I Wasn't the Only One Ranting at the NYT Today

[Soldier's Mom]

I SWEAR John & I didn't speak before we let loose on Keller......

Just released, Treasury Sec. John Snow writes a very strong letter to NY Times editor about terror finance surveillance...

Mr. Bill Keller, Managing Editor The New York Times 229 West 43rd Street New York, NY 10036

Dear Mr. Keller:

The New York Times' decision to disclose the Terrorist Finance Tracking Program, a robust and classified effort to map terrorist networks through the use of financial data, was irresponsible and harmful to the security of Americans and freedom-loving people worldwide. In choosing to expose this program, despite repeated pleas from high-level officials on both sides of the aisle, including myself, the Times undermined a highly successful counter-terrorism program and alerted terrorists to the methods and sources used to track their money trails.

Your charge that our efforts to convince The New York Times not to publish were "half-hearted" is incorrect and offensive. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Over the past two months, Treasury has engaged in a vigorous dialogue with the Times - from the reporters writing the story to the D.C. Bureau Chief and all the way up to you. It should also be noted that the co-chairmen of the bipartisan 9-11 Commission, Governor Tom Kean and Congressman Lee Hamilton, met in person or placed calls to the very highest levels of the Times urging the paper not to publish the story. Members of Congress, senior U.S. Government officials and well-respected legal authorities from both sides of the aisle also asked the paper not to publish or supported the legality and validity of the program.

Indeed, I invited you to my office for the explicit purpose of talking you out of publishing this story. And there was nothing "half-hearted" about that effort. I told you about the true value of the program in defeating terrorism and sought to impress upon you the harm that would occur from its disclosure. I stressed that the program is grounded on solid legal footing, had many built-in safeguards, and has been extremely valuable in the war against terror.

Additionally, Treasury Under Secretary Stuart Levey met with the reporters and your senior editors to answer countless questions, laying out the legal framework and diligently outlining the multiple safeguards and protections that are in place.

You have defended your decision to compromise this program by asserting that "terror financiers know" our methods for tracking their funds and have already moved to other methods to send money. The fact that your editors believe themselves to be qualified to assess how terrorists are moving money betrays a breathtaking arrogance and a deep misunderstanding of this program and how it works. While terrorists are relying more heavily than before on cumbersome methods to move money, such as cash couriers, we have continued to see them using the formal financial system, which has made this particular program incredibly valuable.

Lastly, justifying this disclosure by citing the "public interest" in knowing information about this program means the paper has given itself free license to expose any covert activity that it happens to learn of - even those that are legally grounded, responsibly administered, independently overseen, and highly effective. Indeed, you have done so here.

What you've seemed to overlook is that it is also a matter of public interest that we use all means available - lawfully and responsibly - to help protect the American people from the deadly threats of terrorists. I am deeply disappointed in the New York Times.

Sincerely,

[signed]

John W. Snow, Secretary
U.S. Department of the Treasury

Navy Hornets Collide, One Dead

[Bubblehead]

Two Navy F/A-18 Hornets from VFA-125, stationed out of NAS Lemoore, were involved in a "mishap" today near Jolon, CA (about halfway up the coast between LA and San Fran). One pilot died, and the other ejected and was recovered in good condition. The accident occurred at the Ft. Hunter-Liggett military training area.

No word yet on the cause of the crash, but normally a "mishap" that involves the loss of two planes is a collision. One thing that really impressed me when I was working with the aviators during my carrier tour was how seriously they take their mishap investigations; hopefully they'll be able to figure out what happened here, and keep it from happening again. In the meantime, I'm sure the entire squadron is focused on the loss of their fellow aviator and what they can do for his family. (That was another thing that impressed me about the aviators when I worked with them -- they had the right priorities when it came to dealing with losses like this.)

Ralph doesn't like EBO

[CDR Salamander]

He doesn't get a firm grip on EBO (Effects Based Operations), but he gets hold of enough to make a mark.

Oh, and a last note on Effects-Based Operations: Any combat doctrine that cannot be explained clearly and concisely will fail.

As and extra bonus; as usual, when Ralph goes on a rant, he puts on a good show - taking all sorts of stuff along for the ride.

Yet, EBO also reflects a recurring American delusion — the notion that, if only we can discover it, there must be a formula for winning wars on the cheap. EBO and other schemes for sterilized techno-wars have surprisingly deep roots in our military culture — the American vines were grafted onto diseased European root stocks.

Ralph, you are one angry Intel Weenie. Go get' em.

What Is NATO Up To Today?

[Eddie]

7,000 strong in West Africa in a likely preview of the kinds of missions they will face in the next likely battlespace in the "Long War".

Steadfast Jaguar

Exercise "Steadfast Jaguar" is billed as a crucial test for the new NATO Response Force -- a spearhead unit designed for rapid deployment around the world for missions ranging from humanitarian relief to lightning combat strikes.

Although NATO pulls out of Cape Verde on June 28, the two-week maneuvers have highlighted questions about a possible wider role for the alliance in West Africa.

The region is rife with the sort of modern threats that NATO aims to confront -- from the surge in illegal immigration to Europe, to narco-trafficking, regional conflicts and the risk of disrupted of oil supplies from the Gulf of Guinea.

