New York Times -- Time and Time Again

On Saturday, the NYTimes.com website reported that the New York Times has obtained a "classified United States government report" that shows that insurgent groups in Iraq have become financially self-sufficient through activities such as oil smuggling, counterfeiting, phony charities and the receipt of ransom payments for the return of kidnap victims. The story details amounts, strategies and methods; in short, everything that we know about terrorist financing operations.

There are two stories here: One story tells of terrorist tactics and financing which is no doubt interesting and informative. The other story is the story behind the story: the fact that the NYT has, once again, flaunted it's total disregard for federal law and national security, and has once again shown its willingness to compromise whatever advantage our government might have over its enemies; that is, by far, the more significant story.

Here is a one paragraph snippet directly from the NYT story:

"While such data may have been omitted to protect the group’s clandestine sources and methods, the document has a bold heading on the front page saying "secret" and a warning that it is not to be shared with foreign governments, several security and intelligence consultants said in telephone interviews that the vagueness of the estimates reflected how little American intelligence agencies knew about the opaque and complex world of Iraq’s militant groups."

Just how far, I wonder, can the First Amendment be bent before it breaks.

Obtaining an admittedly "secret" government document and reporting its contents to the world was, apparently, not enough of a story for the New York Times; they apparently took the additional step of transmitting this secret report to some unnamed "security and intelligence consultants" and now are smugly boasting that these consultants concluded that the report was vague and inconclusive and showed, in the words of the Times' story: "how little American intelligence agencies knew about the opaque and complex world of Iraq’s militant groups."

Thanks to the NYT we can all rest tonight with the assurance that the Iraqi insurgents are also resting easier tonight, very relieved to know how little the United States knows about them; after all, we certainly wouldn't want them to worry about things like that!

Sadly, there are many who just nod their assent when the NYT claims that they only published this information because of the "public's right to know;" and an entire army of journalists and jurists who will rush to their defense chanting "First Amendment, First Amendment . . ..". Sadder still is the near certainty that the criminals who gave this report to the NYT will never see a day of jail time in a Federal prison.

Any way you look at it, the New York Times' motive for publishing this information was not, as they will claim, to inform the public; nothing in this report could benefit the general public. The Times' motive is their sheer contempt (proven time and time again) for President Bush and his administration and their desire to do anything in their power to make his administration look incompetent.

I will not assert that the NYT has an overt desire to aid and abet our country's enemies . . . but they would have to be pretty dim-witted not to see that publishing this report, as well as other things they have done in the past (such as interfering with the government's investigation of two Islamic Charities as referenced in this Associated Press report) have done just that.

Links:

New York Times: U.S. Finds Iraq Insurgency Has Funds to Sustain Itself

CNN.com/World" Report: Iraq insurgency pays its own way

Associated Press on Topix.net: New York Times Turns to Supreme Court

From the blogosphere:

Say Anything: What The Terrorists Have Learned

The Asylum: France And Italy: Thanks For Paying Those Ransoms

Whymrhymer's fresh perspectives on today's news, as published here, also appear at My View from the Center and at the Blogger News Network.