Memo to media: Real life is not a James Bond movie
Dammit all to hell. The media really needs to get it through their thick heads that national security is a dangerous business and that reporting on leaked details of covert operations is not particularly constructive. I'm as skeptical about the intelligence community as anyone else, but I am also well aware that there are certain things that need to be done that can never see the light of day. Reporting on sensitive ongoing operations not only jeopardizes the success of those operations but also puts at risk the lives of real people out there putting themselves in harm's way in hostile countries.
No, I am definitely not saying that the intelligence community or the military should get carte blanche to keep whatever secrets they want. If the Bush Administration has taught us anything, it is the dangers of too much government secrecy. That said, there is such a thing as not enough secrecy too. This is why we need editors and reports who actually think about what they should and shouldn't publish, because not every case is alike.
We do need to expose some government secrets, such as when the administration is manipulating intelligence data for political reasons or when public officials are engaging in corruption. But exposing operations that most reasonable people would believe are not only in the interests of national security, but also world peace, is also a damn stupid idea. Why is it that so many people in the media seem so completely unable to grasp the difference and make intelligent decisions?
I want to know when my government is lying to me about weapons of mass destruction as the pretext for a war. I want to know when my government is covering up the fact that FEMA has moved hurricane evacuees into trailers that contain enough toxins for the Chinese to make baby formula. I don't necessarily want to know when the President has sex with an intern. I don't necessarily want to know when the governor of a state has a liaison with an escort. And at those times that the intelligence community actually is doing something useful for once, I don't want to read about it on some news website or the front section of the New York Times!
Before anyone asks, NO, I am not posting the link to the article that prompted this rant (save for in a private entry)--because unlike the media, I have enough sense to not contribute to spreading information that really should not be public. And if anyone thinks they know what story I'm talking about, I don't want to see a link to it or any specifics about it in a comment.
No, I am definitely not saying that the intelligence community or the military should get carte blanche to keep whatever secrets they want. If the Bush Administration has taught us anything, it is the dangers of too much government secrecy. That said, there is such a thing as not enough secrecy too. This is why we need editors and reports who actually think about what they should and shouldn't publish, because not every case is alike.
We do need to expose some government secrets, such as when the administration is manipulating intelligence data for political reasons or when public officials are engaging in corruption. But exposing operations that most reasonable people would believe are not only in the interests of national security, but also world peace, is also a damn stupid idea. Why is it that so many people in the media seem so completely unable to grasp the difference and make intelligent decisions?
I want to know when my government is lying to me about weapons of mass destruction as the pretext for a war. I want to know when my government is covering up the fact that FEMA has moved hurricane evacuees into trailers that contain enough toxins for the Chinese to make baby formula. I don't necessarily want to know when the President has sex with an intern. I don't necessarily want to know when the governor of a state has a liaison with an escort. And at those times that the intelligence community actually is doing something useful for once, I don't want to read about it on some news website or the front section of the New York Times!
Before anyone asks, NO, I am not posting the link to the article that prompted this rant (save for in a private entry)--because unlike the media, I have enough sense to not contribute to spreading information that really should not be public. And if anyone thinks they know what story I'm talking about, I don't want to see a link to it or any specifics about it in a comment.