ABCNews.com is running a story on Michael De Kort, the Lockheed whisteblower that's drawing a bunch of attention. for airing his complaints about the company's shoddy Coast Guard work for on YouTube. The network website was silly enough to quote yours truly about the subject.
Noah Shac[h]tman, editor-in-chief of DefenseTech.org, which monitors military happenings both at home and abroad, says it's necessary to ensure the public's ability to blow the whistle.
"I think it's never been easier for people to call B.S. on the shenanigans of their employers or their government," said Shachtman. "Whether it's soldiers from Abu Graib slipping out pictures and getting them to the press, or whether we're talking about bloggers reporting from the front lines. Digital media has really made it incredibly easy for people who want to get their message out and bring questionable practices to light."
Shachtman says there are many examples of these kinds of defense contract scandals -- though he says he's unsure if this is one of those cases. He says the promise of digital media is fulfilled when people like Michael De Kort can be heard.
"There are plenty of honest people working at the nation's defense contractors and there are a lot of very hard working, very smart people," Shac[h]tman said. "Unfortunately, when there are abuses, it can be awfully difficult for someone to penetrate the corporate walls and the government walls that surround them."
Tell that to Michael De Kort -- if you can catch him in-between interviews.
"They [the people] need to know the level of incompetence and the decisions that were being made," De Kort said. "Your ethics -- especially after 9/11 -- cannot be decisions of convenience -- they can't be decisions of economics."
