Should reporters and publisher who disclosed terrorists financial transaction monitoring program be punished?!

Question

Reporters of New York Times, Los Angeles Times and Wall Street Journal disclosed publicly the secret Terrorists Financial Monitoring Program which harmed the national security and made the Anti-Terrorism War hard to move forward. Personally, I think reporters and publishers of these three mainstream newspaper deliberately ignoreed the fact of 9-11 Terrorist Attack and allowed to publicly disclose something should be kept extremely confidential was a very irresponsible act and should be all prosecuted.

Answer 1

Yes.

Answer 2

Because Im sure that the terrorists were unaware that they had to launder money in order not to get caught, right. The more confidential things are the more they are able to be abused. There is something called mission creep that is the main argument about the public not knowing these things. Basically, things like this start off as terrorist deterrment and prevention, but then one day, the "mission creeps" when Americans speak out against the government doing this sort of thing. The government then labels these people "rogue actors" and starts to monitor them. Problem is, its all a big secret and no one knows. Just because you are not doing something "wrong" now, doesnt mean that "wrong" cant be redefined to include something you are doing.

Answer 3

First off, what these news organizations did, especially the New York Times, was careless, and that's putting it extremely kindly. They were warned weeks in advance that this would be severely damaging if they leaked such information. Tony Snow said it best, "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 overwrite somebody's right to live, and whether, in fact, the publications of these could place in jeopardy the safety of fellow Americans." I don't think most American's really realize what it is to be at war. We live in the safety bubbles of our jobs, cars, families, T.V.s, etc, & everything else is removed and far away. Does it take another humongous bombing or similar tragedy to wake us up again? Unfortunately many American's are asleep. As long ask they have their routines they don't want to be bothered by it all. And yet another group of Americans are going out of their way to portray us as the bad guys & subverting every effort to fight this war effectively. Honestly what do they expect us to do, send a batch of gramma's home made cookies to Osama Bin Laden and it will all go away? No, this is a fight to the death. Al Qaeda isn't an organization that can be appeased. Their immediate goal is to restore the Caliphate (religious emperor) all across North Africa and fanning out complete across the Middle-East. Their larger goal is a One Islam Nation. In other words they want to take over the world. They as we have learned will stop at no moral boundary to achieve such aims. Unfortunately if we cannot find what made this nation great and really embrace the wisdom of our founding fathers we will at best be fighting an up hill battle with great suffering along the way. We must wake up ASP and really fight hard; I mean like we fought Imperial Japan and Nazi Germany. If not I’m afraid we might even in the long run, lose this war. I'm not saying western civilization is perfect by any stretch of the imagination but their are some really divine aspects that are worth saving, i.e. not only having the freedom of expression which enables us to find happiness, but simply to live, which if you are not in Osama’s little club, good luck. In circumference, yes they should be prosecuted, but first it should be made clear what the laws are, and that they will be enforced. America has become too soft and it will be our own undoing if we do not let our government do what they were intended to do, among other things protect us. Please let us let them do their job for crying out loud, and maybe in ten years or so, hopefully we can all argue over things much more trivial.

Answer 4

There is a line between Freedom of the Press and disclosing national secrets that is very hard to define. They should be forced to divulge their sources or face jail time for contempt. People who leak classified information should not be allowed to hide behind freedom of the press and should be prosecuted. If this were to occur more often we would not see all these leaks. When you have access to classified information you sign all sorts of paperwork stating that you won't do this. Let's enforce the laws.

Answer 5

IMHO, this is rather "old" news. One of the early actions taken by the Bush administration was to actively go after terrorist financing mechanisms. The Treasury Department gave a very extensive ****and**** very public presentation/overview of the actions being taken (refer to source).

Reading between the lines, and from public news announcements at the time, it seems readily apparent that the administration is monitoring this type of activity. Judging from this particular press release, I don't feel anything was reported that was not already implied, if not stated as fact.

Answer 6

The leak should be prosecuted. The New York Times unfortunately is covered under freedom of the press. They should however be admonished by public opinion and if you are a true American cancel any subscription you may have with them

Answer 7

No that would be censorship but the person who leak the information should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law and given a very lengthy prison vacation in a maximum security prison.

Answer 8

I think they should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. Stuff like this certainly didn't happen in WWII, it shouldn't be happening now. Where is the loyalty?

Answer 9

"we'll fire the leaker"...GW Bush...now we find out that our President WAS the leaker, who convienently un-classified the data to cover his own a**. And then white-washed a bunch of bad intelligence(even when the CIA and the FBI said it was aload of crap, he ignored it) to bring us into another Vietnam, with NO end in sight.

You can't have it both ways...what comes around GOES around Mr. Bush. You got what you deserve!

Answer 10

No. and we probably shouldn't punish whoever leaked it to them. It was either George Bush or Carl Rove and they are above the law.
Why do you people keep attacking our elected president and his puppeteer?

Answer 11

sure, why not?...a very similar set of circumstances took place in 1938 Germany and look how well that turned out...

"Those who would sacrifice liberty for security, deserve neither."

We are living in some very scary times...and I'm not referring to "the terrorists" that our government has managed to convince the average numb-nut citizen is waiting behind every tree...

