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| Fifth Column |
| WashPost Publisher Admitted Media Leak To Blame for Marine Barracks Bombing |
| 2006-07-03 |
| via http://newsbusters.org/ Speech given by Katharine Graham (editor of Washington Post) Sunday, April 20, 1986; Page C1 Tragically, however, we in the media have made mistakes. You may recall that in April 1983, some 60 people were killed in a bomb attack on the U.S. embassy in Beirut. At the time, there was coded radio traffic between Syria, where the operation was being run, and Iran, which was supporting it. Alas, one television network and a newspaper columnist reported that the U.S. government had intercepted the traffic. Shortly thereafter the traffic ceased. This undermined efforts to capture the terrorist leaders and eliminated a source of information about future attacks. Five months later, apparently the same terrorists struck again at the Marine barracks in Beirut; 241 servicemen were killed. This kind of result, albeit unintentional, points up the necessity for full cooperation wherever possible between the media and the authorities. When the media obtains especially sensitive information, we are willing to tell the authorities what we have learned and what we plan to report. And while reserving the right to make the final decision ourselves, we are anxious to listen to arguments about why information should not be aired. |
| Posted by:Sherry |
| #3 What strikes me is the audacity of her comments; 241 serviceman were killed and she says "we are anxious to listen to arguments about why the information should not be aired." I know it's 20 years old, but the parallels between this and the current NYT fiasco are striking. Also, note well the linkage between Syria and Iran leading to the deaths of 60 people, and by implication, the 241 marines. |
| Posted by: Tony (UK) 2006-07-03 18:24 |
| #2 Where's Ben Bradlees mea culpa? Assholes |
| Posted by: Frank G 2006-07-03 17:37 |
| #1 No big deal. Long as you shed a tear over your turkey and ham sammies. |
| Posted by: 6 2006-07-03 17:28 |