WaPo to Publish Leaked National Intelligence Information?
[Guest post by DRJ]
Quin Hillyer at the Washington Times passes along a notice from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence that the Washington Post plans to publish a “compendium of government agencies and contractors allegedly conducting Top Secret work,” including the type of work performed and the location of facilities. The publication may be a series of reports beginning Monday.
— DRJ
WaPo hell – it’s the NYT in drag.
mojo (4e4a98) — 7/16/2010 @ 2:38 pmThe Post will say it had to release it because it would have been scooped by the NY Times.
Arizona Bob (f57a20) — 7/16/2010 @ 2:47 pmBTW, why am I having so much trouble accessing the site using my Firefox? Trying all day, only way to get on is via links by Google. I’ve also constantly been clearing my browser cache.
Dmac (d61c0d) — 7/16/2010 @ 2:56 pmDmac — if you mean Patterico’s, I have had no problems using Firefox (3.6.6) today.
Of course they’ll publish. It was time to stir up the memories of the blood thrown about the lab I used.
htom (412a17) — 7/16/2010 @ 3:28 pmBy long time bookmark in Firefox also stopped working last night though this afternoon. I thought the site was down. I got on by a link from Patterico’s Facebook page and replaced my bookmark. It seems to be working. Guess it was not just me. I wonder if other regulars are blocked out?
Machinist (497786) — 7/16/2010 @ 3:30 pmI’m using latest Firefox and having no problems here.
Old Coot (e877cf) — 7/16/2010 @ 3:40 pmI use Firefox 3.6.6 and had no problems.
Jim (844377) — 7/16/2010 @ 3:43 pmWaPo to Publish Leaked National Intelligence Information?
Hey this might not be a bad thing, maybe they can get President Obama to read it.
—
Machinist, Firefox 3.0.19 — all’s well.
(I had an issue with 3.6 and my Vista box a while back, so I rolled-back the update. Will soon be usng FF 3.6.6 with my new Linux box — well really its an old PC with a new installation of Ubuntu Linux. So far so good.)
Pons Asinorum (7bcd43) — 7/16/2010 @ 4:06 pmDmac — sorry, I meant to direct that to you. I have had similar problems in the past, once a blue moon same thing as you. Today though it is okay.
Pons Asinorum (7bcd43) — 7/16/2010 @ 4:10 pmIn the past, I’m sure the problem would have been the website but this time I think it’s Firefox. I had the same problem on one computer because of an upgrade.
DRJ (d43dcd) — 7/16/2010 @ 4:25 pmThis report suggests to me the Washington Post may reveal the locations and identities of private contractors working overseas. If so, that could easily get someone killed. How could an editor or ombudsman authorize that?
DRJ (d43dcd) — 7/16/2010 @ 4:30 pmHonorable and moral behavior seems to be lacking in more than a few of our leaders and executives, regardless of sector (sort of a cultural downhill effect starting with our President).
My guess is politics or money are the motivators and the people in the field serving our country, be damned.
Pons Asinorum (7bcd43) — 7/16/2010 @ 4:43 pmwa po has morphed
ColonelHaiku (effbea) — 7/16/2010 @ 4:55 pmfrom fourth estate now to
proud fifth column
We should all worry about the nameless/faceless individuals hired to do a dangerous job who may now be put in peril if WAPO prints. Even more so because this is pure politics. Somehow I think this expose of top-secret agencies and contractors is about a few of our pissed-off disfunctional democrat family members getting even with Mr. Hopium and his military policies.
elissa (40cbc5) — 7/16/2010 @ 5:07 pmDRJ naïvely asked:
Why, why, why, it’s the public’s right to know, don’t you know? Surely you realize that that trumps any concerns that people working for our national security might be put at risk.
The Dana who isn't naïve (474dfc) — 7/16/2010 @ 5:13 pmI’d suggest, however, that the report that “The publication may be a series of reports beginning Monday” sounds wrong to me: that’s a Sunday lead story if it’s ready.
The Dana who isn't a journalist (474dfc) — 7/16/2010 @ 5:15 pmIf the leaks are by Democrats and they hurt Obama, do they get investigated? I’m confused on the rules for intraparty squabbles.
daleyrocks (1d0d98) — 7/16/2010 @ 5:21 pmdaley, you really must try to keep up. In the past week the D intraparty squabble rules of engagement have changed dramatically. If you are a Dem or Dem hanger-on ascared of a November apocalypse, it is now acceptable to criticize the president for his poor communications strategy and the WH staff for their bungling of, well, everything. (e.g. Mark Shields on Newshour 7/16)
But of course these rules do not apply to right leaners who are still raaacist if they question the Pres., the White House staff or the Attorney General. Hope this helps.
elissa (40cbc5) — 7/16/2010 @ 5:34 pmThe writers and editors who worked on this piece should be tried for treason, under the applicable federal statutes.
Kevin Stafford (abdb87) — 7/16/2010 @ 6:20 pmelissa – I knew the rules had not changes for the right, but that there were some emerging developments going on over on the left. I know some people don’t want the kiss of death, Obama campaigning for them. I saw Baghdad Bob Gibbs get reamed out by Granny McRictusbotoxface for mispeaking over the weekend about Democrat prospects in the House midterm elections when he failed to guarantee the retention of a Democrat majority.
It’s getting pretty confusing.
daleyrocks (1d0d98) — 7/16/2010 @ 6:23 pmIt would be appropriate for the WaPo to discover that it had to publish under the laws of those regimes it supports.
htom (412a17) — 7/16/2010 @ 6:25 pmmight could be these are the organizations what are undermining Israel and supporting totalitarianism in Honduras and Venezuela and sabotaging cases against pedophile movie directors and spurning foreign help so as to exacerbate the damage of the oil spill.
inquiring minds wants to know
happyfeet (19c1da) — 7/16/2010 @ 6:39 pmNow, exactly why was it a huge issue to find who “outed” Valerie Plame, when she wasn’t really outed and they already knew?
How is it ok for a newspaper to print such information, especially if it is concerning people and companies really under cover??
Either it is treasonous and shows in addition how we have become a government of men rather than of the rule of law, or they are actually cooperating with the CIA/NSA, etc., and giving disinformation.
MD in Philly (3d3f72) — 7/16/2010 @ 7:04 pmWe deported Anna Chapman and kept these guys?
nk (db4a41) — 7/16/2010 @ 8:23 pmI really would not want to be the ISP hosting that site. They’ve shut down ISPs on copyright grounds already this year, and Top Secret material is usually a bit more protected than mere copyrights.
Kevin Murphy (5ae73e) — 7/16/2010 @ 8:26 pmif it’s damaging to America why would the administration shut it down?
happyfeet (19c1da) — 7/16/2010 @ 8:28 pmnk re your 8:23
no no no – Lenin wants the usuful idiots HERE…
EricPWJohnson (cedf1d) — 7/16/2010 @ 8:30 pmHere’s a lengthier memo. It seems the White House is a lot more concerned with the PR than with any actual damage to national security.
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2010/07/internal-memo-intelligence-community-frets-about-washington-post-series/59891/
And what I suppose is Ambinder’s informed speculation as to what will be published.
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2010/07/previewing-priest-inside-the-semi-secret-world-of-intelligence-contractors/59895/
kishnevi (3a3033) — 7/16/2010 @ 8:51 pmNo, you know the drill, it would probably be the only pro israel, anti Chavez elements. Wilson was in partnership with some big time Yemeni bigwigs
ian cormac (d28167) — 7/16/2010 @ 9:25 pmthe same who gave money to the Clinton library.
The Times burned the lead interrogator of Zubeydah, published logs of rendition flights, other publication published details of the Milan team to get that imam, including personal information
Either it is treasonous and shows in addition how we have become a government of men rather than of the rule of law, or they are actually cooperating with the CIA/NSA, etc., and giving disinformation.
