Year: 2006

Looks like the New York Times and L.A. Times couldn’t help but take another toke off the ‘anonymous source‘ crack pipe. They leaked classified counterterrorism information revealing a successful program used to capture the most wanted al-Qaida figure in Southeast Asia.

Well, the program was successful, up until Eric Lichtblau and James Risen decided to listen to the leakers and agree that it shouldn’t be secret anymore.

Nice.

Under a secret Bush administration program initiated weeks after the Sept. 11 attacks, counterterrorism officials have gained access to financial records from a vast international database and examined banking transactions involving thousands of Americans and others in the United States, according to government and industry officials.

The program is limited, government officials say, to tracing transactions of people suspected of having ties to al-Qaida by reviewing records from the nerve center of the global banking industry, a Belgian cooperative that routes about $6 trillion daily between banks, brokerages, stock exchanges and other institutions. The records mostly involve wire transfers and other methods of moving money overseas and into and out of the United States. Most routine financial transactions confined to this country are not in the database.

Viewed by the Bush administration as a vital tool, the program has played a hidden role in domestic and foreign terrorism investigations since 2001 and helped in the capture of the most wanted Qaida figure in Southeast Asia, the officials said.

Bill Keller, the newspaper’s executive editor, said: “We have listened closely to the administration’s arguments for withholding this information, and given them the most serious and respectful consideration. We remain convinced that the administration’s extraordinary access to this vast repository of international financial data, however carefully targeted use of it may be, is a matter of public interest.”

Blood pressure…rising…must control…fist of death!

One step forward, two steps behind. Let see how proud these blabbermouths are when America gets hit again.

More: Backlash

My opinion of this (ahem) man hasn’t changed one bit. He’s a loser and a disgrace to our fighting men and women in uniform.

“Hillary’s problem, as I have written before, is that she has enjoyed a huge soapbox for six years and yet doesn’t have a single high-profile policy or legislative accomplishment to her name on an issue of real value. Sure, Dems have been in the minority in the Senate, but she doesn’t even have a significant policy proposal to her name. It was as if the Clinton Health Care debacle has made her risk averse in perpetuity.”

Jump into the VirtuSphere and summon your inner hamster.

Larry Elder writes about the death of his mom.

TV Guide now owns ‘Jump the Shark’. (h/t Jeff Jarvis)

Shhhh…be quiet. You might wake the cable guy.

If you care…

The U.S. was eliminated from the World Cup with a 2-1 loss against Ghana.

I find it amazing that the Left, without a single shred of verifiable evidence, continues to carry out a nearly 24 hour, 7 day-a-week jihad against our troops accusing them of committing a variety of war crimes and atrocities, yet when documented proof of Iraqi WMDs exist, they dismiss it as entirely irrelevant. Or in the case of the MSM, they don’t say anything.

Where’s the outrage?

More: Tim Graham

Reports are flying fast and furious, and details remain sketchy since Sen. Rick Santorum announced late today that Coalition Forces have recovered approximately 500 weapons munitions which contain degraded mustard or sarin nerve agent. (Transcript in MS Word Doc format, courtesy of Captain’s Quarters)

According to The Corner…

* Since 2003 Coalition forces have recovered approximately 500 weapons munitions which contain degraded mustard or sarin nerve agent.

* Despite many efforts to locate and destroy Iraq’s pre-Gulf War chemical munitions, filled and unfilled pre-Gulf War chemical munitions are assessed to still exist.

* Pre-Gulf War Iraqi chemical weapons could be sold on the black market. Use of these weapons by terrorists or insurgent groups would have implications for Coalition forces in Iraq. The possibility of use outside Iraq cannot be ruled out.

* The most likely munitions remaining are sarin and mustard-filled projectiles.

* The purity of the agent inside the munitions depends on many factors, including the manufacturing process, potential additives, and environmental storage conditions. While agents degrade over time, chemical warfare agents remain hazardous and potentially lethal.

* It has been reported in open press that insurgents and Iraqi groups desire to acquire and use chemical weapons.

Now, the real question…why now? Why is this story just coming out?

Why?

It will be interesting to see how this evolves over the next few days.

Captain’s Quarters is all over the news. Likewise, Hot Air.

Dan Riehl notes that WMD discovery in Iraq hasn’t been a secret, it’s just been under-reported.