A Damaging Leak

Now that I understand Attorney General Gonzales' point that politicians repeating things they already knew keeps terrorists from forgetting the ways we are out to get them, I'm very concerned by the President's speech today.

''It took the combined efforts of several countries to break up this plot,'' the president said. ''By working together, we took dangerous terrorists off the streets. By working together, we stopped a catastrophic attack on our homeland.''

Damn him! He's just reminded the terrorists that we are working together with other governments! Just when that might have started to slip their minds. Why is the President undermining our efforts to stop terrorism? Obviously, he doesn't have a post-9/11 mind-set.


Update: The irrepressible Holden brings us a relevant bit of today's press "gaggle."

Q Scott, I apologize if I'm still confused, but I wonder if you could tell us a bit more specifically what has changed since October, when we were told that discussing details of this plot was inappropriate, and today? What has actually changed since October in that regard?

MR. McCLELLAN: I think I described it to you; I don't know how I can be more clear to you. This is something that we had been talking about with the intelligence community in looking for a good example to highlight for the American people about the type of international cooperation that goes on that helps us disrupt plots.

[snip]

Q So sources and methods would have been compromised in October, but not today?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, Peter, we're always looking for ways to provide the American people with more information and that's what I said to you earlier...

Q But that wasn't actually the question. The question was, would sources and methods have been compromised in October, but wouldn't be today?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, the intelligence community said that it was okay to talk about the information that we provided you today and the President spoke about. So like I said, there is ongoing efforts that we look at to provide the information to the American people, and this was --

Q It was not okay in October to talk about that level of detail?

MR. McCLELLAN: I didn't say that. What I said was that they said that it was okay now to talk further about this specific plot.

Q Would it have been okay in October, but you chose not to?

MR. McCLELLAN: I don't know how many times you're going to keep asking the same question.

Q As soon as I get an answer.

MR. McCLELLAN: I think I've answered the question.

Q Can you say when you started trying to get it declassified so you could talk about it?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, when we were talking about doing this speech, we were looking for a specific plot that we could talk about in more detail?

Q So two weeks ago?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, the speech has been in the works, as I say, for at least three weeks.

Q So three weeks ago you decided you wanted to try and declassify this particular --

MR. McCLELLAN: Martha, I can't tell you the specific time. But, again, two things -- one, we're always looking to keep the American people informed and provide them additional information like this. Two, we were looking to give this speech and talk about the international cooperation that's going on and how successful that is and how important that is to confronting the threats we face...

"As soon as I get an answer." Ha! The press corps is fed up with ol' Scottie, I think.