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V.P. Cheney Rips N.Y. Times for Publishing Leaks
Vice President Dick Cheney, traveling into the home turf of The New York Times, criticized the paper Friday for disclosing information about a secret government program to track the financing of terror suspects. "Leaks to The New York Times and the publishing of those leaks is very damaging to our national security," Cheney said at a fundraising lunch for Rep. Scott Garrett, R-N.J. "Putting this information on the front page makes it more difficult for us to prevent future attacks." The paper reported last week that shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, the government obtained access to an extensive international financial database - the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, or Swift. The Wall Street Journal and Los Angeles Times also published stories about the Swift program, but administration officials have specifically named The New York Times when criticizing the news media for disclosing secret programs connected to the war on terror.
Story Continues Below Bill Keller, executive editor of The New York Times, has defended the decision to publish the story. "Most Americans seem to support extraordinary measures in defense against this extraordinary threat, but some officials who have been involved in these programs have spoken to the Times about their discomfort over the legality of the government's actions and over the adequacy of oversight," Keller said in a note on the paper's Web site Sunday. Last year, The New York Times also revealed that the National Security Agency since 2002 had been conducting warrantless surveillance in the United States of people with suspected al-Qaida ties. Cheney also urged attendees at the $1,000-a plate gathering to keep national security issues atop their list of priorities when casting votes in the November elections. "Every voter needs to know where the president and I stand, and where leaders of the Democratic Party stand," he said.
© 2006 Associated Press.
Editor's note:
Read more on this subject in related Hot Topics:
Bush Administration Inside Cover Stories
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