Tuesday, September 26, 2006

The NIE Release   [John Podhoretz]

The rule of thumb I was taught many years ago during a stint as a researcher and later an editor of investigative journalism pieces is that a newspaper's guarantee of confidentiality to a source is not unconditional. If the source lies to you or uses you for his own personal motives, then you are released from the pact. This is a necessary codicil to the guarantee of confidentiality, because it's the only thing that can keep a source honest. A question for the New York Times, the Washington Post and the L.A. Times, recipients of the simultaneous leak about the National Intelligence Estimate: If the declassified version to be released today reveals that you were deceived about the contents, tone and interpretation in the NIE, will you reveal who leaked the information?

09/26 01:02 PMShare