President Bush has criticised newspaper reports of a secret CIA-Treasury programme to track millions of financial records across the world in search of terrorist suspects.
US President George Bush
The White House accused the New York Timesof breaking a long tradition of keeping wartime secrets.
"The fact that a newspaper disclosed it makes it harder to win this war on terror," a angry Mr Bush claimed during a brief question-and-answer session with reporters in the White House.
But the Timeshas defended its effort, saying publication has served the US public interest.
The newspaper, along with the Los Angeles Timesand the Wall Street Journal, revealed last week that Treasury officials had obtained access to an extensive international financial data base - the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, or Swift.
The New York Timesalso disclosed late last year that the National Security Agency had been conducting illegal surveillance of people with suspected al-Qaeda ties since 2002.
"Some in the press, in particular the New York Times, have made the job of defending against further terrorist attacks more difficult by insisting on publishing detailed information about vital national security programs," Vice President Dick Cheney said in a speech.
"The New York Timeshas now twice - two separate occasions - disclosed programs; both times they had been asked not to publish those stories by senior administration officials," Mr Cheney said. "They went ahead anyway. The leaks to the New York Timesand the publishing of those leaks is very damaging."
Bill Keller, executive editor of the Times, defended the decision to publish the story.
"Most Americans seem to support extraordinary measures in defense against this extraordinary threat, but some officials who have been involved in these programs have spoken to the Timesabout their discomfort over the legality of the government's actions and over the adequacy of oversight," Mr Keller said.
AP