New York Times executive editor Bill Keller appeared on Face the Nation to defend his treasonous decision to publish information about the SWIFT program, which tracked terrorists’ banking accounts.
Keller attempted to play the sympathy card, saying the public doesn’t know when the NY Times DOES NOT publish sensitive information. If that wasn’t disgusting enough, Keller continued his defense and summed up the leak as “one man’s breach of security is another man’s public relations.”
As if that wasn’t disgusting enough; Keller continues to amaze us when he is asked for his closing thoughts about the incident as we begin to celebrate Independence Day:
BILL KELLER: If you’re under the impression that the press is neutral in this War on Terror, that we’re agnostic, and you could get that impression from some of the criticism, that couldn’t be more wrong.
VIDEO – .WMV
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1:35 pm [ Quote ]
I am not sure how much I agree with the NYTime actions because of the result at the end of the day. But I think the info they released was something that everyone knew about already and was public knowledge. Repeating public info might help the bad guys – but I can’t for the life of me think the terrorists who siphone money from american and arab charaties so well doesn’t think that the transactions are all reviewed by someone in the US. There is enough other info about money being siezed of criminals in the past.
1:36 pm [ Quote ]
Wow, I guess A LOT of organizations are being treasonous:
From The Boston Globe:
A search of public records — government documents posted on the Internet, congressional testimony, guidelines for bank examiners, and even an executive order President Bush signed in September 2001 — describe how US authorities have openly sought new tools to track terrorist financing since 2001. That includes getting access to information about terrorist-linked wire transfers and other transactions, including those that travel through SWIFT.
‘There have been public references to SWIFT before,’ said Roger Cressey, a senior White House counterterrorism official until 2003. ‘The White House is overreaching when they say [The New York Times committed] a crime against the war on terror. It has been in the public domain before.’
From Victor Comras, a counterterrorism expert formerly with the State Department and United Nations:
Reports on US monitoring of SWIFT transactions have been out there for some time. The information was fairly well known by terrorism financing experts back in 2002. The UN Al Qaeda and Taliban Monitoring Group, on which I served as the terrorism financing expert, learned of the practice during the course of our monitoring inquiries. The information was incorporated in our report to the UN Security Council in December 2002. That report is still available on the UN Website. Paragraph 31 of the report states:
‘The settlement of international transactions is usually handled through correspondent banking relationships or large-value message and payment systems, such as the SWIFT, Fedwire or CHIPS systems in the United States of America. Such international clearance centres are critical to processing international banking transactions and are rich with payment information. The United States has begun to apply new monitoring techniques to spot and verify suspicious transactions. The Group recommends the adoption of similar mechanisms by other countries.’
From commentator Alex Koppelman, who sums things up pretty well:
This isn’t about whether the Times (but, uh, not the Journal) violated national security, not really. It’s about changing the subject, about diverting attention, once again, from an administration that has systematically been bending and breaking the law and the Constitution in order to assemble ever more information about all of us. The convenient scapegoat, once again, is the press, and the liars — come on, let’s call them what they are here — are proving once again that when it comes to political gain, no fundamental American value will stand in the way.
2:06 pm [ Quote ]
This is a major problem, the public’s belief, (or the government’s assertion that this is the public’s belief) that the terrorists are naive, hopeless fools who stumble around in the dark and sometimes get lucky, read the NYT or watch CNN to get their latest news. That can’t be further from the truth.
This is a highly industrious, global organization that is more than likely aware of many government programs that the US public is not and probably has sleeper cells that have been in place in the US for years, possibly a decade or more.
Are we to believe that an organization who could coordinate the 9/11 attacks without any authority uncovering them, continue to wage a global war on terror, and whose leader we have been unable to capture in 5 years of trying, is not already fully aware of what “probable” steps the government is taking to track them?
You are only fooling yourself if you believe that this sort of “leak” aids the terrorists. The 7 fools in Miami? Quite possibly. Al Qaeda? I doubt it.
