The New York Times
reporting on the uproar over its bank records story:
The executive editor of The Times, Bill Keller, said in an
e-mail statement on Monday evening that the decision to publish had
been "a hard call." But Mr. Keller noted that since the Sept. 11,
2001, terrorist attacks, the Bush administration has "embarked on a
number of broad, secret programs aimed at combating terrorism,
often without seeking new legal authority or submitting to the
usual oversight."
He added, "I think it would be arrogant for us to pre-empt the
work of Congress and the courts by deciding these programs are
perfectly legal and abuse-proof, based entirely on the word of the
government."
Or... it might be arrogant to pre-empt their work by undermining
those actually responsible for overseeing such programs and protect
secrets in the interest of national security. The American people
chose leaders they trust to do these jobs, Mr. Keller. You are not
one of them.