NYTimes to "Out" Current Covert Operatives
 

This is from Andrew Breitbart, of Breitbart.com and BigJournalism.com as well as other media/news sites.

Source

Now didn't we just have this big brouha a few years ago about W, Rove and Cheney and some woman named Valerie Plame? Yeah. I remember that. People and media were demanding heads on platters for leaking her name ... even though she wasn't covert at the time, nor had been for years before.

So if this is true and the NYTimes releases these names of current covert operatives, I had better see the same people upset about Plame's leak even more upset about this leak. The NYTimes, if true and they do this, should be shut down.

Better than that, the heads of the NYTimes should be arrested and charged with treason ... and yes, treason would apply to what this would be. If found guilty of treason, by all means carry out the penalty for it and broadcast it live on all the networks and cable news outlets.

I'm hoping this isn't true and Breitbart got some bad info, cause this seems low even for the NYT.

Re: NYTimes to "Out" Current Covert Operatives
 

what is so treasoness? ever heard of freedom of the press? it is a constitutional right. what is the law concerning the outing of covert operatives? I think that applies to politicians and people working in the intelligence community.

Re: NYTimes to "Out" Current Covert Operatives
 

uh... no. The CIA did leak the info to the Times. How seriously the Times is considering the act of publishing this is up in the air. You have to consider just how rogue the CIA has become since the 1990s.

When Bill Clinton brought in John Deutch, Deutch's pal Dave Cohen assumed the reigns of "cleaning up" the CIA. It was Cohen who dismantled the field operations and forced all ties to drug dealers and other people with "dirty hands" to be cut. Associating with such riff raff is kind of bad for one's image, however it is usually necessary for gaining intelligence about the even dirtier players out there. Imagine if we had contacts with a heroin supplier in the Taliban prior to 9/11. That might have been useful.

The current CIA Director is Leon Paneta. He was Clinton's White House Chief of Staff. The CIA has proven itself to be so ineffective and lame that the Defense Department has had to create its own covert intelligence groups for Force Protection. The identities of these individuals is what is being leaked.

Paneta should be arrested along with whoever has gathered and leaked these names. This is a clear violation of the law protecting our covert agents.

Robert Baer has a great backgrounder on this in the current GQ magazine. http://www.gq.com/news-politics/poli...?currentPage=1

Sorry to post a link to GQ - but I guess they were the ones who were willing to pay Mr. Baer for this. Baer's blog at American Thinker is: http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/...nt_robert.html

Re: NYTimes to "Out" Current Covert Operatives
 

The law applies to anyone. The NY Times probably wouldn't be criminally responsible in this - that charge would fall upon their source within Paneta's CIA and probably the Director himself as well since the deliberate release of such info would have required the sign off of someone pretty high up.

The NY Times would be morally culpable for any harm that would befall the American Force Protection team.

When the CIA's attempted coup to overthrow the Vice President failed and Valeria Plame, a low level political appointee, was "outed" you and the "liberals" all wanted heads. Now we see a genuine threat to actual Intelligence ops and you don't see a problem? Shame on you.

My son is in the military and is training for things that I can not and would not post. (It's not really that big a deal, but it is "Top Secret"). If someone were to endanger his life I would not sleep until they were standing in an orange jump suit cuffed in front of a judge.

Re: NYTimes to "Out" Current Covert Operatives
 

I'm not against prosecuting anyone responsible for outing, I just didn't think that a newspaper would be or could be held responsible.

Re: NYTimes to "Out" Current Covert Operatives
 

They could be. The "would be" is in the hands of a judge and subject to appeal and endless debate.

Re: NYTimes to "Out" Current Covert Operatives
 

You may have freedom of speech and freedom of the press... but that freedom can be used to commit treasonous acts. Freedom of expression doesn't allow me to impersonate a police officer. Freedom of speech doesn't allow me to scream fire in a crowded building. The Times has this great freedom of the press. However, they MUST be held responsible for what they do with that freedom. Publishing anything like this would endager lives. No "freedom" should endanger another's life, liberty, or property.

With freedom comes responsibility. With much freedom comes much responsiblity.

Re: NYTimes to "Out" Current Covert Operatives
 

No, the law is the law. It applies to everyone, not just politicians and people in the intelligence community.

What's so disgusting about this is it's all about power and pride. The CIA's pride has been hurt by the Defense Dept not using them that they're retaliating ... and this by endangering our soldier's lives.

Never was a fan of a political hack in charge of the CIA. Leon Panetta has no intelligence, defense or military experience. He was chief of staff for Bill Clinton. It's ridiculous that he was even put in that position.

Re: NYTimes to "Out" Current Covert Operatives
 

I hope this is not true. If it is I then all should be arrested for treason including the NYTimes. This would be equal to an assignation plot as far as I'm concerned.