James Risen’s new book on war-on-terror abuses comes out tomorrow, and if you want to find a copy it shouldn’t be hard to obtain. As natural as that seems, it almost wasn’t the case with the Risen’s last book, “State of War,” published in 2006. Not only did U.S. government officials object to the publication of the book on national security grounds, it turns out they pressured Les Moonves, the CEO of CBS, to have it killed.
The campaign to stifle Risen’s national security reporting at the Times is already well-documented, but a 60 Minutes story last night provided a glimpse into how deeply these efforts extended into the publishing world, as well. After being blocked from reporting on the NSA’s warrantless surveillance program for the paper of record, Risen looked into getting these revelations out through a book he was already under contract to write for Simon & Schuster, a book that would look at a wide range of intelligence missteps in the war on terror.
In response, it seems, the government once again went straight to the top in order to thwart him. As 60 Minutes reports:
“The administration [reached] out to Leslie Moonves, head of CBS, whose Simon & Schuster division was the publisher of Risen’s book, in an unsuccessful attempt to stop its publication.”
In an interview with The Intercept, Risen said he had been told the same story by Simon & Schuster a day or two before his book was published. He added he remembers feeling “very happy” that Moonves stood up for him.
It has been previously reported that the government considered asking the publisher or one of its parent companies to kill Risen’s book because it disclosed information on one or more secret and purportedly sensitive intelligence operations, including a botched attempt to feed secretly flawed blueprints for a nuclear bomb trigger to the Iranians. But in those accounts the request is never made because Risen’s book was already in stores or on delivery trucks by the time the White House became aware of its contents. The 60 Minutes report appears to mark the first disclosure such a request did, in fact, occur.
Another author, former Defense Intelligence Agency officer Anthony Shaffer, did not fare as well as Risen. In September 2010, the Defense Department bought the entire 10,000-copy first printing of his Afghan war memoir “Operation Dark Heart,” which publisher St. Martin’s Press, a Macmillan imprint, had already distributed to reviewers and at least some retailers. Three U.S. intelligence agencies said the book contained secrets, and a subsequent censored edition contained redactions on 250 of the book’s 320 pages.
When Risen’s “State of War” was released against the White House’s wishes in January 2006, it came to represent a watershed moment in the campaign to bring transparency to America’s post-9/11 national security state. It also became the flashpoint for an ongoing court battle in which the government has sought to identify and prosecute a Risen source. Despite the failure of government suppression efforts, it is nonetheless disturbing that White House officials would intervene not just to muzzle the Times‘s reporting, but also to pressure the publishing industry to kill the story as well. In its zeal to stifle critical journalism in the name of protecting national secrets, the campaign against Risen’s work appeared to border dangerously close to outright censorship.
Risen is now facing potential jail time for refusing to divulge his sources for classified information. Nonetheless, he is standing firm. As he told 60 Minutes:
“It was the best story in my life, and I wasn’t going to let anybody else write it…The whole global war on terror has been classified. If we today had only had information that was officially authorized from the U.S. government, we would know virtually nothing about the war on terror.”
(Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
War on terror….phtttt..that’s so passe’…. the new 7 trillion dollar kerfuffle is all about saving US from the another global terrorist aka the climate and Chucky Hagel , is moving to DEFCON One on this war…undeclared or not. Thank you two parties of worthless pukes.
Pentagon unveils plan for military’s response to climate change
“We must be clear-eyed about the security threats presented by climate change, and we must be pro-active in addressing them,” UpChuckie Iamapcidiot Hagel.
http://www.latimes.com/world/mexico-americas/la-fg-hagel-climate-change-20141013-story.html
Whilst Christians don’t create war, they are easily co-opted into participating via ignorance of their own faith.
Exodus 20:7
“You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain.
#3) Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain
Vain -2. In an irreverent or disrespectful manner:empty, hollow, idle, nugatory, otiose
Jeremiah 14:14
“The prophets are prophesying lies in my name. I did not send them, nor did I command them or speak to them. They are prophesying to you a lying vision, worthless divination, and the deceit of their own minds.
Leviticus 19:12: “You shall not swear by my name falsely, and so profane the name of your God: I am the Lord.”
