[Numbers Guy]

The New York Times obtained Khan's name independently, and U.S. officials confirmed it when it appeared in the paper the next morning.

Once the Times let the cat out of the bag then it was pointless for the U.S. to deny the identity, as Al Qaeda's people were perfectly capable of reading the Times. The Times and whoever leaked to the Times are the culprits here.

[Nexus]

Well put. This bears repeating:

Once the Times let the cat out of the bag then it was pointless for the U.S. to deny the identity, as Al Qaeda's people were perfectly capable of reading the Times. The Times and whoever leaked to the Times are the culprits here.

[weegee]

The left will always be more outraged over Joe Wilson's wife.

[1066AD]

I read elsewhere that the name was given "off the record" so someone broke the trust. It's also a display of national differences; in UK people seem to be happy trucking along assuming the gov't is in control, over here people want to know the detail so they can make their own decisions. It's a very tricky game to play for the administration.
It would be helpful if every self-styled expert and publicity hound politician would just shut up but that's too much to hope for I guess.