All this shows is the NYT’s dislike for Bush, it has nothing to do with leaking documents relating to our “National Security”.
2:27 pm [ Quote ]
[...] Anyway, here’s the clip. I had to edit it down pretty heavily to get it into the ballpark of fair use, including snipping the part where he says he’d publish the story again if given the chance to do it over. If you want to subject yourself to the whole eleven-minute clip, Ian’s got it. [...]
2:30 pm [ Quote ]
[...] Bill Keller was on Face the Nation this morning. Expose the Left has the video, and you have to see it to believe it. [...]
2:40 pm [ Quote ]
“the liars — come on, let’s call them what they are here — are proving once again that when it comes to political gain, no fundamental American value will stand in the way.”
A perfect description of Howard Dean, that.
3:21 pm [ Quote ]
ACLU Condemns House Resolution Approving SWIFT Program…
Yesterday, the House of Representatives condemned the NY Times and other news sources for leaking classified information about the government tracking international bank transactions in efforts of tracing terror funds.
Lawmakers expressed their sent…
3:35 pm [ Quote ]
Who ever accused the press of being neutral?
4:52 pm [ Quote ]
Past time for a hangin’...
Keller on Face the NationPatterico Bill Keller was on Face the Nation this morning. Expose the Left has the video, and you have to see it to believe it. You know the utter arrogance you have seen in this man’s…
5:24 pm [ Quote ]
[...] Exose the Left: Keller: ‘If You’re Under The Impression That The Press Is Neutral’, ‘That Couldn’t Be More Wrong’ (VIDEO) New York Times executive editor Bill Keller appeared on Face the Nation to defend his treasonous decision to publish information about the SWIFT program, which tracked terrorists’ banking accounts. [...]
7:31 pm [ Quote ]
The press is not neutral? Of course they’re not, they openly root for the terrorists. They don’t call him Abu Musab al-Keller for nothing.
7:42 pm [ Quote ]
Keller tries to defend outing a top secret program to catch terrorists. Let the bush bashing begin….
Video: Keller’s Independence Day message to America Understandably, with all of the anger over the leaks, and the editors of papers publishing that classified information, the editors in question are backtracking, and tr…
8:57 pm [ Quote ]
Quote of the Day…
Well, I gotta give him props for actually admitting it: ...
10:14 pm [ Quote ]
did keller just admit he was for the terrorists? gee and i had hoped i was wrong…
10:29 pm [ Quote ]
Those, like Imzadi and Constantine, who defend the NYT’s publication of the SWIFT program as merely a matter of publishing puiblic information are being disingenuous to the point of being stupid. It is a poor attempt to parrot the Keller NYT line so as to deflect attention from what was a bit of treasonous on the part of the NYT. The details of the SWIFT program were not known, and there was no good reason to publish them. The NYT put it on the front page not because people knew and it was no big deal, but because it was a big deal.
In World War II, it was publicly known and Germany knew very well that America was shipping material and equipment to Britain by way of the Atlantic Ocean. But no one but a traitor would have published such details as ship sailing times, claiming that it was public knowledge that America was shipping material and equipment to Britain.
10:31 pm [ Quote ]
keller says we’re not neutral on this. [sic WOT]
have to agree with him, the NYslimes and keller are full blown traitors.
11:49 pm [ Quote ]
Yet it is strangely fascinating to observe how many more words are being used to manipulate the truth of the matter.
As usual, the left has attempted to have the same ball spinning in several directions at the same time.
Deranged, pathological, psychotic, depraved and absolutely unable to realize it.
Which is one of the signs and symptoms, of course.
.
11:58 pm [ Quote ]
Al Qaeda has long worked to manipulate the media in its favor. It can disband that operation now, knowing that, unbidden, America’s most powerful newspaper is looking out for its interests.
4:06 am [ Quote ]
Victor Vicadin: Being a service member who has fought both terror and the drug wars, I know first hand that sometimes it is the actions of one careless, ignorant, and over-confident bad guy that leads to the bust of more important and more dangerous people. By publishing, or republishing, secrets that people supposedly already know you greatly decrease the chances of a moron or an over-confident and careless terrorist leading us to their leaders, or even thwarting another attack.