Bill Keller's real justifcation for running the Swift story

[Lex]

The jihadist foe doesn't have access to operational and strategic intelligence. They've got limited budgets, they're always on the move, you just can't get good satellite in a Waziristan cave.

And Bill Keller, editor-in-chief of the New York Times, doesn't think that's fair.

Amnesty

[Greyhawk]

The possibility of granting amnesty to Iraqis who carried out attacks against American troops has created a bit of an uproar - notably in responses from Senators Carl Levin (D-Mi) and John Warner (R-Va) on Fox News Sunday.

Levin's comment seems the most widely quoted:

For heaven's sake, we liberated that country. We got rid of a horrific dictator. We've paid a tremendous price. More than 2,500 Americans have given up their lives. The idea that they should even consider talking about amnesty for people who have killed people who liberated their country is unconscionable.

Tough talk- but sadly lacking in a counter proposal. What exactly should the Iraqi's do? Should they track down each and every person who ever planted an IED, arrest them and provide a fair trial and execution? While I understand the impulse to "destroy the enemy" that Levin seems to be voicing here, I support a "defeat the enemy" tactic - and I'm quite certain victory won't be determined by who gets the last kill.

To be fair, after Warner pointed out that Iraqis are running their own country, Levin backpedaled furiously (demonstrating a spinal flexibility bordering on the fluid) - but those additional comments didn't make the soundbites.

Public Service Announcement

[Greyhawk]

Anybody missing a coffin?

TUCSON, June 25 — An empty coffin with a military seal was found in the desert south of Tucson on Saturday, and sheriff's deputies were looking for a body.

"Obviously it had the smell, and there was other evidence that it had been inhabited recently," Deputy Dawn Barkman said Sunday.

Forensic investigators took DNA samples, and a nationwide alert was issued in hopes of finding who had been in the coffin, Deputy Barkman said.

Deputies were called to a desert area near Interstate 10 after two people playing paintball discovered the coffin, Deputy Barkman said. The coffin was metallic silver with a United States Army insignia on it, she said.

"We have a lot of cemeteries, but it could be from anywhere," Deputy Barkman said. "Right now we don't have any concrete information where it came from."

The Reluctant MilBlogger

[Steve Schippert]

Bruce Kesler says that he doesn't want to be a Military Blogger and explains why in a column today at The Examiner.

(Much to the chagrin of readers everywhere, my week-long vacation with my family at Disney World is over. Intentionally disconnected for over a week, the hack is back.)

An excuse for a party - with guns.

[John of Argghhh!]

Public Service Announcement:

Bored with the same old dull, sit-in-chairs-listening-to-bloggers-earnestly-discuss-how-important-they-are kind of conference? (Hey, I was there, I was as self-important as anyone, and lord the Press made sure we knew about YearlyKOS!)

Interested in attending about the most dangerous gathering of bloggers since YearlyKos? The Gunblogger Rendevous! Well, dangerous if you're Sarah Brady, or The Senators SchuBoxerClinStein The pic says it all!. C'mon, Blogs, guns, booze, and gambling. Pretty much what we're fighting for around the globe, ain't it? At least *the bad guys" think so.

SWWBO and I are going to try to be there, too - client willing and the creek don't rise.

H/t to Ride Fast and Shoot Straight for the pic.

Look Who the "Dear Leader's" New Friend Is

[GIKorea]

Some how I doubt they are talking about an export agreement for kimchi:

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, a fierce critic of the United States, said Saturday he will meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-il. Observers speculate that ideas for cooperation between the two countries could include an oil-for-missiles deal.

Chavez, who has mentioned plans to visit North Korea several times, told reporters the trip would be about bilateral agreements in technology and science. He did not specify a date.

Oil for missiles anyone?

North Korean Refugees Adjust to Life in the South

[GIKorea]

This article from the International Herald Tribune describes the many problems integrating North Korean refugees who have defected from the North through China into South Korean society the past few years. The differences in political and economic systems plus discrimination from South Koreans who look down on their Northern bretheren contributes to the problem of integrating North Korean refugees. This quote from a North Korean refugee best explains their largest hurdle. The change in ideology:

"In North Korea, if you were loyal to the system, you were provided a job and housing, and your needs were met," added Lee, who has held so many jobs in the South that his friends have nicknamed him MacGyver, after the resourceful television character. "But here in South Korea, individuals have to take responsibility and create their own system."

NYT: Soldier's Mom Rant

[Soldier's Mom]

Grrrr...

To Bill Keller and the New York Times: JUST WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE??

Who died and left you, um, President? You hold no elected or appointed office that allows you to “oversee” anything. It’s why the constitution grants the powers to the PRESIDENT… and the Congress… and the Judiciary. Here's news for you, Bill: newspaper editor is not among those we count on or elect to protect our security.

You should be made to hear the sobbing of the mothers and wives and families of the service members who are out there putting it on the line protecting your right to write the crap you do and know that perhaps the one transaction that was not seen because of your “exposé” bought the bullets that killed their son or husband.

ok, so I'm a bit riled again... at my place...