Evan,

>>MSNBC has just reported that their news division has agreed to withhold airing Al Qaeda pre-recorded statements until they have been fully screened for any hidden messages to terrorists. I realize that this is a method used for disseminating instructions, and having spent 8 years in the military intelligence field and 7 years as a government employee following that, I am extremely sensitive to this subject. However, this will not prevent the information from getting to the terrorists. In my opinion this is sensorship and the only audience prevented from having immediate access to public information is us, the American public. Any terrorist looking for hidden messages will still get the instructions (if any) via sattellite news on Al Jazeera.
>
>It doesn't concern me since there is an overt and publically stated reason for the delay in access to the statements.

No real argument with your point of view here (or Tommy T.'s either), but I do doubt that "screening for hidden messages" is all that viable. I mean, the only safe course is to keep the stuff constantly in screening mode (thus unshown).

I think that this approach also causes added difficulty in detecting cell activities generally and actions based on any hidden messages in particular. Now the viewing of the messages (by the bad guys) will be a totally unknown factor. At least if they were shown on public networks one has a better chance of tracking any relationships between time of exposure and communications by/to suspects.

It also seems to give the bad guys a little more ammo to show that "free" isn't really free as well as to suggest a level of 'panic' (that isn't really there) to those of their ilk.

Jim