And the NY Times was specific. I did not know specifically which international banking programs were being monitored, nor did I know we had this level cooperation with those banks. So what if they no longer want to help us in the future because over and over again our media has revealed that we cannot keep secrets. Then our ability to catch terrorists is greatly hindered.
It is amazing what intel our enemies get from our own media. you dont even have to reveal dricet secrets. You can get valuable intel from seemingly irrelevant (irrelevant according to our MSM now) info pieced together from articles here and there.
Our media CAN have an effect of helping or hindering our effort in wars. Why did Japan not continue its bombing of America? Because they did not know of any of its successes thanks to our patriotic media (back then) cooperating with our gov’t and keeping it quiet.
“The bombs actually caused little damage, but their potential for destruction and fires was large. The bombs also had a potential psychological effect on the American people. The U.S. strategy was to not let Japan know of the balloon bombs’ effectiveness. Cooperating with the desires of the government, the press did not publish any balloon bomb incidents. As a result, the Japanese only learned of one bomb reaching Wyoming, landing and failing to explode, so they stopped the launches after less than six months.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fire_balloon
9:07 am [ Quote ]
Keller: ‘If You’re Under The Impression That The Press Is Neutral’, ‘That Couldn’t Be More Wrong’
WHAT YOU’RE DOING IS LOUD I CAN’T HEAR WHAT YOU’RE SAYING!
9:14 am [ Quote ]
Well, if the NYT contends that this program is so well known, then what story is there to begin with? What could they have possibly add to what we already know?
10:10 am [ Quote ]
Well, if the NYT contends that this program is so well known, then what story is there to begin with? What could they have possibly add to what we already know?
They were just using it for filler, they have already gotten into trouble for making up news.
10:33 am [ Quote ]
Victor Vicadin: Being a service member who has fought both terror and the drug wars, I know first hand that sometimes it is the actions of one careless, ignorant, and over-confident bad guy that leads to the bust of more important and more dangerous people. By publishing, or republishing, secrets that people supposedly already know you greatly decrease the chances of a moron or an over-confident and careless terrorist leading us to their leaders, or even thwarting another attack.
And the NY Times was specific. I did not know specifically which international banking programs were being monitored, nor did I know we had this level cooperation with those banks. So what if they no longer want to help us in the future because over and over again our media has revealed that we cannot keep secrets. Then our ability to catch terrorists is greatly hindered.
It is amazing what intel our enemies get from our own media. you dont even have to reveal dricet secrets. You can get valuable intel from seemingly irrelevant (irrelevant according to our MSM now) info pieced together from articles here and there.
Our media CAN have an effect of helping or hindering our effort in wars. Why did Japan not continue its bombing of America? Because they did not know of any of its successes thanks to our patriotic media (back then) cooperating with our gov’t and keeping it quiet.
“The bombs actually caused little damage, but their potential for destruction and fires was large. The bombs also had a potential psychological effect on the American people. The U.S. strategy was to not let Japan know of the balloon bombs’ effectiveness. Cooperating with the desires of the government, the press did not publish any balloon bomb incidents. As a result, the Japanese only learned of one bomb reaching Wyoming, landing and failing to explode, so they stopped the launches after less than six months.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fire_balloon
Dittos to you analysis el guapo from another old drug warrior!!
10:37 am [ Quote ]
from http://mediamatters.org/items/200606280010#20060629
* In a September 24, 2001, speech, Bush announced the establishment of a “foreign terrorist asset tracking center at the Department of the Treasury to identify and investigate the financial infrastructure of the international terrorist networks.” He added, “It will bring together representatives of the intelligence, law enforcement and financial regulatory agencies to accomplish two goals: to follow the money as a trail to the terrorists, to follow their money so we can find out where they are; and to freeze the money to disrupt their actions.”
* In a September 24, 2001, letter to Congress, Bush noted, “Terrorists and terrorist networks operate across international borders and derive their financing from sources in many nations. Often, terrorist property and financial assets lie outside the jurisdiction of the United States.” He affirmed his commitment to working with international agencies such as the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) “to build momentum and practical cooperation in the fight to stop the flow of resources to support terrorism.”
* A White House fact sheet published on September 24, 2001, noted the launch of the Treasury Department’s Foreign Terrorist Asset Tracking Center (FTAT): “The FTAT is a multi-agency task force that will identify the network of terrorist funding and freeze assets before new acts of terrorism take place.”
* In a September 26, 2001, statement, Bush said, “We’re fighting them on a financial front. We’re choking off their money. We’re seizing their assets. We will be relentless as we pursue their sources of financing. And I want to thank the Secretary of Treasury for leading that effort.”
* On October 10, 2001, Bush stated that the “nations of NATO are sharing intelligence, coordinating law enforcement and cracking down on the financing of terrorist organizations.”
* During remarks at FTAT, then-Treasury Seceretary Paul O’Neill said, “[W]e have begun to act – to block assets, to seize books, records and evidence, and to follow audit trails to track terrorist cells poised to do violence to our common interests. ” O’Neill added, “We have built an international coalition to deny terrorists access to the world financial system.”
* A December 2001 report on the steps the administration had taken to combat terrorism noted that the FATF “—a 29-nation group promoting policies to combat money laundering—adopted strict new standards to deny terrorist access to the world financial system.”
* A September 10, 2004, Treasury Department statement read: “The targeting of terrorist financing continues to play an important role in the war on terror. Freezing assets, terminating cash flows, and following money trails to previously unknown terrorist cells are some of the many weapons used against terrorist networks.”
Moreover, SWIFT’s cooperation in international efforts to monitor terrorists’ banking activities was a matter of public knowledge long before the Times detailed the Treasury Department program. As former Bush administration counterterrorism official Roger Cressey noted in the June 28 Globe article, “There have been public references to SWIFT before. ... It has been in the public domain before.” Indeed, in his June 28 column, WashingtonPost.com columnist Dan Froomkin noted that according to SWIFT’s website, the consortium has a “history of cooperating in good faith with authorities such as central banks, treasury departments, law enforcement agencies and appropriate international organisations, such as the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), in their efforts to combat abuse of the financial system for illegal activities.” And as former State Department official Victor Comras noted in a June 23 Counterterrorism Blog post, the United Nations Al Qaeda and Taliban Monitoring Group learned of the SWIFT program years ago—a fact the group incorporated into its December 2002 report to the U.N. Security Council:
The settlement of international transactions is usually handled through correspondent banking relationships or large-value message and payment systems, such as the SWIFT, Fedwire or CHIPS systems in the United States of America. Such international clearance centres are critical to processing international banking transactions and are rich with payment information. The United States has begun to apply new monitoring techniques to spot and verify suspicious transactions. The Group recommends the adoption of similar mechanisms by other countries.
11:02 am [ Quote ]
Moleboy
also from your source
“But while the details of the U.S. government’s tracking of terrorist finances may not have been known”
Note the word DETAILS and the phrase ‘may not have been known’
Everyone knows there are troops in Iraq, just like everyone knows we are tracking terrorist transactions. However not every one knows the details of the operations they are involved in because they are CLASSIFIED,not everyone knew the details of HOW the govt was tracking terrorist transactions because they were CLASSIFED. That is until the NYT decided ON THEIR OWN to obtain and publish CLASSIFIED info with the help of those on the inside.
11:06 am [ Quote ]
which is exactly the point of the 1st Ammendment.
If it weren’t for actions like these taken by the NYT, we wouldn’t know that our phones are being watched.
11:09 am [ Quote ]
(of course, if the media was really doing its job, maybe we would have found out that the WMD idea was a joke)
11:53 am [ Quote ]
which is exactly the point of the 1st Ammendment.
If it weren’t for actions like these taken by the NYT, we wouldn’t know that our phones are being watched.
