Your final remark fails to sum up your chief complaint of being told there is a possible security issue associated with one or more stories you wish to disclose. That your story will have a negative reflection on the Shin Bet may be your whole guess, but that does not make it the whole truth. Simply because a person may become embarrassed by it does not neccessarily eliminate the possiblility that some aspect of it will have a detrimental affect on some operation you will never be privy to. The suggestion that it boils down to the Shin Bet responding negatively to seemingly negative stories and positive to seemingly positive stories cannot be determined based upon a mere handful of stories, but would require a far larger study to make such an assumption. Take the Valarie Plame incident for example. One would think it was a small matter that soemone called in to the Wa. Post and told them the Ambassador's wife was a spy. But the ramification of the operations aborted and the personal losses stemming from people inadverently exposed in foreign government will never be determined by anybody--we just know they happened. So now comes into play the matter of whether or not being a journalist extends to being licensed to know every aspect of what may be attached to a security situation. We have all read numerous stories that seemed to offer a breach in security--For example the very recent story of Netanyahu flying through Ireland in a unmarked commercial jet while on his way to Washington. Plenty of people felt uncomfortable knowing that and posted their feelings about it. Just because you have the goods on someone, and just because you think you have it all figured out (like the person who exposed Valaerie Plame) does not neccessarily make it so, in spite of what appears on the surface to you or to eventual readers. Your premise is arrogant as well as ignorant.

Am I missing something here or did you fall asleep after writing half of the article and then just filled it in with whatever rubbish you could think about to present it before the deadline?

I am thankful, like so many people, that Israel makes no bones about security, which is a refreshing change of pace when one looks at the news of Ft. Hood and the Muslim slayer who was tracked by the so-called US security, AS they followed him along watching him contact Yemen and radicalize until he finally shot 41 people murdering 13 of them. Even our security services are petrified of being seen as "anti-Muslim", and now 13 people are dead because of it and still, still no media will touvh upon it! But no worries, I am sure all the little old ladies at the airports will be thoroughly screened before they fly. Give me Shin Bet any day.

one of the smartest, well thought out comments i read on any of these forums! these so called "hard nosed, investagetive jurnalists" are nothing more than willing "hired guns", ready to sell out their country for a story to advance their carrier! unfortunately, it is same in all western "democracy", they should try this trick in iran!