Today it appears that Nancy Pelosi, who learned of the NSA surveillance program during Congressional hearings in October 2001, and/or her staff have been cooperating with the New York Times on the NSA story. The American Spectator's blog has the story:

"It now appears —— based on this morning's NYT report —— that House minority leader Nancy Pelosi and her staff have been part of the leaking crew on the NSA story. In having her letter to the then—head of the NSA declassified, Pelosi has been able to keep the NSA story alive, and even furthered it a bit. Parts of her letter were redacted due to national security concerns, yet the Times was able to find "sources" familiar with the full letter able to confirm what the redacted areas dealt with. Gee, a classified letter between Nancy Pelosi and the head of the NSA, who might know what the redacted sections involve, and who could the source be who talked to the NYT?

According to a Pelosi aide based in California, the House Democrat is cooperating with the NYT on several fronts on the NSA story: "She hopes there will be a series of two or three more articles she can help them generate," says the source. "She believes the American people have the right to know what their government is doing."

What Pelosi and many Democrats can't seem to get their head around is that most Americans get what the NSA was doing, and seem to understand that these efforts were a good thing. Late in this morning's NYT article, former NSA director Bobby Inman rhetorically wonders why the President didn't adjust the USA PATRIOT Act back in 2001 to allow for the kind of NSA terrorism protection that President Bush had authorized, never bothering to consider that such public action would have revealed what the NSA was doing.

The answer is simple: it can be helpful is the enemy doesn't know what you're doing to defeat them. Democrats and their allies in the CIA and NSA who are leaking to the press about these activities don't seem to understand that point, either."   

Remember that the next time you hear the Democrats whine about  being kept out of  the loop. Does she suppose that her position immunizes her against public approbation and criminal culpability for leaking classified information in wartime ? I suppose she does, but I don't think she should bank on it.
 
Clarice Feldman   1 04 06