[ZESTMedia] Journalism vs. security

Mon, 15 May 2006 05:18:37 -0700

http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/opinion/la-oe-hoekstra13may13,1,6920747.story

 

Rep. Pete Hoekstra: Journalism vs. security
Leaking classified information puts American lives at risk, says
Republican congressman.
By Pete Hoekstra
PETE HOEKSTRA (R-Mich.) is chairman of the House Intelligence
Committee.

May 13, 2006

WE ARE IN the first war of the Information Age, and we have a critical
advantage over our enemy: We are far better at gathering intelligence.
It's an advantage we must utilize, and it's keeping us safe.

But every time classified national security information is leaked, our
ability to gather information on those who would do us harm is eroded.

We suffered a setback Thursday when USA Today ran a front-page story
alleging that the National Security Agency was collecting domestic phone
records. This article hurt our efforts to protect Americans by giving
the enemy valuable insights into the Terrorist Surveillance Program,
which has been focused like a laser beam on Al Qaeda and its known
associates.

President Bush's job is to defend our nation and prevent another
terrorist attack. He has taken many vital steps to combat Al Qaeda and other
terrorist groups. The Terrorist Surveillance Program does not target
ordinary U.S. citizens. This is a valuable program that I strongly
support because it is protecting American lives. Let me say a few things
about this program.

First, to protect the American people, our government needs to know
whether individuals already in the U.S. are communicating with known Al
Qaeda terrorists or associates. The program disrupts terrorist planning
and the organizing of terrorist attacks.

Second, the program fully complies with the law and the Constitution.
It has been reviewed by executive branch attorneys, and congressional
leaders from both parties â€" including my friend and colleague Rep. Jane
Harman (D-Venice) â€" have been regularly briefed. Democratic leaders
in the House and Senate have been aware of this program for several
years yet never expressed any concerns until it was illegally leaked.

And third, persons entrusted with extremely sensitive information about
this program have taken it upon themselves to jeopardize it by leaking
to the news media. This is a breach of trust with the American public,
and I am concerned that my Democratic colleagues are turning a blind
eye to this illegal activity. As Americans, we should all be ashamed that
Al Qaeda can learn about our efforts to defend our nation just by
picking up the morning paper.

The problem for responsible members of the administration, and the
intelligence committees in Congress, is that we are not allowed to discuss
intelligence leaks. We cannot tell the public details of the damage
that has been done to our ability to stay a step ahead of Al Qaeda because
to do so would confirm that damage â€" and that would help the enemy
just as much as a leak.

We cannot tell the public whether American intelligence officers have
died since 9/11 protecting the secrets that are being cavalierly leaked.
We cannot discuss the financial losses incurred when top-secret
technologies developed at huge cost to taxpayers are revealed on Page 1,
rendering them useless against our foes. What I can assure you is that leaks
are costly in every sense of the word. They endanger all Americans.

I regret that I see little sign of intolerance for unauthorized
disclosures of intelligence to the media from some of my Democratic colleagues
today. If an individual with knowledge of the Terrorist Surveillance
Program thought it was wrong or illegal, he or she could have gone to the
intelligence oversight committees under the procedures established by
law. By going to the media, the leaker broke the law and the oath he or
she swore to protect the nation's legitimate secrets.

This was a grave crime that helped Al Qaeda and its allies in the
information war by providing an understanding of our defenses and
vulnerabilities against terrorist attacks.

We are a nation at war. Unauthorized disclosures of classified
information only help terrorists and our enemies â€" and put American lives at
risk.

 



--
Members of the ZESTMedia list exchange news and views about the media in Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Maldives and Bhutan. Write to [email protected]

If you got this mail as a forward, subscribe to ZESTMedia by sending a blank mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] OR, if you have a Yahoo! ID, by visiting http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTMedia/join/

Get all ZESTMedia mails sent out in a span of 24 hours in a single mail. Subscribe to the daily digest version by sending a blank mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED], OR, if you have a Yahoo! Id, change your settings at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTMedia/join/

theZESTcommunity-------------------------------------------------

ZESTCurrent: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTCurrent/
ZESTEconomics: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTEconomics/
ZESTGlobal: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTGlobal/
ZESTMedia: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTMedia/
ZESTPoets: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTPoets/
ZESTCaste: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTCaste/
ZESTAlternative: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTAlternative/
TalkZEST: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TalkZEST/


YAHOO! GROUPS LINKS



Reply via email to