Operational Security (OPSEC) The success of military and intelligence operations depend upon secrecy; without secrecy, they generally fail. Paraphrase of Gen. George Washington, First President of the United States of America
1 May 2011: Obama announces the death of Osama Bin Laden
Tonight, I can report to the American people and to the world, the United States has conducted an operation that killed Osama bin Laden I directed Leon Panetta, the director of the CIA, to make the killing or capture of bin Laden the top priority of our war against Al Qaeda I met repeatedly with my national security team as we developed more information about the possibility that we had located bin Laden hiding within a compound deep inside of Pakistan.... I determined that we had enough intelligence to take action, and authorized an operation to get Osama bin Laden and bring him to justice. at my direction, the United States launched a targeted operation against that compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan.
The May 1st raid was successful because nobody talked about it before, and if we want to preserve this capability nobody better talk about it after. Special Operations Command s Admiral Eric Olson
For Obama, Bin Laden Killing Becomes Campaign Tool WASHINGTON (AP) The killing of Osama Bin Laden, first presented as a moment of national unity by President Barack Obama, has become something else: a political weapon.
Political Campaign actions on the One Year Anniversary New York Times, 26 April 2012: Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. traveled to New York City on Thursday to praise President Obama as the man who got Osama bin Laden and to paint Mr. Romney as a cold war relic who would leave American troops stranded in Afghanistan. Associated Press, 1 May 2012: Obama s surprise trip to Afghanistan on one-year anniversary NBC TV Special: Inside the Situation Room: Obama on making OBL raid decision White House exclusively grants NBC News' Brian Williams access to the Situation Room, and interviews with Obama and top members of his security team. I did choose the risk, Obama told Williams, in the latest episode of a nearly week-long commemoration of the anniversary of the bin Laden killing.
Obama One Chance TV ad airs on anniversary of Bin Laden death
An avalanche of leaks to benefit Obama 1. Immediate disclosure of OBL death rather than wait to exploit the treasure trove of information taken by SEAL Team Six. 2. Disclosure and special access to DOD and CIA details and OBL operation personnel to Hollywood filmmakers. 3. Disclosure of the unit, the cover name, what aircraft were used, how many raiders, how they entered and moved thru the grounds, and many processes and methods of the raid on the OBL compound. 4. Disclosure of details pertaining to intelligence gathering pre-raid including the identity of the Pakistani doctor who provided intelligence information. 5. Disclosure of US and Israeli involvement in the computer viruses which targeted Iran s nuclear program. 6. Disclosure of a joint US-British-Saudi covert operation that planted a spy in Al Qaeda s affiliate in Yemen whose information stopped a terrorist bomb plot on a US-bound airliner. 7. Disclosure of the secret Obama Kill List and the use of drones.
You know the thing about heroes? They don t brag. Senator John McCain
By describing certain methods the name of the unit involved, the kinds of equipment employed, the nature of intelligence collected and techniques of insertion and extraction used in the operation the President violated a key rule of clandestine work. Former Senator Bob Kerrey, former Navy Seal, Medal of Honor
Damage #1 Obama chose to immediately publicize the killing of OBL rather than wait to fully exploit the treasure trove of information taken by SEAL Team Six: DEVGRU (SEAL Team Six) and other operatives recovered huge amounts of intelligence material. Information that might have been converted to actionable intelligence and helped destroy Al Qaeda was wasted. Al Qaeda and its allied operatives went back to doing what they do best, killing. In the year after the Obama announcement, America lost 330 killed and 4784 wounded in Afghanistan and Iraq. How many will be lost as a result of these reckless disclosures?
Damage #2 Disclosure linking a cover name to a highly classified Special Mission Unit Disclosure of that unit s location Disclosure of JSOC, the parent unit, which endangers both operators and support personnel, to include civilians Reckless endangerment of those SOF operators and their families All for personal political gain
Damage #3 Every sensitive detail was anonymously leaked to the media by unnamed officials Puts American military and intelligence personnel at severe risk both now and in the future Our enemies now better know and understand the practices that our Special Operations forces and intelligence gatherers employ
Damage #4 Obama administration gave Hollywood special access to DOD and CIA details of the operation The moviemakers are getting top-level access to the most classified mission in history. It was clear that the White House had outsourced the job of manning up the president s image to Hollywood when [filmmaker] Boal got welcomed to the upper echelons of the White House and the Pentagon and showed up recently to the surprise of some military officers at a CIA ceremony celebrating the hero SEALs.