Anyone notice how the "terror threat" scale quietly went away? That's because it's effectiveness as a tool of intimidation began to wane...where's the new system? Where's the national handbook on "How to spot a terrorist" Remember when you used to have fire drils and tornado drills in elementary school...? Where's the "terrorism emergency" drills...There aren't any...you know why? Because you...the average citizen are not a target...this is a war between religious fundamentalists, war mongers and corporate interests...the boogie man is not hiding under your bed...

The 911 attacks, were aimed at American institutions of finance, military and political...(Twin Towers, Pentagon...supposedly the White House)...

the message is thus: get the hell out of our country...We've been pissing in their ponds for decades, propping up regimes and then removing them at will...assassinating their religious and political leaders...funding "secret wars...etc..etc..

Did we deserve 911? Hell no...noone does....but do you think America has been running around the globe handing out hugs and daisies? C'mon...wake up...there's a reason why a vast majority of the world hates our guts...they hate not what we stand for...but what we have and how we obtained it...we haven't been asking politely...let's put it that way....

However, we do/did enjoy a tremendous amount of freedoms in this country..and the current administration is pissing all over them under the guise of national security...

Let's see...First thing to go...1st Amendment..Freedom of Speech..Freedom of the Press...

Guess what's next? that's right folks..going right down the line to good old number two...The right to keep and bear arms...(see 1938 Gun Registration Act, Nazi Germany)

Now number three? Well who wouldn't let one of our honorable men and women in the armed forces into our homes in the interests of personal and national security? That's not really the focus or true intent of that amendment, but let's pretend for the moment...that it is...I'd rather not spend the time to explain that one...

On to number four...actually...number four is already gone folks...No-Knock warrants kind of bugger up that whole pesky problem of unreasonable search and seizure, probable cause and warrantless searches...sorry.

and then.. five six seven eight...who do we appreciate?
Not this government...

I suggest you read a bit about Hitler's rise to power and how the National Socialist Party used fear and intimidation to convince the people of 1934 Germany how they would be best served by sacrificing personal freedoms...see if you notice any similarities...

Don't take my word for it...truly...take the time to look it up...see if any of it sounds familiar...

http://www.calvin.edu/academic/cas/gpa/ww2era.htm
http://constitutionalistnc.tripod.com/hitler-leftist/id14.html
http://www.planetpapers.com/Assets/3191.php
http://www.fff.org/freedom/fd0403a.asp

That should be enough to get you started...

Loss of liberty is not a slippery slope...It's a spiral, straight into hell.

I just had to add to this thread...I know it's become quite long winded anyway, but nonetheless..I must indulge...

Does anyone really believe that "the terrorists" aren't fully aware of their financial transactions, phone conversations..etc..being monitored? Hello...they use encrypted communications via the internet to this day it's believed..If our intelligence community is so good at tracing origins of "terrorist related" material..why can't they locate the source of the hostage tapes that are routinely given to Al-Jazeera...

Make no mistake...we are occupiers...we have been for quite some time...lest we forget..We installed Saddam in the first place..we trained Osama in Afghanistan...We've been playing in their sandbox for a long time...get that through your head...we have been meddling in foreign affairs in which we had no business, (except business. ie oil, fighting communism..etc.)

If Russia had done to use in the 80's, what we've been doing to foreign governments for decades...we'd be behaving in a very similar manner ourselves...we don't, because we haven't had to...most Americans live under the illusion or rather delusion...that the whole world wants to be like us...that we're the greatest..and everyone else should jump on board...

I do love America...I can't imagine another lifestyle for myself..that doesn't include all the freedoms and benefits of being an American , but then I've never lived as anything else...

We are fat and greedy...we use more of the world's resources than most other countries combined...we have the highest levels of obesity, heart disease, cancer...etc.. We have the highest rate of handgun related deaths in the world..ten times over...

The list goes on and on...however, we also have/had the freedom of choice..we talk about getting back to the things that made America great...then let's do that...This country was founded by "terrorists"...we call them patriots..The British Monarchy referred to them as "insurgents"...The things that made this country great...are the very things we are sacrificing for the idea of security...

Americans and America is the land of hypocrisy...we build, fight and defend liberty...while simultaneously, denying it to ourselves....

The beauty of America...is the hope..the chance...if you can, if you will...you have an opportunity...no religious zealot standing on your neck demanding your loyalties and faith...no political dictatorship watching your every move (well, used to be)...

You cannot declare a war on terrorism...it's like fighting a war on jealousy...it simply cannot be done...There is no standing, fighting force...you can't find everyone who might or might not commit a terrorist act... what you can do...is fight the root of the problem...

We have a vested interest in spreading democracy...yes...but first we have to defend our own..you can't impose democracy at the point of a gun...it's self-defeating policy...

If you need a quick history lesson, see The Fall of Rome...the very same thing happened to the Roman Empire..when they tried to bring the rest of the world into the Republic...Military forces spread over too vast an area, fighting on too many fronts...while the infrastructure slid into rapid decline...it's all too familiar...

"Hannibal ante portas" (Hannibal is at the gate)