Posted on 05/04/2011 4:08:28 AM PDT by Pecos
Is anyone except me bothered by the fact that the President, Mr. Panetta, et al, have repeatedly broken one of the primary rules of intel - namely that professionals never reveal the sources and methods by which they obtain information. On one level, it was good to know that enhanced interrogation techniques (previously reviled by Liberals as only being used by horrible people) have netted usable informaiton, and that we are clever and patient enough to track down the courier that was servicing the OBL compound. But at a higher level, letting the world know how we obtained sufficient detail to allow us to execute a very clean strike in the middle of Pakistan without that government knowing about it is dumber than a box of rocks. We just lost a whole collection of valuable techniques because we can't use them anymore. How many contacts have we just killed? How many other potential contacts have we just told "We will screw you in an instant if it serves the President's agenda"? I have never served in the intel community, but it doesn't take a lot of genius to understand that, in the long run, doing the right thing always trumps doing the expedient thing.
All of this is in addition to the fact that the WH still hasn't gotten their story straight as to what REALLY happened in the OBL compound. Gathering the true facts after a fire fight takes time, patience, and careful de-briefing. The WH was way too fast on the draw in terms of wanting to get the story out ahead of the news cycle. Amateurs. And I use the word with all possible derision dripping from it.
Agreed.
You’re right, Pecos: it’s the poorest OPSEC I’ve ever seen. And how hard can it be for the WH to “get their story straight?” They were eyewitnesses, for goodness’ sake! Just a continuation of the amateurishness of this administration.
TC
Uhmmm.....why would he treat sources any differently than the American people?
Sort of sends a mixed message if the taxpayers are the only ones who have to get that message.
Well, whaaadya know......
It appears that we elected a buncha screwups.
This is news?
WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN FOR THE LAST COUPLA YEARS????
Since the sources are still in custody at Club Gitmo, I don't think revealing their names hurts us. Although, with the recidivism rate for Gitmo detainees who have been released, I almost wish that we had revealed a bit less about the actual identity of the particular person, and left it at "several individuals who were interrogated by the CIA and later transferred to Gitmo." That way, any who are released from there would be suspect by their "friends" when they are released. If they get killed by their own after they are released, I'm not worried about that.
Besides, it's "better" to say we got the info from snitches at Gitmo than to admit that the Pakistanis, the Indians and even Christiane Amanpour told us (some as early as 2007 or 2008) that OBL was living in "luxury" in Pakistan. If that information was known, people would wonder why this administration took until 2011 to get their "most wanted" AQ leader.
As for the timing and general clumsiness for the release of information to the public, there were several factors at work.
First, there is general incompetence on display. True professionals would have had "media plans" for the most likely foreseeable outcomes of this operation. One plan for "Mission accomplished, OBL is dead." A separate plan for "Mission failed, all operatives KIA/MIA or captured." This administration appears to have had no plans for media relations after the operation.
Beyond the general incompetence, there is also a display of petty revenge. Either Obama or one of the teleprompter writers is fixated on one particular individual. They want to do everything they can to destroy that person. Therefore, it was absolutely critical to preempt the networks (one in particular) leading up to 11:00pm on Sunday night. Even the "leaks" were timed for this purpose. The initial announcement was as much about "getting Donald Trump" as it was about informing the American people.
The rush to "get the Donald" resulted in some other mistakes which came from making a public announcement before the operatives had been fully debriefed and the facts were fully known.
That doesn't explain why the photos haven't been released 3 days later, or why the story line of the operation continues to evolve even today. Those elements are more evidence of the first issue, incompetence and lack of planning for media release after the mission was successful.
I’ve been very wide awake for some time now (including the Bush years). The actions I described do not come as a shock to me. And, since I had no expectations of competence, they cannot be said to disappoint me. I just had to lay it out on the table, because sometimes the obvious needs to be placed front and center.
My only gentle correction to your posting would be your use of the phrase “we elected...”. I prefer to say that “too many Americans were blinded by their own guilt (or tingley feeling) and voted for...”. The man has never had my support.
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