Killing the Messenger

Homeland Security panel boss urges criminal charges against newspapers

The chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee urged the Bush administration on Sunday to seek criminal charges against newspapers that reported on a secret financial-monitoring program used to trace terrorists.

Rep. Peter King cited The New York Times in particular for publishing a story last week that the Treasury Department was working with the CIA to examine messages within a massive international database of money-transfer records.

King, R-N.Y., said he would write Attorney General Alberto Gonzales urging that the nation's chief law enforcer "begin an investigation and prosecution of The New York Times — the reporters, the editors and the publisher."

"We're at war, and for the Times to release information about secret operations and methods is treasonous," King told The Associated Press.

I find the call for the reporters and the paper to be charged as criminals to be utterly ridiculous and completely against anything that even vaguely resembles "American."

Here's the bottom line: If the newspaper learns about your "secret" program, it obviously wasn't that secret to begin with. As a general rule, if an underfunded journalist can dig up the information, it is far from secure from espionage agents backed by a foreign government.

It really is that simple.

I fully understand and appreciate the need for some secrecy when it comes to issues of national security. I don't think we need up to the minute reports from embedded journalists during a major troop mobilization. I don't think we even need to know--right now--what's going on with any military action. That information still needs to be recorded and documented by reputable independent news people (there's really nothing more important to future generations than good documentation of the past) and it does need to eventually be released (maybe a day, maybe a week, maybe ten years later, but probably not much longer than two decades--ever).

But, if people within the system are willing to talk about the secret operations to reporters, you've already lost your advantage. You core personnel obviously don't trust what you're doing. It is a wake-up call that you need to re-evaluate your program, your policy and, perhaps, even your intent.

There is a sacred trust between a governed people and their chosen government. In this nation today, that trust has been bent, twisted and breached too often. There are enough doubters out there now that no large-scale operation can be run without someone leaking that information to the press.

So what's the solution? How about full transparency? Instead of running clandestine programs, shout out loud about everything you're doing to track down the "bad guys"--use it to scare them. Making noise about what you're doing can be just as effective as being secretive about it.

Heck, you may even gain popular support for some things again.

If nothing else, you'll really get a quick feel for the will of the people who's best interests you're supposed to be serving.