What They Knew And When

Some major news organizations in the United States are accused of complicity after details emerged suggesting they bowed to pressure from the Obama administration not to disclose the existence of a secret drone base in Saudi Arabia.

The Washington Post and The New York Times in particular are being criticized for sitting on the information for an entire year. Both papers have admitted to withholding the information after consulting with administrative officials who felt that revealing the location of the drone base could raise national security concerns.

The revelation comes amid rising scrutiny over the Obama administration’s targeted killing program, which has raised renewed debate over the balance between the freedom of information and national security. On Monday, NBC leaked a Justice Department white paper on the case for the targeted killing program, prompting news organizations to admit to withholding the information they were privy to.