Obama and the AP leak investigation: an adult conversation.

I'm wondering at what point everyone is ok with the government going full crazy over trying to source a leak. I'm a card carrying ACLU brotha but I also find myself thinking that if the government is going to go after a national security leak.. that's kind of ok with me. I'm not sure if this clears that hurdle, but it sure looks damn close.

Thoughts?

I think the problem is, what is a national security leak? If all you have to to do to justify something like this is call it an issue of national security, that opens the door for a lot of abuse most likely.

[quote name='Clak']I think the problem is, what is a national security leak? If all you have to to do to justify something like this is call it an issue of national security, that opens the door for a lot of abuse most likely.[/QUOTE]

Correctomundo. It's like saying torture is cool if it saves lives.

On a spectrum, with Valerie Plame leaks on one end and Daniel Ellsberg on the other (i.e., from the purely political to the very important), what kind of leaks were they trying to source here?

If more Valerie Plame leaks, then good. If they're trying to stop Pentagon Papers-esque items from being released, then 'em.

It's only OK when "your" party is in power...

[quote name='Clak']I think the problem is, what is a national security leak? If all you have to to do to justify something like this is call it an issue of national security, that opens the door for a lot of abuse most likely.[/QUOTE]
[quote name='egofed']Correctomundo. It's like saying torture is cool if it saves lives.[/QUOTE]
Fair enough. I'll come at it from the other way.

Could there be a national security leak bad enough for you to support something like this?

The crackdown is not just another example of the Obama's administration stance on leaks, but more of a culmination of decades of letting our intelligence agencies get out of hand. Do you honestly think those agencies REALLY have the American people's safety in mind, or is it to protect the country's interests, political or financial? They are going to do a lot of horrible things just to cover their own asses, with more ruthlessness than an actual criminal. With ing crap like this happening, who's a Democrat or Republican doesn't even matter. It's about who can be more cutthroat and merciless.

[quote name='detectiveconan16']The crackdown is not just another example of the Obama's administration stance on leaks, but more of a culmination of decades of letting our intelligence agencies get out of hand. Do you honestly think those agencies REALLY have the American people's safety in mind, or is it to protect the country's interests, political or financial? They are going to do a lot of horrible things just to cover their own asses, with more ruthlessness than an actual criminal. With ing crap like this happening, who's a Democrat or Republican doesn't even matter. It's about who can be more cutthroat and merciless.[/QUOTE]
I think we are quick to come to that conclusion because it's convenient. Looking at what has come out about what has leaked and when, I have difficulty saying that. That's not to say that you're not right in a macro sense, just that this might be an exception to the rule.

[quote name='speedracer']Fair enough. I'll come at it from the other way.

Could there be a national security leak bad enough for you to support something like this?[/QUOTE]
If they could show a direct link between the leak and the loss of life because of it, I'd probably have no problem with it. It's not something I would like, but rights are nothing if you're not alive to exercise them. If it was for the sake of scoring some kind of bullshit political points, hell no.

[quote name='speedracer']Could there be a national security leak bad enough for you to support something like this?[/QUOTE]

If it turns out that Alex Jones is right. About *everything*.

I think I'm going to give up on this one because I think it's water under the bridge. I thought that the government's argument about going after the AP was a reasonable one, though certainly the dragnet tactics went too far. Now it looks like I'm arguing for a single drop of water in a tidal wave of bullshit wrongdoing.

Yea. Obama's administration is dead ing wrong here. Carry on.

Gotta say, despite being pretty happy with the issues I basically voted on in the last election, this is getting out of hand. Despite not being some extreme right christian gun fetishist, I'm becoming really disappointed in how Obama is handling these leaks. Not being the former doesn't make up for the latter.