Military Blasphemy
By Laurence M. Vance
Here is some of the military blasphemy that I have personally witnessed, and/or received on good authority, on the Sunday of, the Sunday before, or the Sunday after one of the above days, which are all really just “military appreciation days”:
Active duty military or veterans wearing their uniforms to church
Special prayers for “the troops” (but never for their victims) over and above the usual nonsense
Recognizing active duty military personnel and veterans
Having active duty military personnel and veterans stand
Thunderous applause after active duty military personnel and veterans stand
The pianist playing the song of each branch of the military during the offering
Military chaplains speaking
Special military guest speakers who aren’t chaplains
Military color guard walking down the main aisle at the beginning of the church service
Church bulletins with a list of all the veterans in the church
Church signs with statements about U.S. troops dying for our freedoms like Christ died for our sins
Church signs enjoining us to pray for the troops
Recognition of some young person who has announced his (or her) intention to join the military
Thunderous applause after the recognition of some young person who is going to join the military
Video presentations about World War II played during the Sunday morning worship service
Video tributes to the troops played during the Sunday morning worship service
Once, on just an ordinary, regular Sunday, I saw a pastor recognize and have stand some visiting Marine who wore his uniform to church. And it still makes me nauseous when I think of the Marine Corps recruiting posters that a reader of mine saw on the walls of a boys Sunday School classroom.
“My brethren, these things ought not so to be” (James 3:10).
These things are blasphemous. They are a disgrace to the Lord. They drive non-believers from Christianity. They are an assault on the Blessed Trinity. They are a blight on Christianity. They are an affront to the Saviour. They are anti-scriptural. They are indicative of the sorry state of many evangelical churches today. They are the most heinous examples of the world taking over the church. They break down the wall of separation of church and state. They make a mockery of New Testament Christianity.
Why do these things happen? I put most of the blame on pastors (or bishops, priests, elders, ministers, or church leaders) who have failed to discern the truth themselves so they can educate their congregations. There are, of course, some exceptions, but broadly stated, there are two classes of pastors.
First there is the armchair warrior, evangelical warvangelical, bloodthirsty warmonger, reich-wing nationalist, American exceptionalist, red-state fascist, imperial Christian, pro-lifer for mass murder who moonlights as an apologist for the Republican Party.
Then there is the Christian Coalition moralist, just war theorist, values voter, religious rightist, God and country bumpkin, Pledge reciting, patriotic hymn singing, cross and flag lapel wearer who is just an ignorant blind leader of the blind.
Those in the first group might be ignorant as well, but the main problem they have is that they are evil. This second group makes up the majority. Their ignorance might be colossal, it might be simple, it might even be willful, but their main problem is that they are just ignorant. They are ignorant of history, primitive Christianity, U.S. foreign policy, the true nature of the Republican Party, the U.S. government, the U.S. military, and of course, their own Bible.
This is why they—
Thought that the war in Iraq was in retaliation for the 9/11 attacks.
Believed that Saddam Hussein was another Hitler.
Supposed that Iraq was a threat to the United States.
Saw the war in Iraq as a modern-day crusade against Islam.
Assumed that the United States needed to protect Israel from Iraq.
Viewed Bush as a messiah figure.
And perhaps some of them still think, believe, suppose, see, assume, and view these things. Most of them are certainly still guilty of:
Equating the Republican Party with the party of God.
Blindly following the conservative movement.
Deeming the state to be a divine institution instead of a lying, stealing, and killing machine.
Holding a “my country right or wrong” attitude.
Failing to separate the divine sanction of war against the enemies of God in the Old Testament from the New Testament ethic that taught otherwise.
Reading too much into the mention of soldiers in the New Testament.
And of course, being in love with the military.
What contributes to such sustained, profound, and widespread ignorance?
Believing government propaganda.
Believing military propaganda.
Believing Republican Party propaganda.
Watching Fox News.
Listening to conservative pundits like Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh, Mark Levin, and Bill O’Reilly.
What is the antidote for all of this? The simplest one I know of is this: My book War, Christianity, and the State and a daily dose of LewRockwell.com.
The pastors in the first group need to be criticized, derided, and castigated. They are hopeless. Those in the second group need to be instructed, exposed to the truth, and educated. There is hope for them.
This military blasphemy must cease. Our churches must be demilitarized. I will keep writing. You do what you can to educate the leaders of your church.
Flash: I wholeheartedly agree but you left out Michael Savage. All these guys are traitors spewing garbage.
Regarding Risen, this “national security” meme has gone way too far. We’re living in a national security state with secret courts, secret evidence, and everything juicy is “redacted”. All this must be overturned, otherwise the solution to the “problem” is worse than the problem itself.
And personally I don’t believe anything the government says.