President Obama Decries National Security Leaks

[GG]

At least he didn't say the private sector is doing a heck of a job.

[DC Tom]

Have no fear. Eric Holder to the rescue!

 

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_AG_HOLDER_LEAK_PROBES?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2012-06-08-18-57-40

 

Treyvon Martin got more.

 

Of course, they wanted to get to the bottom of that.

[B-Man]

Over at Foreign Policy, Uri Friedman has gotten a start on cataloging the administration’s major leaks.

 

The list is not exhaustive: It doesn’t include the underwear bomber leak, which was among the worst, nor any of several leaks apparently designed to frustrate possible Israeli strikes on Iran.

 

But the list is lengthy, and shows an interesting pattern. Most of the leaks are not being prosecuted. And that is almost certainly because they were authorized at the highest levels of the administration.

 

.

[Nanker]

Any investigation into leaks should start with the visitors log to the White House.

It should be easy to determine which NY Times reporters visited and who they were authorized to meet with and when.

Likewise checking the Congressional visitor logs for that short list of names.

 

Funny the administration got their pants in a wad over WikiLeaks and are intent on prosecuting Bradley Manning and Julian Assange and they go and pull crap like this that has destroyed our intelligence connections in about four countries and gave cliff notes of our capabilities to our adversaries.

 

Cheers to the most "transparent" administration in history. Yes, we can see right through you.

[Taro T]

Over at Foreign Policy, Uri Friedman has gotten a start on cataloging the administration’s major leaks.

 

The list is not exhaustive: It doesn’t include the underwear bomber leak, which was among the worst, nor any of several leaks apparently designed to frustrate possible Israeli strikes on Iran.

 

But the list is lengthy, and shows an interesting pattern. Most of the leaks are not being prosecuted. And that is almost certainly because they were authorized at the highest levels of the administration.

 

.

Eh, that one could simply be due to AG Holder seeming to be in over his head. It's not definitely malfeasance, it could just be incompetance.

 

It'll be interesting to see if this story continues to grow legs.

[Doc]

At least he didn't say the private sector is doing a heck of a job.

Or that it's punching above its weight.

[3rdnlng]

http://www.weeklystandard.com/articles/leaker-chief_646839.html?page=2

 

 

The Justice Department has launched an investigation into the White Houses handling of classified information. The spur seems to have been the June 1 New York Times article by David Sanger, sourced to current and former U.S. officials, revealing sensitive details about the Stuxnet and Flame computer worms and other parts of the Obama administrations cyber campaign to disrupt and spy on Irans nuclear weapons program. By the way, none of the officials, according to Sanger, would allow their names to be used because the effort remains highly classified, and parts of it continue to this day.

 

 

Last week, legislators on both sides of the aisle deplored the administrations inability, or unwillingness, to keep national security secrets. Leaders of the Senate and House intelligence committeesSenators Saxby Chambliss and Dianne Feinstein and Representatives Mike Rogers and C.A. Dutch Ruppersbergerreleased a statement noting, We have become increasingly concerned at the continued leaks regarding sensitive intelligence programs and activities, including specific details of sources and methods.

 

In his June 8 press conference Obama tried to push back against the gathering storm. The notion that my White House would purposely release classified national security information is offensive, he said. Its wrong.

The president and the New York Times cant both be right. If the president is correct, then the paper of record, which has so far seemed to be a willing receptacle for the administrations leaks, must be printing fabrications. Last month the same newspaper detailed how the president directs U.S. drone attacks in Pakistan and Yemen based on a classified kill list of terror suspects, a story based on information from three dozen of the presidents current and former advisers. So the latest Times article on Iran, revealing what the administration has now tacitly acknowledged as a joint U.S.-Israeli program, looks to be merely the most recent installment in a campaign of intentional leaks damaging to our national security.

 

The administration, needless to say, sees things differently. From the perspective of Obamas handlers, and perhaps of their friends in the press, these leaks are spellbinding episodes in a Hollywood-worthy narrative of the president as ever-vigilant superhero, with his finger on the button, ready at a moments notice to bring the full weight of American power to bear on our adversaries, so that we may all sleep safely at night. Its epic, all right. But its spin.

 

All White Houses engage in political stagecraft, but this is something else. The Obama administration can rightly claim the crown of laurels for killing Osama bin Ladeneven if the program and personnel that brought down the al Qaeda chief were in place long before Obama came to office. But due credit was not enough for the Obama team. To craft a story about a heroic president and his leading part in American history, the administration rolled out the red carpet for moviemakers like Hurt Locker director Kathryn Bigelow, and gorged the working press with details. It was this information that disclosed the role of a local doctor whose efforts on behalf of an American clandestine operation earned him a 33-year sentence in a Pakistani prison.

 

That physician is not the only casualty of the White Houses vanity. The administration boasted of a mole who had infiltrated Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and helped thwart an attack against the United States. The man was working for British and Saudi intelligence and details of his role not only damaged the ongoing operations of allied intelligence services, but also put the lives of the agent and others at risk.

 

Who knows how the information disclosed in the Timess recent Stuxnet story may come back to harm our citizens and interests, or our ally Israels? But the message broadcast to friends, and potential friends, is clear enough. If you fail in your dangerous mission, you may die. If you succeed, you may earn a supporting role in the Obama reelection campaign.

 

Why else would they want to do this, except to enhance the image of the president six months before the election? Sen. John McCain said in an interview with The Weekly Standard last week. Why else reveal the name of this Pakistani doctor? You can only draw one conclusion. The purpose of all these leaks is to tell a story about a brave, lonely warrior with all this awesome responsibility.

Edited June 10, 2012 by 3rdnlng

[JPPT1974]

There seem to be leaks all over the place, everywhere but can't seem to confirm it.

[3rdnlng]

There seem to be leaks all over the place, everywhere but can't seem to confirm it.

 

 

I'm not sure what you are trying to say. It should be obvious that there are leaks. The only question is by who and why?