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Loose Canons
The White House Sieve
Leaking away intelligence secrets — even to Hollywood — for re-election advantage.
Leaks are the currency of politics. They come in many flavors, but they all have one thing in common. There has never been a leak that was not motivated by the thought that, by breaking a confidence, a leaker could help himself or his political allies achieve a political or monetary goal.
Big leaks can change the course of world events. The leaker behind the Washington Post story identifying nations in which the CIA had secret prisons to hold and interrogate captured terrorists sought to thwart those nations’ cooperation and some of those nations chose to close those prisons. The leaker — or leakers — behind the New York Times story on the National Security Administration’s secret interception of terrorist communications succeeded in causing a political firestorm around the NSA program, causing new limitations to be imposed on it. The leaker behind the New York Times story showing that a consortium of European financial institutions — the “SWIFT” consortium — was helping us trace and interrupt terrorist financing was trying to end that cooperation.
The flood of leaks coming out of the Obama administration are aimed at our intelligence capabilities and at Israel.
Obama and his team are leaking — and apparently planning to leak — information that has already damaged our national security and those of our allies. And they are both adept and reckless in their leaks, pursuing some anticipated electoral advantage by their maneuvers.
The principal example was in the rush to announce the killing of Osama bin Laden a year ago. Within a day of the operation that succeeded in killing the world’s most-wanted terrorist, the president was on television announcing it. Contemporaneously, administration officials were telling the press that we’d seized an enormous trove of intelligence in the bin Laden compound in Abbotabad, Pakistan. But why the rush?
Intelligence information spoils like raw meat in the hot sun. The fact that we had killed bin Laden was big news, but it shouldn’t have been announced so quickly. And having the information we’d seized — and by then we didn’t know how much we had or what it was worth — was a fact that we should not have disclosed at all. Had Team Obama chosen to keep secret that we’d seized a trove of documents and computer hard drives, the information they contained could have at least been analyzed quickly and possibly used to plan more successful “capture or kill” missions against other al Qaeda leaders and operational terrorists. But by immediately telling the world that we had the information, the Obama administration destroyed its value. Al Qaeda is evil, not stupid. Every one of those leaders and terrorists must have run from their hiding places to new ones we didn’t know about.
Rep. Peter King (R-NY), chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, said last week that an administration leak of the identity of a Pakistani doctor who cooperated with the CIA in verifying that bin Laden was in the Abbotabad compound led directly to the Pakistanis’ arrest of Dr. Shakil Afridi, who was sentenced to 33 years in prison by a Pakistani court last week. How many other people will cooperate with the CIA in counter-terrorism operations after that?
Now, according to several reports, we know that many classified details of the bin Laden operation were revealed to a Hollywood team producing a movie on the raid. Hollywood shouldn’t be privy to intelligence sources and methods or the methods Dev Group (a.k.a. SEAL Team Six). The only possible explanation of that apparently massive leak of highly classified information is that the Hollywood folks will be grateful enough for the leak to portray Obama heroically just before the election. It’s corrupt: bribery by leak.
The leaks pouring out on the bin Laden mission are shocking enough. But they are a commonplace in Obama’s pursuit of his reelection.
Last March, Mark Perry’s article in Foreign Policy divulged — on the basis of administration leaks — that Israel had a secret agreement with Azerbaijan to base aircraft there, giving the Israelis a huge advantage in a possible attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities. The motivation is all too clear. Obama wants to postpone the hard decisions any American president would have to make if that attack were made. By leaking the alleged Israeli agreement with Azerbaijan, Obama may have precluded Azerbaijani cooperation with Israel and possibly forced Israel to delay any action against Iran until after November.
The Israelis have been unwilling to assure Obama that they would not attack Iran before or after the election. Now the plans for the inevitable attacks may have to be changed, delaying them an unknown amount of time.