The 1st amendment does not provide for the disclosure of CLASSIFIED documents
Your telephone is not being watched nor is your bank account
unless you are a terrorist but then if you were you’d KNOW about it because of the NYT wouldnt you?
Stop FEELING and start THINKING
12:10 pm [ Quote ]
Keller: ‘If You’re Under The Impression That The Press Is Neutral’, ‘That Couldn’t Be More Wrong’
Wasn’t this the same Keller who apologized to a group of graduates recently about saddling them with “a war”?
He’s right, the press isn’t neutral at all, they’re defending the terrorists, giving aid and comfort. From his own words to his judgement about printing the story is enough to at least investigate the idea of treason.
12:16 pm [ Quote ]
Oh, no, I’m mistaken, it was Arthur Sulzberger…yeah…uh-huh…hmmmm
12:18 pm [ Quote ]
“It wasn’t supposed to be this way,” Sulzberger said. “You weren’t supposed to be graduating in an America fighting a misbegotten war in a foreign land.”
Sounds very neutral to me, don’tcha think?
3:36 pm [ Quote ]
[...] * It just keeps getting worse for the NY Times and LA Times in their continued pathetic attempts to justify the outing of the SWIFT banking terrorist-monitoring program last week. Word on the street is that both papers are hemorrhaging subscriptions, which is as it should be. Michelle Malkin has the latest. [...]
4:41 pm [ Quote ]
Arrogance—Thy Name Is Bill Keller…
I don’t think it put any lives at risk.
Beating up on the New York Times is red meat for the Conservative Base.
If You’re Under The Impression That The Press Is Neutral, That Couldn’t Be More Wrong.
I’ve just finished viewing yesterday m…
6:51 pm [ Quote ]
The “Bloggfather” was right on when he used this analogy regarding the NYT’s denials and BS when it pertains to the publishing of Classified Information.
“It’s the difference between knowing that people are out to catch speeders in most cities and knowing where the speed traps and the radar and the cameras are”.
7:27 pm [ Quote ]
On April 27, 1961, President John Kennedy delivered a speech before the American Newspaper Publishers Association at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York. He addressed the issue of the press’s role in preserving national security in the Cold War. President Kennedy lamented the fact that secret information about America’s covert operations had routinely appeared in American newspapers, to be read by friend and foe alike. He noted that the Communists had openly boasted of gaining information from American newspapers that they would otherwise have had to use spies to attempt to steal. And he called on newspapers not to publish stories based on the single test, Is it news? but rather to add a second test: How does it affect national security?
What else can be said. Even John F. Kennedy a Democrat new right from wrong. Even a conservative like myself can appreciate his words and wisdom.
12:43 pm [ Quote ]
Wizbang Podcast #28…
Here’s what I thought you’d like to hear about today: When Should The Press Shut Their Traps? – Just ask JFKSelf Cannonization in the Press – What they think of themselves and their critics Listen Subscribe Add Wizbang Podcast to…...
12:39 pm [ Quote ]
[...] Of course, if you want to see all 15 or so minutes of Bill Keller being pugnaciously smug, check out the video link at Expose the Left. I especially appreciated Keller’s statement about the New York Times’ editorial board and the MSM in general: If You’re Under The Impression That The Press Is Neutral, That Couldn’t Be More Wrong. [...]
8:05 pm [ Quote ]
“We’re Not Neutral In This”...
In his weekly appearance yesterday on Hugh Hewitt’s radio show, Mark Steyn asked a great question of the New York Times:HH: Now over at Powerline, John Hinderaker has discovered some November, 2005, articles by Eric Lichtblau, the reporter who along…..
12:38 am [ Quote ]
[...] Well, I gotta give him props for actually admitting it: If you’re under the impression that the press is neutral in this War on Terror, that we’re agnostic, and you could get that impression from some of the criticism, that couldn’t be more wrong. Said by New York Times Exectuive editor Bill Keller on Face the Nation. Ian has the video. [...]