Greyhawk thinks they should:
For the record – and for what it’s worth – I hereby call on The New Republic to stop covering for this little dirt bag and turn him in to proper authorities. The New Republic’s new “war hero” is not exposing bad behavior of others that’s condoned by his seniors – he’s confessing to that behavior himself. Since the New Republic won’t release his identity, we can only conclude that either they support this sort of behavior by US troops or know that he isn’t one. Neither option speaks well for anyone involved.
It’s really not that simple. Protecting a source’s anonymity does not equate to approving of his actions; if people can’t trust a publication to protect their identities, that publication will suffer immensely.
The problem, of course, is the “Scott Thomas” isn’t just a source; he’s a writer engaged in journalism on TNR‘s behalf. That puts them in a rather sticky bind, albeit one of their own making.
