AGAIN, THE NEW YORK TIMES – AT 10:16 P.M. ET:  The New York Times is now running a major story, based on what it admits are classified documents it has obtained, about the Guantanamo prison:

WASHINGTON — A trove of more than 700 classified military documents provides new and detailed accounts of the men who have done time at the Guantánamo Bay prison in Cuba, and offers new insight into the evidence against the 172 men still locked up there.

Military intelligence officials, in assessments of detainees written between February 2002 and January 2009, evaluated their histories and provided glimpses of the tensions between captors and captives. What began as a jury-rigged experiment after the 2001 terrorist attacks now seems like an enduring American institution, and the leaked files show why, by laying bare the patchwork and contradictory evidence that in many cases would never have stood up in criminal court or a military tribunal.

COMMENT:  You can read the whole story for details.  Frankly, I don't think there's anything shocking here.  It appears that the documents are part of the WikiLeaks collection, and once again we have the issue of a newspaper, on its own, releasing classified files.  In this case the release might jeopardize criminal prosecutions.  But The Times, lofty and above us all, seems to feel it has this right.

One thing revealed is a list of the countries that sent interrogators to Guantanamo.  This list was kept secret to avoid embarrassing these governments, and now they will be embarrassed.  They'll be a bit more careful next time in dealing with the United States. 

I don't see where this release advances public knowledge or responsible journalism.  But why would The Times be concerned about little things like that?

April 24, 2011