NY Times
So the New York Times wants to "expose" the administration's program for studying finances and transactions throughout the world to allow us to freeze terrorism money. I have a different word for this: compromising our national security. Interestingly, it was the SAME FUCKING PAPER that published the following article right after 9/11:
"Organizing the hijacking of the planes that crashed into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon took significant sums of money. The cost of these plots suggests that putting Osama bin Laden and other international terrorists out of business will require more than diplomatic coalitions and military action. Washington and its allies must also disable the financial networks used by terrorists. The Bush administration is preparing new laws to help track terrorists through their money-laundering activity and is readying an executive order freezing the assets of known terrorists. Much more is needed, including stricter regulations, the recruitment of specialized investigators and greater cooperation with foreign banking authorities. There must also must be closer coordination among America's law enforcement, national security and financial regulatory agencies.
Osama bin Laden originally rose to prominence because his inherited fortune allowed him to bankroll Arab volunteers fighting Soviet forces in Afghanistan. Since then, he has acquired funds from a panoply of Islamic charities and illegal and legal businesses, including export-import and commodity trading firms, and is estimated to have as much as $300 million at his disposal.
Some of these businesses move funds through major commercial banks that lack the procedures to monitor such transactions properly. Locally, terrorists can utilize tiny unregulated storefront financial centers, including what are known as hawala banks, which people in South Asian immigrant communities in the United States and other Western countries use to transfer money abroad. Though some smaller financial transactions are likely to slip through undetected even after new rules are in place, much of the financing needed for major attacks could dry up.
Washington should revive international efforts begun during the Clinton administration to pressure countries with dangerously loose banking regulations to adopt and enforce stricter rules. These need to be accompanied by strong sanctions against doing business with financial institutions based in these nations. The Bush administration initially opposed such measures. But after the events of Sept. 11, it appears ready to embrace them.
The Treasury Department also needs new domestic legal weapons to crack down on money laundering by terrorists. The new laws should mandate the identification of all account owners, prohibit transactions with "shell banks" that have no physical premises and require closer monitoring of accounts coming from countries with lax banking laws. Prosecutors, meanwhile, should be able to freeze more easily the assets of suspected terrorists. The Senate Banking Committee plans to hold hearings this week on a bill providing for such measures. It should be approved and signed into law by President Bush.
New regulations requiring money service businesses like the hawala banks to register and imposing criminal penalties on those that do not are scheduled to come into force late next year. The effective date should be moved up to this fall, and rules should be strictly enforced the moment they take effect. If America is going to wage a new kind of war against terrorism, it must act on all fronts, including the financial one. "
So where does this liberal piece of shit "newspaper" draw the line? Like most of today's liberal politicians they want it both ways on every issue. They refuse to take a solid stance and sway whichever way the political winds are blowing. The New York Times should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Just because they think the public has to know everything they are endangering people. Sorry, but I didn't need to know about this story and what we're doing to try to thwart terrorism. Neither did anyone else. The only reason the story was published was not to report but to try and advance the agenda of a biased "media" outlet who's circulation is dropping by the day.

4 Comments:
I did actually read this Vinny and I agree with your last statements. I think the media reports too much. Sometimes I think they tip the terroritst off.
The worst mistake we ever made was allowing embedded reporters to ride along with military units. The public becomes accustomed to knowing and seeing anything and everything. There's absolutely no need that people need to be made aware of clandestine type operations and procedures. Anyone who thinks secrecy is not essential to effective governing as well as combatting terrorism or fighting wars is a blind fucking moron. You're absolutely right it tips those assholes off. I guess the NY Times thinks the bad guys might not read the newspapers. That's okay, their circulation is dropping by the thousands daily.
It's not just them and it's not just about terrorism. I'm always seeing crap on the news about people breaking the law and they tell you exactly how they did it. Like identity theft.......I've learned several times on TV how to steal someone's identity. It’s ridiculous the things they cover. I think that sometimes it just makes the criminals smarter. I especially love when they are trying to find someone who committed a crime (for example the Sniper we had a few years ago) and they show play by play coverage of who the suspects are and where they are looking for them. I mean DUH!!!!! don’t you think they are smart enough to watch the news????
Yep you're right Liza J...good point. They're always broadcasting sensitive stuff. I am dmittedly somewhat biased against the media since I was in Bosnia because I saw first hand the type of irresponsible shit they did. It's nice to hear it from someone with a different perspective.
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