March was a big month for leaks, or plans for them. Pentagon official Brad Roberts told the House Armed Services Committee that the Obama administration was planning to release classified information on our missile defense system to Russia, saying “…cooperation could be well-served by some limited sharing of classified information of a certain kind if the proper rules were in place to do that.”
The planned cooperation was so well-served that, two months after Roberts’s testimony, Chief of the Russian General Staff Gen. Nikolai Makarov threatened a pre-emptive strike to destroy American anti-missile systems deployed in Europe. That was a bluff intended to compel Obama into giving Russia the information it wants. And it will succeed because Obama — if he’s reelected — can share the information without suffering political damage this year.
Most recently, another leak — again, alleged to have come from the Obama administration — revealed the identity of an agent inside al Qaeda. In its zeal to claim credit for stopping another underwear bomber attack, the administration revealed the identity of the man who penetrated al Qaeda and posed as a willing bomber — apparently a British operator, not one of ours. The Brits are reportedly furious, as well they should be. Why should they share secrets with America when those secrets are to be used politically, the Obama administration claiming credit for stopping the attack?
Every leak that involves another nation — be it Israel or Britain or Iran or Russia — is aimed at changing that nation’s behavior. Every leak (or announcement) claiming credit for killing a terrorist or thwarting an attack has to be judged in the context of the intelligence information connected to it and how our intelligence community is helped or hurt by it. The Obama administration’s practice is to disregard the effects on our allies and our intelligence community.
The job of assessing the effects of the Obama administration’s leaks has to be left to historians because those effects can’t be foreseen, and many will be hidden (barring more leaks) in the shadow world of intelligence. Some may become apparent soon, as when the Israel-Iran war erupts. Others may remain classified for decades.
But we can judge now that the Obama administration is adept at claiming credit and inept in ignoring the effects of its leaks. It’s all about November, and the president is unconcerned about anything else.
About the Author
Jed Babbin served as a Deputy Undersecretary of Defense under George H.W. Bush. He is the author of several bestselling books including Inside the Asylum and In the Words of Our Enemies. You can follow him on Twitter @jedbabbin.
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Ken (Old Texican)| 5.29.12 @ 7:08AM
None dare call it treason?
Von Mises Jr| 5.29.12 @ 8:12AM
Another casualty to political correctness. We got Obama due to people's foolishness in being influenced by PC, and now many can't even admit their mistakes due to PC. Words mean things, and it is a good word, Ken.
TLP| 5.29.12 @ 9:17AM
Well, I HAD a nice little Manifesto scribbled down, but, apparently, I have spoken those things, that shall Not be Spoken, and so it's gone.
All of the REMINDERS of all of the Actions of America's first Presidential Administrtion, operating Solely in the Interests of America's Enemies, with the intention of bringing this Country to its knees.
We had Hussain giving Polonium Putin, the Numbers and Serial Numbers, of every last one of Britains' Nuclear Inventory. We had Honduras in there. Venezuela. All of the Central, and South American Huntas, in there. Azirbijan, the Bust of Winston Churchill, Libya, Syria, Israel, Islam, Islamists, Guillotines, French Kings, $600 Sneakers, $3,000 Handbags, a $5,000 Prom Dress at the State of the Union, and even a 4 hour boner, from the likes of Purp, DRed, Alan Brooks (He wishes) and all the rest of our Supporting Cast of Double jointed, Effeminate, Bend Over FOREWARD types, who are required to call a Doctor, after every encounter with Obama's Picture, his Voice, or when merely hearing someone mention his name.
I saw on Drudge that there are, apparently, 37 or so, WORDS out there, that, when written, will alert the Guardians of Free Speech, at the George Soros funded White House, whereby the Most Transparent President who ever Sealed away all of his Pertinent Personal Documentation in a Vault on a Volcanic Island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, in the History of the Country, will SHUT YOU DOWN.
