The Times' Hypocritical Turnabout on Terror Financing
Posted by: Clay Waters
6/29/2006 9:10:30 AM
Who would have thought we’d look back in longing at the editorship of Howell Raines?
Perhaps that's stretching things. But a Powerline reader with a good memory points us to some tough talk from the Times editorial page --the page itself was edited by Gail Collins at the time -- two weeks after 9-11 (“Finances of Terror,” September 24, 2001). It puts in stark relief not only the gross dereliction of duty, but the plain hypocrisy, involved in the Times' decision to expose a terrorist surveillance program.
"The Bush administration is preparing new laws to help track terrorists through their money-laundering activity and is readying an executive order freezing the assets of known terrorists. Much more is needed, including stricter regulations, the recruitment of specialized investigators and greater cooperation with foreign banking authorities. There must also must be closer coordination among America's law enforcement, national security and financial regulatory agencies."
The editorial concluded: “If America is going to wage a new kind of war against terrorism, it must act on all fronts, including the financial one.”
Five years later, another Times editor would reveal just such cooperation to terrorists via his paper’s front page.
As Cold Fury puts it, "They were for it before they were against it."
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