Should media reveal US secrets in defeating terrorism?

Lee Ellis

Republicans have all been complaining, rightfully, about the Far Left stance by the Main Stream Media and its lack of support for winning our war against terrorism by trying to establish an oasis of democracy in the Middle East.

But now, both Republicans and Democrats should unite against the sedition shown by four of these newspapers, led by The New York Times and followed by The Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal.

The revelation to the public and to our enemy terrorists about how we were tracking terrorist banking transactions was espionage at its worst. The CIA had been secretly tracking down the financial roots of terrorism and freezing the funds or passing along names and addresses of terrorists to the proper authorities for infiltration or arrest.

Members of the Congressional Intelligence Committee (both Democrat and Republican) had all been informed that the CIA used the SWIFT services located in Belgium to legally ferret out these terrorist fund exchanges. SWIFT (an acronym for Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication) is the financial industry-owned co-operative supplying secure, standardized messaging services and interface software to 7,800 financial institutions in more than 200 countries. SWIFT's worldwide community includes banks, broker/dealers and investment managers, as well as their market infrastructures in payments, securities, treasury and trade. )

Obviously, someone in the government, perhaps a Congressional member, had leaked this story to The New York Times. Both Democrats and Republican members on the Intelligence Committee pleaded with Bill Keller, Editor, and his staff, after proving to them the importance and the legality of this anti-terrorist clandestine operation NOT to reveal its existence. They reasoned that such a revelation could get the terrorists to change their method of funneling funds back and forth, thus resulting in more attacks on the US! This surveillance had already led to the arrest of a terrorist in Brooklyn and the infamous Bali bomber.

Even though this story had no public need to know and that John Snow and Stuart Levey of the Treasury Department along with others had thoroughly demonstrated both the operational limits and the legality of this anti-terrorist action, Bill Keller chose to print it Friday on page one while delegating the Miami terrorist cell story to page 21. Of course, the Washington Post, LA Times and the WSJ had to match them. The Post even added its own interpretation of the dangers to the average citizen's privacy. There is actually none. As Tony Snow told the clamoring reporters along with the heckling Helen Thomas in the Washington Press Corp today, "You only have to worry if you are a terrorist; no one is spying on you or me!"

What we see here can only be called "aiding and abetting the enemies of the United States of America." In my opinion, there is no difference between what The New York Times did and what Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, American citizens, did back in the early 50s. This couple was charged, in 1951, with conspiracy to commit espionage and of passing secrets to Russia. The Rosenbergs were convicted under section 2 of the Espionage Act, 50 U.S. Code 32 (now 18 U.S. Code 794), which prohibits transmitting or attempting to transmit to a foreign government information "relating to the national defense."

Is not this the same thing that these newspapers did with this information? Should not Bill Keller, Editor of The New York Times be charged under this law for revealing secrets to our enemies who have vowed to kill all Americans? Jeff Babbin, former Undersecretary of Defense suggested that this should happen; however, Judge Andrew Napolitano said it should be the leaker that is arrested.

These papers were the first to scream for the name of the person in the White House who leaked Valerie Plame's name to the press. How come they are not now demanding the name of the person in Congress or in the CIA who leaked this to The New York Times?

What say you? Which is more important to you, having access to all the secrets the US is using to defeat the terrorism that threatens the destruction of our country, or to emulate what we did to win WWII - to do whatever is necessary to win a war and what must be done to prevent Americans from being blown apart in their homes or businesses?

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Lee Ellis is a retired journalist and narrator, formerly with both CBS and Gannett (USA Weekend). He was also a combat veteran of WWII, having fought in the South Pacific invasions. He had the pleasure of interviewing Ronald Reagan as an actor and then later working to help him become Governor of California. At the age of 80, he is keeping busy writing and doing free lance narrations for radio and television. He is an active member of Rotary and the VFW.

indiolee@dc.rr.com