Claim: Letter from U.S. Army lieutenant serving in Iraq criticizes the New York Times for publishing information about a secret government program.
Status: True.
Example: [Collected via e-mail, 2006]
Lt. Tom Cotton writes this morning from Baghdad with a word for the New York Times: Dear Messrs. Keller, Lichtblau & Risen: Congratulations on disclosing our government's highly classified anti-terrorist-financing program Unfortunately, as I supervised my soldiers late one night, I heard a booming explosion several miles away. I learned a few hours later that a powerful roadside bomb killed one soldier and severely injured another from my Not anymore. You may think you have done a public service, but you have gravely endangered the lives of my soldiers and all other soldiers and innocent Iraqis here. Next time I hear that familiar explosion — or next time I feel it — I will wonder whether we could have stopped that bomb had you not instructed terrorists how to evade our financial surveillance. And, by the way, having graduated from Harvard Law and practiced with a federal appellate judge and two Washington law firms before becoming an infantry officer, I am well-versed in the espionage laws relevant to this story and others — laws you have plainly violated. I hope that my colleagues at the Department of Justice match the courage of my soldiers here and prosecute you and your newspaper to the fullest extent of the law. By the time we return home, maybe you will be in your rightful place: not at the Pulitzer announcements, but behind bars. Very truly yours, Tom Cotton |
Origins: The
above-quoted letter from Tom Cotton, a U.S. army lieutenant serving in Iraq, criticizing the
Much discussion has since ensued over whether
Thomas Cotton, 27, was in his third year of law school when the World Trade Center and the Pentagon were attacked on Cotton decided to enlist, Jones said, but first wanted to get his law degree and work long enough to repay the money he had borrowed for his education. He added that Cotton left without talking to the media because "he didn't want the publicity to enhance his military career."
Local Army recruiters said a Harvard-educated lawyer left his practice in Houston and departed for basic training, which will be followed by Officer Candidate School.
Last updated: 7 July 2006
Sources: