Hobbit
Senior Member
wade said:Well, I have mixed opinions about Al Jazeera.
But the idea that they can hand over those who give them the tapes is pretty darn silly. Think about it! If I were a terrorist and wanted to deliver a tape to Al Jazeera, I could do it by any number of means which would leave little or no chance of being caught.
Example:
I rent a motel room, leave the tape in the room, place the key to the room someplace, and then call a reporter and tell them where to pick up the key and what room the tape is in. I then watch both places and if authorities show up, next time I choose a different reporter, and perhaps I also kill the reporter I gave the phone call to. It's easy, and it would be handled by subordinates who have no important knowelge anyway are not a big loss if they are caught.
Al Jazeera must refuse to aid in the capture of their information sources, because this will only dry up the source of information, and won't lead to any sigificant damage to the terrorists anyway.
My problem with Al Jazeera is that they do not edit the tapes before showing them. I think they should not show the beheadings themselves. But perhaps this is a requirement of getting future info from the terrorists.
It's not about catching the terrorists. The point is that if Al Jazeera refused to air the tapes, the beheadings would lose their impact, if Al Qaeda even bothered any more. They're not just covering for the terrorists, they're helping them. It's inexcusable. Oh, and that comment about contractors being spies is bullcrap. Contractors are there to build infastructure, nothing else.