I can’t for the life of me imagine the WaPo or NYT or Dog Trainer or any of ’em actually cooperating with the CIA or NSA, but I would love to think that they are unwittingly being used by those agencies to serve our foreign policy ends. That, of course, would presume that the CIA and NSA have their shinola together, which in and of itself is getting harder to believe.
JVW (a52530) — 7/16/2010 @ 9:53 pm…but I would love to think that they are unwittingly being used by those agencies to serve our foreign policy ends.
Now wouldn’t that be cool.
Pons Asinorum (7bcd43) — 7/16/2010 @ 10:16 pmOne thing you have to understand about investigative journalists and their chin-pulling enablers is they don’t give two toots about their “discoveries” or their “scoops,” except to advance their careers, and in a lot of cases, to promote whatever left-wing cause is currently in fashion. Consequences don’t enter into the equation.
Of course, you also have to consider the fact that sometimes real journalists do indeed do real work.
I like to live in a world that most people can differentiate between the two, but the formerly “trusted” sources are making it extremely difficult.
Ag80 (363d6e) — 7/16/2010 @ 10:17 pmAgree with you on that Ag80, but my money is on the busted clock theory (“even a broken clock is correct twice a day”).
I Hope and Pray that this leak is by design and for the benefit of our country. Honor and Leadership are in short supply at the Capitol (and that seems to be leeching into our state and city governments too), but maybe they can get this one right, maybe.
Pons Asinorum (7bcd43) — 7/16/2010 @ 10:27 pmIt’s like a game to them. “Hey, the government is keeping secrets. Let’s try to discover what they are!”
Icy Texan (c06a05) — 7/17/2010 @ 2:25 amTreason is only for the little people. When journalists do it, it’s a noble pursuit of the truth….
Tully (4dce1a) — 7/17/2010 @ 10:12 amMy understanding is that it will reveal which colleges and universities as well as corporations are doing top secret work under contract with the government.
You can be certain that these locations will be attacked by anti-war, anti-government activists, and targeted by the intelligence services of other nations.
And so who really benefits? WaPo gets a few more readers for a day or two and those opposed to our nation get free directions on how to harm us. Way to go WaPo!
in_awe (44fed5) — 7/17/2010 @ 12:55 pmand targeted by the intelligence services of other nations.
That implies those intelligence services don’t already know most, if not all, of the information that will be published. I’d be extremely surprised if at least China and Russia don’t already know.
kishnevi (8731ef) — 7/17/2010 @ 5:23 pmComment by JVW
You are of course correct, either I wasn’t thinking clearly for a millisecond, or I used the word “cooperating” very loosely, as you suggest, that they were helping the CIA/NSA whether they knew it or not.
I think we should publish a list of which employees of WaPo are on the dole of foreign governments (and which ones) according to our sources, which shall remain anonymous. We could even extend it to the NYT as well. Of course, our crack legal minds will keep us just this side of the law, which is better than what the others do.
MD in Philly (3d3f72) — 7/17/2010 @ 8:13 pmWasn’t the WaPo in high dudgeon over the Bush administration leaking the name of Valerie Plame? I guess national security breaches are only bad when Republicans do them.
Some chump (e334bf) — 7/17/2010 @ 8:46 pmMore evidence of the media’s double standard: ABC Indignant Over List of Illegals in Utah, ABC Condemns ‘Campaign of Intimidation’ by ‘Vigilantes’
ht Brent Baker on Newsbusters July 15 20:56
DFWlady (b62152) — 7/19/2010 @ 11:53 amMaybe WaPo is doing the right thing after all. http://projects.washingtonpost.com/top-secret-america/articles/a-hidden-world-growing-beyond-control/ (Link via Drudge.)
There’s some scary stuff, there, folks. Both for our liberty and for our wallets.
nk (db4a41) — 7/19/2010 @ 12:00 pm