Saturday, April 22, 2006

No tears for the CIA leaker

NBC News reports:

In a rare occurrence, the CIA fired an officer who acknowledged giving classified information to a reporter, NBC News learned Friday. …

The leak pertained to stories on the CIA’s rumored secret prisons in Eastern Europe, sources told NBC.

The information was allegedly provided to Dana Priest of the Washington Post, who wrote about CIA prisons in November and was awarded a Pulitzer Prize on Monday for her reporting.

Sources said the CIA believes McCarthy had more than a dozen unauthorized contacts with Priest. Information about subjects other than the prisons may have been leaked as well….(full story here)
How did America get so weak that it’s now “a rare occurrence ” when we fire a CIA officer who gave classified secrets to conduits the officer knew would disclose them to America’s enemies?

What about Dana Priest and The Washington (“No Danish cartoons.”) Post?

For starters, they need to tell us why they and other MSM news organizations disclose America's national security secrets, and thereby put us all at greater risk than we already are? What’s written in the Constitution that says Priest and The Post can put us at greater risk?

I’ve got a lot more questions. I’m sure you do too.

So I’m going to keep returning to these questions.

I plan to give them as much priority as I’ve given The N&O’s “journalism.”

We need to get things turned around. America's national security shouldn't be in the hands of the liberal/leftists who dominate news reporting at WaPo and NYT.

What are you're thought's about all of this?

I continue to appreciate your interest, comments and support.

John

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

My thoughts?

Blindfold, cigarettes, brick wall, Priestly, McCarthy, editors, firing squad, some assembly required. Clean up necessary.

JWM said...

Dear straightarrow,

You mentioned leaving a comment at Sill's blog.

I went there tonight and couldn't find it.

Where did you leave it?

Best,

John

Anonymous said...

It is here John under "LaCrosse Team:Beyond the Rape Claim." In case I didn't mark it right I have reproduced it here.

http://blogs.newsobserver.com/editor/index.php?title=lacrosse_team_beyond_the_rape_claim&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1#comments

04/21/06 at 16:16
I am not unidentified to you. You have my email address in my real name, so don't go there.

Where are all the headlines and stories questioning the reality of the occurrence of the crime. To date, no one, has given any evidence, other than the uncorroborated and disputed word of a known liar and lawbreaker, that a crime has occurred. The facts of her previous dishonesty and troubles with the law, do not automatically preclude her story being true. However, in the view of the lack of any physical evidence and in view of the early versions of witness statements (though some have now changed their statements as their status as probationary felons has become known) where is all your high dudgeon that Nifong has not even established that a crime has been committed? Why have you not asked this question? It is so obvious that any 4 year old would have asked, yet your staff did not.

Why hasn't there been a story about discrepancy in early and late versions of the story? Why have you not asked how many rehearsals ...er, uh ... Nifong probably called them interviews he has had between the time he learned that DNA evidence did not exist to substantiate a crime, and he advised the young woman that identifying someone would trump evidence? Why did you not follow up on questions such as those? Did you ask stripper number two what considerations she will get for her altered testimony? Did you examine the terms of her felony probation to see if Nifong had leverage to gain compliance with an agenda?

NO, you did not do any of those things, nor did you raise any of those questions. You have no right to maintain that you report the news, let alone that you report it fairly.

What you have done is deeply wound your community and negated years of effort and valor of the people that sacrificed so much to put an end to just this behavior. I do not believe Dr. King would approve you or the black leadership in your community and their apologists that have embraced racial hatred and economic envy instead of the pursuit of justice.

If the young woman was raped, she deserves justice, as does the community. There is just too much wrong with this rush to condemnation with no fuel for it but hatred on one side, and profit on yours and election hopes on Nifong's. Shame on you, for your beat the drum that caused this to be a divisive controversy rather than a communal seeking of justice wherever the evidence may have led. You and your paper have done all you could to make the evidence irrelevant. Shame on you.

Anonymous said...

I'm sure the MSM will portray McCarthy as a victim, but I have no sympathy for her at all. If she disagreed with CIA policy, she should have quit her job. And the media (especially Washington Post & NY Times) are just as despicable for publishing the leaked information.

LargeBill said...

Who you choose to honor says a lot about a society or organization. The Pulitzer Prize is the highest award in journalism. This week Dana Priest was awarded a Pulitzer for actions which should have her traitor butt in prison. The Pulitzer prize should be regarded in the same light as the Nobel. Both used to mean something but now I'd be embarrassed to receive either.

Anonymous said...

And the funny thing about Priest is that the Pulitzer was awarded to a reporter who reported on something that may not have existed in the first place.