I was determined to take the whole weekend off from this bloody blog, so I let a Sunday blog swarm pass me by. Time to play catch up.
Background
Back in July, the New York Times decided to run a story on a “secret” government terrorist-fighting program. Through the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT), a Belgium-based cooperative that serves as a clearinghouse for financial transactions, the United States tracks mostly overseas transactions to detect patterns of terrorist financing activities.
The NYT article acknowledged that SWIFT was legal, limited in scope, and successful in capturing terrorists.
The conservative blogosphere flipped out, with Michelle Malkin, LA Times critic Patterico, and others leading the charge. We all wondered why the paper decided to publish a story about a previously classified terrorist-fighting program, especially if it was legal and effective.
In Loose Lips, Sinking Ships, and the Fourth Estate, I listed a brief chronology of events, including links to subsequent articles and criticism. I appealed to the “bloggers as pamphleteers” idea and emphasized the importance of the constitutional protection of a free press. I support NYT‘s right to free press and informing the public, but I did not support their decision to expose a classified government program.
It’s as if the NYT doesn’t understand or care that we are fighting a war — with an enemy who lurks in different countries and hides in holes like a rat — whether they believe it is a just war or not. The nature of a war against religious fanatics who live all over the globe, as opposed to a specific country or countries, is such that secret surveillance and covert financial tracking are a must. Lives are at stake — Americans abroad and at home.
Byron Calame
Byron Calame is the public editor at NYT, a sort of liaison between the paper and the readers. In July, he stuck by his decision to move forward with the defense of the published story and defended himself against criticism. Yesterday, he issued a “mea culpa.” Calame’s confession appears on the second page (?) of his column:
My July 2 column strongly supported The Times’s decision to publish its June 23 article on a once-secret banking-data surveillance program. After pondering for several months, I have decided I was off base. There were reasons to publish the controversial article, but they were slightly outweighed by two factors to which I gave too little emphasis. While it’s a close call now, as it was then, I don’t think the article should have been published.
There’s more. But first, Michelle has some choice words for Calame, and she wonders why the “mea culpa” didn’t appear on the front page of the paper. (More here) She wrote a column about the disclosure.
Here is the “more” and why Byron Calame should resign:
What kept me from seeing these matters more clearly earlier in what admittedly was a close call? I fear I allowed the vicious criticism of The Times by the Bush administration to trigger my instinctive affinity for the underdog and enduring faith in a free press — two traits that I warned readers about in my first column.
Translation: I hate George Bush so much that I could not fairly and objectively do my job. I hate George Bush more than I want to protect the American people and catch terrorists.
Mr. Calame, I doubt you read my little blog, but if you do, pay careful attention. You are a disgrace to your profession and anti-America to boot. The NYT is transparently leftist, but you at least had the wherewithal to publicly confess your error, although you were less than honest about why you erred. As defiant as you are, you probably won’t resign. But conservative bloggers are on the case.
Readers, if you feel strongly that Calame failed in his duties and displayed a shocking disregard for classified information and national security, tell him how you feel. Call him at (212) 556-7652 or e-mail him at public@nytimes.com.
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Bloggers: Captain Ed, Patterico (also calling for resignation), Squiggler, Riehl World View, The Anchoress, Power Line, Wizbang, Daily Pundit…