Amerika, under the 1st Black, America Hating, Marxist, Muslim, who somehow managed to attend the best Ivy League Schools, after having "Spent my High School Years in a (Drug Induced) DAZE".
Off with his head!
Von Mises Jr| 5.29.12 @ 9:26AM
Hey TLP. Perp has gone underground. He is now JEFFERSON. What a joke. He should be King George III.
I still contend that we have one troll. Can we actually have three complete morons such as Perp/Jefferson/King George III, DRedful and Bootsie? I contend that we have one stupid troll with multiple User Logins on its computer. What is the probability of finding that many stupid Marxist in one place outside communist demonstrations and the NBP Party?
cali| 5.29.12 @ 9:29AM
Exactly!!!
It would be nice if he were leaking all of his hidden history, such as college transcripts, passport info and birth certificate among many.
Harry the Horrible| 5.29.12 @ 10:11AM
"Because, when traitors prosper, it is not treason."
Occam's Tool| 5.29.12 @ 1:33PM
I have called it treason. It is treason. Obama should be impeached for this.
Alan Brooks| 5.29.12 @ 11:02PM
"Had Team Obama chosen to keep secret that we'd seized a trove of documents and computer hard drives"
Babbin, everyone knew bin Laden had secrets and hard drives, it was a given.
The Bruce| 5.29.12 @ 11:25PM
Yes, but the president didn't have to open his mouth and announce to the entire world that we retrieved those hard drives.
spike59| 5.31.12 @ 6:30AM
but 'everyone' didn't know the LOCATION of the documents and hard drives, moron, or that we were able to recover them
Jack in Wi.| 5.29.12 @ 7:10AM
If the leaks stopped Israel from attacking Iran and starting another world war they have my full support. Any leaks that expose the Israeli's and their crimes should be fully encouraged. As for Bin Laden it was a big political coup for Obama. Do you really think Bush or any Republican would have held back on that news? It's all politics.
dark man| 5.29.12 @ 7:24AM
You're losing Wi Jack, be afraid
Jack in Wi.| 5.29.12 @ 7:29AM
The country is losing not me. The intelligence community and the military are the ones doing the leaking. They want no more wars for Israel. They have had enough of all this lies and nonsense. It is they who have to put up the blood sweat and tears of these endless wars. Remember our military and remember the USS Liberty. No more wars for lies and nonsense.
Paul Kotik| 5.29.12 @ 9:16AM
If all these wars were for Israel, how come Israel's strategic position has steadily worsened?
Huh, numbnuts?
Jack in Wi.| 5.29.12 @ 10:33AM
Because the neocons are idiots. Israel could of had peace with its neighbors decades ago and beeen a real prosperous country living in peace with it's neighbors. That would have ment giving up the idea of a huge country taking in all of Palistine, and big parts of Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Egypt. Instead this albatross around the neck of the USA is dragging us down with them.
Mike Rogers | 5.29.12 @ 11:01AM
Considering that:
A) there is no such things a Palestinian.
B) arabs living in Israel tend to prosper, while those living under the "Palestinian Authority" are in poverty and misery.
Perhaps it would have been better for Israel to conquer all of the surrounding areas, offer limited local government, and rule with an iron fist: stay and prosper, or undermine the rule of law ad be expelled.
Jack in Wi.| 5.29.12 @ 12:26PM
Na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na
TAS Spiel Team Six Six Six| 5.29.12 @ 2:40PM
Jack786 in Iranconsin,
You somehow managed to misspell 'na' in sixteen separate instances in your post.
Jack in Wi.| 5.29.12 @ 5:00PM
Thats not me. I must be geting them mad to start in with the name stealing again. Who cares Na Na Na is Ok with me.
TAS Spiel Team Six Six Six| 5.29.12 @ 5:32PM
John in Wisconsiran,
You somehow manage to misunderstand the irany on sixteen separate levels by your response.
