the same with this, which I think had far more serious questions that need answering.
Comment by Raven — 12/17/2005 @ 4:08 pm
Bush continues to wipe his ass with the Bill of Rights…. nothing new here.
Comment by Melanie Haddon — 12/17/2005 @ 4:17 pm
Likely scenes from my first holiday party of the season (which is where I'll be for the next several hours)
Jeff's progressive friend #1: "I don't know how you can even begin to defend this outrageous affront to our civil liberties, Jeff. It shocks me -- really shocks me! -- that you, of all people, have no problem with Bushco …
Trackback by protein wisdom — 12/17/2005 @ 4:35 pm
This leaking is driving me nuts. Rush hit the freaking ceiling on Friday over this NYT story and the book (I believe from James Risen) that is to follow from it just in time for Christmas.
I know folks in the national security business: one is in Army Intel and works at the Pentagon; the other is in Navy Intel over at NSA. Both are great friends. They have those kind of jobs that, if they told me what they really did, they’d have to kill me. Trouble is: one is a closet lib and I witnessed some seemingly (to me) inappropriate “political activism” on that person’s part during Campaign 2004. It bothers me deeply, but that person is still a very close friend… makes me wonder about other closet libs in such important positions, who might just have bigger agendas. We know that the CIA is rife with Bush-haters, after all.
Comment by The MaryHunter — 12/17/2005 @ 6:01 pm
I marvel at those people (especially conservatives) who are upset that civil rights have been violated in a time of war. My God wake up! Just because there is not an actual nation to declare war on do not delude yourself into thinking the Islamofascists do not want to hit the Home of the free and the brave. The terrorists will take their opportunity especially now that the Patriot Act has been stalled by a filibuster.
Comment by Theway2k — 12/17/2005 @ 7:41 pm
ok Melanie, I’ll bite…
So, of which of your rights have you been deprived. How does Bush “wipe his ass” with the bill of rights”?
Bush followed the legal guidelines necessary to do what he did. There are rules that govern this sort of thing and Bush, it appears, followed them. Congressional members were briefed allowing lawmakers to approve or disapprove. Legal counsel was obtained regarding the legalities of such action.
To state that “Bush wipes his ass with the Bill of Rights” is an uninformed,ignorant, stupid myopic knee jerk reaction without any basis in fact.
You may not like what Bush did but that doesn’t make it illegal or even unethical.
You’ll never know,maybe he saved your life by doing this…..
Comment by Marv — 12/17/2005 @ 7:45 pm
Melanie, do us a favor and try reading the Bill of Rights for a change. For someone who accuses the President of wiping his ass with it, I am willing to bet you have never read them. I can imagine you madly “googling” the Bill of Rights, scanning them quickly, and then posting an angry reply to me. Go back to your Kool Aid. Try the purple kind this time.
Comment by SShiell — 12/17/2005 @ 7:56 pm
The Real Scandal
President Bush delivered a very tough radio address responding to the controversy over the New York Times report on National Security Agency surveillance. The gist, according to Byron York at National Review’s The Corner: the surveillance program is …
Trackback by The Right Nation — 12/17/2005 @ 9:32 pm
We Are At War People
I’m really amazed at the idiocy on the left. We are at war people! Do you think it’s just plain ole’ luck that we have not been attacked on our soil since 9/11? The real story about these wiretaps is the fact that the information…
Trackback by Flopping Aces — 12/17/2005 @ 9:45 pm
[...] ormation was leaked go anywhere? I can only hope. Other’s Blogging: Stop The ACLU Right Wing Nuthouse The Kellino Zone Sister Toldjah Small Town Veteran Pros & C [...]
Pingback by Flopping Aces » Blog Archive » We Are At War People — 12/17/2005 @ 9:51 pm
“I marvel at those people (especially conservatives) who are upset that civil rights have been violated in a time of war. My God wake up! Just because there is not an actual nation to declare war on do not delude yourself into thinking the Islamofascists do not want to hit the Home of the free and the brave. The terrorists will take their opportunity especially now that the Patriot Act has been stalled by a filibuster.”
Isn’t this the same paranoia that led to the Japanese American borns being sent to internment camps. Its never okay to abuse the power of the presidency to spy on whoever you want, without telling anybody.
Comment by Rob — 12/18/2005 @ 10:49 am
If the Times has been sitting on this for a more than a year, wonder why they didn’t report it earlier, during the 2004 elections? That’s when it would have done the most short-term damage to Bush, and helped get Kerry elected.
Comment by The Sanity Inspector — 12/18/2005 @ 12:27 pm
[...] h United States Citizens Rick Moran at Right Wing Nut House has a theory on the leaker: “WHO LEAKED?â€
[link] postCount [...]
Pingback by Fly At Night » Blog Archive » Jail For Leakers? — 12/18/2005 @ 12:47 pm
So who’s gonna get burned?
As usual, the left is outraged that the evil chimpy-McBush-Haliburton regime would dare gather intelligence on terrorism within our own borders. Of course, they seem to care little at all for the fact that classified information was leaked to the pu…
Trackback by Severe Writer's Block — 12/18/2005 @ 1:25 pm
The Sanity Inspector, Great point!
Comment by Rob — 12/18/2005 @ 2:09 pm
Dr. Sanity & Rob:
And what do you think the backlash would have been from the right? The howls of rage at the Times for leaking classified data to influence an election may have shaken that august institution to its knees. I daresay even other MSM outlets would have criticized them seveverly.
Comment by Rick Moran — 12/18/2005 @ 2:31 pm