As a former naval officer who served a tour of duty as an intelligence officer, I am astonished at the covert information released to the media by the U.S. government. The operation against Bin Laden is an example of this problem.
The media reported details of the military operation, including the designation of the units assigned to the task. They received access to information on a dog involved in the operation, the name of the dog trainer and the location of the training base. When President Obama visited the troops to congratulate them the names and faces of many individuals were plainly visible on TV.
The media reported we captured Bin Laden’s computers, CDs, and telephone numbers with information on numerous al-Qaida terrorists and future plans of the terrorist group. It even received some access to Bin Laden tapes.
One story reported the activities of the U.S. intelligence agencies and how they found Bin Laden. They even reported on a CIA operation inside Pakistan.
And why didn’t we keep the death of Bin Laden a secret while we mined the information we gathered and sought out al-Qaida terrorists?
Our loose talk and openness continues to aid the enemy.
Donald A. Moskowitz
Londonderry, NH