Alan| 5.31.12 @ 10:35AM
Na na na na, na na na na, hey, hey GOODBY!!!!!!!!! From the boys in Haifa, Adios Amigo!!!
Occam's Tool| 5.29.12 @ 1:35PM
"could have." "Its neighbors." "Meant." "Palestine."
They do not have any parts of Iraq, or Egypt, or Lebanon. The parts of Syria and Jordan won were conquered in DEFENSIVE wars.
Ignorant and Illiterate you are, Jack the Nazi.
RCV| 5.29.12 @ 8:36PM
They gave back the parts they won from Egypt, except for Gaza, which the Egyptians wouldn't take back. They will never give back the Golan, if they're smart ... and they certainly are that.
I wish they had given back to Jordan most of the West Bank , except for the areas around Jerusalem and anything else worthwhile that they wanted. In retrospect, it would have saved a lot of future trouble. But too late for that, and we have to deal with the facts on the ground.
Mike Rogers | 5.29.12 @ 10:54AM
One day the purported conservative, next day, the true anti-Semite.
I get the strong defense and less offense bit, but anti-semitism is beyond the pale.
martin j smith| 5.29.12 @ 7:27AM
One way to tell who is doing the leak would be to give a bit misinformation and see where it goes. Te more this information sounds true the better. I will be this happens. And BTW under GWB there was no end to leaks from every echelon of Government.
TLP| 5.29.12 @ 9:46AM
Stop it.
We already KNOW who's doing the leaking.
It's the HEAD of the ROTTING FISH.
We need to end all of this Cinderella Bullsh*t, where this MFer is Concerned.
He doesn't meet with his Cabinet. He doesn't meet with Congressional Members of either Party. He has no friends. Apparently, he's NEVER had any. He's never had a REAL Girlfriend, just an Amalgam of the pictures that are already in the frames, when we buy them.
We're talking about President I. President ME. Our Military fights "On MY behalf".
Don't forget. HE killied Bin Laden. HE got Khaddafi, albeit, from the back of the bus.
The Economy is HIS, should something good occur. Should the opposite happen, he will gladly point you to the House where the last guy lives, these days.
He uses I, Me, Mine, in every speech he gives, more than A, And, The, and Is, COMBINED.
He is the Narccissists' Narccissist. He is THE ONE that we've all been waiting for. You don't believe me? ASK HIM!
He is the Alpha and the Omega. The Ying and the Yang. The Chi and the Id. And he has his Idolaters, well placed, in America's (so-called) Main Stream Media Outlets, so as to impress upon the rest of us, that, even though we can see that he is Naked, this Self Adorizing, Pomposity of a Buffoon EMPEROR, is actually, adorned in the Finest of Cloths, from the finest Haberdashers the world has ever known.
Please try to stay Focused on the Target.
I know that it's easy to succumb to your eye's desire to let themselves Glaze Over. Fight it. It's easy.
Think of Hillary in her underwear, lying underneath Alan and Purp, as they go at it.
That'll snap ya out of it.
Capatolistmom| 5.29.12 @ 1:10PM
Enjoy your posts - you really need your own blog!! And what are the 37 words?? If we all use them we could keep those people busy for weeks!!
TLP| 5.29.12 @ 2:25PM
I didn't actually read that story, but I'd bet Mitt Romney's $10,000 that I wrote all of them.
And, Thanks, for all of your nice words.
Anthony| 5.29.12 @ 10:04AM
Yes Martin, especially the ones from State, those infamous leaked "intelligence estimates" that Iran was not developing uranium for a weapon and that Iran was not capable of developing a bomb.
All done of course, to prevent Bush from taking any decisive action, if he was so inclined.
The number of lefty traitors who leaked info during the Bush administration, in order to thwart his policies, almost exceedes the number of Communists in our government during the McCarthy era, and there were many!!!
