The New York Post, in a Saturday editorial

The New York Post, in a Saturday editorial, called for punishing Doubleday, the book publisher, for putting out

The Al Qaeda Reader, a compendium of writings by Osama bin Laden & his gang:

“Americans are right to wonder if Bertelsmann is on their side in the War on Terror — or on al Qaeda’s.

“After all, the Islamists’ methods aren’t limited to terrorism; they’re also battling for people’s hearts

and minds. In al Qaeda’s twisted logic, getting out its “message” will fuel support for the movement.

“Bertelsmann is serving al Qaeda’s ends by publishing and promoting its rantings.”

They want NY’s attorney general Eliot Spitzer to prosecute under the “Son of Sam” law that prevents criminals

from profiting from their crimes. But of course this applies only if Doubleday is seen as an arm of Al Qaeda,

which would be news to Bertlesmann, the German conglomerate that owns Doubleday. S.M. Oliva, writing on the

Mises.org blog, notes:

“The Post is really referring to any speech that doesn’t conform to whatever the White House decides is the

party line. Publishing casualty figures, for example, can be labeled as aiding the enemy because it demoralizes

our population and encourages further enemy attacks. If you take the Post‘s reasoning to its logical

conclusion, all war reporting would have to cease immediately.”