Damage #5 The disclosure of many of the processes and methods of the raid on the OBL compound- Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures (TTP) and state of the art stealth technology were deliberately compromised and exploited for political gain
Damage #6 Disclosure of details pertaining to intelligence gathering pre-raid including: Disclosure leading to the identity of the Pakistani doctor who provided information. At least five have now been arrested by Pakistani authorities, to include a Pakistani Army major and the Doctor, who was sentenced to 33 years in prison. Pakistani Taliban: We will cut him into pieces when we find him. He spied for the U.S. to hunt down our hero Osama bin Laden.
Damage #7 Deliberate disclosure of US and Israeli involvement in computer viruses which targeted Iran s nuclear program. I read the New York Times article and my heart dropped, because the reporter wove a tapestry which has an impact that s beyond any single one thing. US Senator Dianne Feinstein, Chairwoman, Select Committee on Intelligence
Damage #8 Disclosure of a joint US-British-Saudi covert operation that planted a spy in Al Qaeda s affiliate in Yemen whose information stopped a terrorist bomb plot on a USbound airliner. Leaks such as this threaten ongoing operations, puts at risk the lives of sources, makes it much more difficult to recruit sources and damages our relationships with our foreign partners. FBI Director Robert Mueller
Damage #9 Disclosure of the secret Obama Kill List and the use of drones With each leak, our allies are left to wonder how much they can trust us with their secrets. Some in the administration have decided that scoring political points in an election year outweighs intelligence operations. US Senator Saxby Chambliss, Vice Chair, Senate Select Committee on Intelligence
Obama s Response? 7 June 2012: The White House rejected congressional calls for an independent special counsel to investigate the recent national-security leaks, described as among the worst lawmakers have ever seen. Instead, Obama appoints Justice Department lawyers he can better control. I ve been on the Intelligence Committee for 11 years and I have never seen it worse, I can tell you that. US Senator Dianne Feinstein, 6 June 2012
Obama, 8 June 2012: If we can root out folks who have leaked, they will suffer consequences.
7 June 2012 The End Result: Fox News Poll: Obama more trusted on terrorism, Romney on economy. Fox News poll finds Obama s biggest strengths are mainly foreign policy and fighting terrorism. Obama rating on fighting terrorism is 13 points higher than Romney. In the year since Obama announced OBL s killing, America lost 330 more killed and 4784 more wounded in Afghanistan and Iraq.
The Need for OPSEC: If we tell a **** terrorist we are coming to get him, how we will find him, who is coming, how we are going to do it, me or some of my friends are going to die. - anonymous SOF operator
We have a message for Barack Obama. It may have been best said by Defense Secretary Gates to Obama s National Security Advisor Donilon: I have a new strategic communications approach to recommend: Shut the f*** up.
There are two choices: Do nothing. Let the special operations and intelligence capabilities be degraded, and paraded around like a show dog.. or act to stop the problem: The Mission
STOP the politicians, Obama and others, from politically capitalizing on US national security operations and secrets!
Get out the word of who the real heroes are in the OBL raid- The US Military & Intelligence Community.
Educate the public on the importance and necessity of Operational Security in today s environment.
Methods: Special Ops OPSEC Education Fund, a 501c4 social welfare organization with a proposed connected political committee, is organized and ready to fund a web video documentary, a website and documentary style ads to further the elements of the mission.
Will you join us? Special Operations OPSEC, Inc., has a budget of $7-12 million in order to fully execute this mission. The initial $565,500 (Phase 1) will create the video documentary, film the documentary style ads, establish a website and charter and activate Special Operations veterans..seals, Delta Force, Special Forces and members of the Intelligence Community..to speak to America.
Phase 1 ($ 565,500) Media production/related: $134,000 DC Cable airtime: $50,000 Website and social media: $45,000 Organization: $182,000 Research: $72,000 Legal/Related: $82,500
Contributions 501c4 contributions are non-disclosed and those contributions should denote Special Operations OPSEC Education Fund. 527 Special Operations OPSEC political committee contributions are disclosed. Checks may be sent to: Special Operations OPSEC 901 King Street, Suite 400 Alexandria, VA 22314