Don't believe me, just ask Robert Kennedy Jr. about his daddy's commie hunting days!!
numbatdog| 5.29.12 @ 7:27AM
It is clear that the interests of the country come a long, long way behind the self interest of the Democratic party and the socialist technocrats who control it.
And make no mistake. Once the official finger pointing starts, democrats of a more centralist leaning will try separate themselves from the disgraceful actions of their radical leaders.
But they have been happily riding the back of the leftist tiger as long as it benefited them personally.
It's a little late in the day to say "we didn't know" when it is perfectly clear to any thinking person that Obama and his gaggle of unelected czars are poison to the USA.
Double D| 5.29.12 @ 7:33AM
Obama's October surprise is going to be an attack on Iran that, "I authorized, I planned and I directed." That's the only reason he is not supporting Irsael now.
c. j. acworth| 5.29.12 @ 8:09AM
He's also going to claim that he single-handedly carried it out.
Mike Rogers | 5.29.12 @ 10:56AM
Can we tie him to the bunker buster and make that literally true?
Von Mises Jr| 5.29.12 @ 8:23AM
"Taqiyya" is the Islamist word for "Lying" for advancement of the faith. For socialist, it falls under propaganda.
Whether Obama is a Muslim with plans against the US, a socialist of one or several flavors, or simply an Alinskyite seeking POWER; his allegiance is certainly not to the United States as founded and our Constitution. He disregards the "Enumerated Powers" and "Separation of Powers" Doctrines, and flouts our Rule of Law. So I am not surprised at all. And anyone who still is must be a radical ideolog or a fool.
Capatolistmom| 5.29.12 @ 1:09PM
After reading his infomation from "infed" I believe "the One" follows Antonio Gramsci!!! He and the democratic party (especially in education) are following Gramsci's idology to a tee!!! Much scarrier than Alinsky and much more all incompassing!!
jason haudenshield| 5.29.12 @ 9:07AM
1st alot of the leaks came from the dems who got to be read in on the info during bush's time. Obama is a African socialist he views Israel as a colonial nation. thats why we sit back and watch the killing in Syria. but we supported the over throw in Libya.
Rmm| 5.29.12 @ 9:13AM
With Our Dear Leader it's all about Me, Myself, and I. Oh, and don't forget he is the smartest guy in the room. Jeez !!!!
Paul Kotik| 5.29.12 @ 9:18AM
I wonder whether anybody has thought about Obama's post-White House life.
Does anybody have the slightest doubt that Barack Obama will disclose any and all US secrets to any party hostile to the US ?
Capatolistmom| 5.29.12 @ 3:32PM
He already is exposing our secrets, we don't have to wait until he is out of office!! However, I like to think of Obama knee deep in litigation once all of his antics and his administrations antics are expossed, post presidency. Just think of the the mess at the DOJ alone!!
Paul Kotik| 5.29.12 @ 9:38AM
What I've Learned From Commentors On This Site:
I used to think that An Enemy of My Enemy is My Friend.
Now, thanks to Jack in WI and others, I see that this is not true. Some enemies of my enemy are also my enemies.
For example, American crypto-Nazis may be Barack Obama's enemy, but they're certainly not my friends.
Occam's Tool| 5.29.12 @ 1:37PM
Nicely put, Paul. I, of course, am your friend.
Thom| 5.29.12 @ 3:41PM
All the “socialist collectives” including Fascism end up at the same destination eventually. Academic nitwits will argue till a blue moon that the various favors of Marx are distinct and different while actual practice has shown that they all have the same central flaws as the “global warming” crowd and its arguments. The central tenets are the same; the methods vary according to the comfort level with the “wet work” required.
At best one of these “collectives” can be a temporary ally but in the end you will either have to destroy them because they will you otherwise. The flip side of this is that the isolation/passivism movement will sell you out at the first chance they get if they think it will buy them 5 minutes more life… One minute they push that we should withdraw from the world and let allies be swallowed up by their enemies the next we should do everything possible to make it impossible for our allies to defend their self interest because it might bring us into the mess. This is the circular thinking of a delusional nutcase that won’t lift a finger to help anyone that doesn’t think like he does.
