It isn't surprising that the New York Times or any newspaper went to press with stories about secret anti-terror programs, or today's story about troop withdrawal.  The fact is, the Bush Administration, and to a larger extent, the entire U.S., has had to deal with a press that has done everything it possibly could to bring it down, country be damned.

There's no excuse that the New York Times can pitch to the American people that would justify the publishing of these articles.  The banking program is totally legal, has a number of safeguards on it, including a warrant requirement, and has not been accused of being intrusive or ripe for abuse.  There is no element to this story that could be seen as newsworthy to the American people.  The same goes with the troop withdrawal scoop.

However, it is newsworthy to terrorists.  Breaking these stories sound an alarm to terrorists all over the world, possibly with details surrounding the banking program.  And with the troop withdrawal story, military leaders will be back at the drawing board trying to come up with a plan that will bring our troops home without leaving the insurgency intact and ready to ambush the Iraqi government as soon as they leave.  But who cares about the importance of national security when you can get a big leak within the federal government, regardless of whether the story really has any significance whatsoever?

However callous and possibly treasonous the NYT's actions may be, this and future national security leaks could be averted if the Justice Department would cart these journalists into federal court and force them to divulge their sources, or face jailtime.  If not, the NYT and other newspapers will contnue to turn their newspapers into an government insider gossip paper anytime they can spin any activity against the Bush Administration. 

Title 18, Part I, Chapter 37, Section 798 of the U.S. Code makes it illegal for anyone, "Whoever knowingly and willfully communicates, furnishes, transmits, or otherwise makes available to an unauthorized person, or publishes, or uses in any manner prejudicial to the safety or interest of the United States or for the benefit of any foreign government to the detriment of the United States any classified information" and that includes, in Subsection 3, "concerning the communication intelligence activities of the United States or any foreign government". 

The press has no right or obligation to keep the leakers protected, and the Justice Department has no excuse in not forcing them to do so.  If the Bush Administration is serious about dealing with leakers, they must deal with this situation immediately.