- Oct 9, 1999
- 12,513
- 49
- 91
Editors? Note
The Central Intelligence Agency asked The New York Times not to publish the name of Deuce Martinez, an interrogator who questioned Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and other high-level Al Qaeda prisoners, saying that to identify Mr. Martinez would invade his privacy and put him at risk of retaliation from terrorists or harassment from critics of the agency.
After discussion with agency officials and a lawyer for Mr. Martinez, the newspaper declined the request, noting that Mr. Martinez had never worked under cover and that others involved in the campaign against Al Qaeda have been named in news stories and books. The editors judged that the name was necessary for the credibility and completeness of the article.
The Times?s policy is to withhold the name of a news subject only very rarely, most often in the case of victims of sexual assault or intelligence officers operating under cover.
Mr. Martinez, a career analyst at the agency until his retirement a few years ago, did not directly participate in waterboarding or other harsh interrogation methods that critics describe as torture and, in fact, turned down an offer to be trained in such tactics.
The newspaper seriously considered the requests from Mr. Martinez and the agency. But in view of the experience of other government employees who have been named publicly in books and published articles or who have themselves chosen to go public, the newspaper made the decision to print the name.
Shocking. Absolutely shocking. If you read the linked article, you'll see that the Mr. Martinez declined to be interviewed for the article. However, others who worked with him were interviewed, and were not named. Is the Times being retaliatory to Martinez for not cooperating with them?
In any case, not cool to make this guy a target. With all the hubbub about the outing of Valerie Plame out Richard Armitage, here is a guy who worked in the field and with terrorists one on one - far different, and much more dangerous than a WMD analyst.
The Central Intelligence Agency asked The New York Times not to publish the name of Deuce Martinez, an interrogator who questioned Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and other high-level Al Qaeda prisoners, saying that to identify Mr. Martinez would invade his privacy and put him at risk of retaliation from terrorists or harassment from critics of the agency.
After discussion with agency officials and a lawyer for Mr. Martinez, the newspaper declined the request, noting that Mr. Martinez had never worked under cover and that others involved in the campaign against Al Qaeda have been named in news stories and books. The editors judged that the name was necessary for the credibility and completeness of the article.
The Times?s policy is to withhold the name of a news subject only very rarely, most often in the case of victims of sexual assault or intelligence officers operating under cover.
Mr. Martinez, a career analyst at the agency until his retirement a few years ago, did not directly participate in waterboarding or other harsh interrogation methods that critics describe as torture and, in fact, turned down an offer to be trained in such tactics.
The newspaper seriously considered the requests from Mr. Martinez and the agency. But in view of the experience of other government employees who have been named publicly in books and published articles or who have themselves chosen to go public, the newspaper made the decision to print the name.
Shocking. Absolutely shocking. If you read the linked article, you'll see that the Mr. Martinez declined to be interviewed for the article. However, others who worked with him were interviewed, and were not named. Is the Times being retaliatory to Martinez for not cooperating with them?
In any case, not cool to make this guy a target. With all the hubbub about the outing of Valerie Plame out Richard Armitage, here is a guy who worked in the field and with terrorists one on one - far different, and much more dangerous than a WMD analyst.
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