Paul, there are plenty of enemies within....
Anthony| 5.29.12 @ 9:54AM
Team Obozo wasn't sure if leaking sensitive intelligence immediately after the "Kill" wasn't as important as telling the world Obozo was shooting par when the "Killing" was taking place.
Maybe the Romney numbnuts campaign team can start a campaign about the "Kill" movie being made and released prior to the election, as being the product of a breach of national security all for the purpose of Obozo's re-election.
Try it guys, it's worked for Ds countless times!!!
Appleby| 5.29.12 @ 10:36AM
Somehow in his storied past, Obama clearly missed the most important lesson anyone will ever learn if he expects to live to be old:
ACTIONS HAVE CONSEQUENCES.
There is no Reset Button on Reality.
It DOES go on your Permanent Record.
The Bruce| 5.29.12 @ 11:47PM
His permanent record is currently under federal seal, or are we talking about his new permanent record?
JimH| 5.29.12 @ 10:36AM
The leaks coming from the Hindmost’s administration are not unexpected, after all, to quote Michael Ray Richardson, ‘the ship be sinking’.
Who Knows?| 5.29.12 @ 12:00PM
Obama is the Leaker-in-chief.
Excuse me, I have to get up and take a leak.
You don’t give a shit?
Why, I just took one of THOSE, as well!
It’s long bothered my right thinking linguistic “take” on releasing urine and excrement---
Why isn’t pissing “giving” a leak: when loosening the urethra, to empty the bladder, how is that a “take”?
Who “takes” a shit, except the workers at a waste treatment plant, who earn their living transforming our turds?
I DO give a shit, though, about all these leaks!
Rev. Romulus Johnson Jr.| 5.29.12 @ 2:39PM
You've got to wonder where the [leaks] are [really] coming from? Just this morn. Drudge relays the news SpecOps are HALO/HAHO dropping into NK to surveil the extent of the tunnels that run under the DMZ, good stuff, but who's the treasonous s o b that's revealing that!!!
cicero| 5.29.12 @ 3:08PM
This has been a problem for several decades, now. When nobody prosecuted the leakers during the Viet Nam war, and nobody prosecuted the leakers during the Clinton years, and nobody prosecuted the Clinton aide who jammed classified docs down the front of his pants to save his fearless leader from grief, the liberal left got the impression that they could compromise the Country with impunity. Since they are smarter, and more virtuous than anybody else, whatever they do is, by definition, all right. There are no longer any consequentces to treason. We still have such luminaries as Jane Fonda, John Kerry, and that little creep who gave all of the document to Wikileakes that cost people their lives, who are not hanging from the nearest tree.
Unless we get more serious about preserving and protecting this great country, the lessening of our defenses will continue, until the time when we are vulnerable to the attacks of our enemies.
Perhaps a few prosecutions with the zealousness of the Libby trial, or the Iran Contra rage will turn the tide. In order for that to happen, the Repubs are going to have to show that they are more than just weak sisters (sorry girls), who are more interested in the safety of the country than the preservation of their jobs.
Highsider| 5.31.12 @ 3:26PM
Will Obuslim be prosecuteable after he leaves office for espionage against the US in time of war?
Will He ever leave office?
CharlesMartel| 5.31.12 @ 7:38PM
About 40 years ago when there was a Tech Sergeant, a 1Lt, a Colonel between me and the Director, NSA, I was told that if I gave away any of our methods or means of intelligence gathering, I would get 20 years at Ft. Leavenworth and a $20,000 fine (about 5 years pay).
Apparently, the same rules no longer apply, if you have political connections.
EclecticHorzman| 6.4.12 @ 1:39AM
Can anyone say "Bradley Manning"? It would now seem that his only crime was not coordinating with the DNC.