The Lecture Panetta Should Deliver to President Obama

An article appeared in the 20 May 2011 edition of the Washington Post titled, “Panetta Warns CIA Workers against Leaks on bin Laden.” Someone should advise Mr. Panetta his officers know how to keep secrets—they do so every day of their service and afterward, through the rest of their lives. Mr. Panetta might best direct his lecture to President Obama and his national security advisors.

It was President Obama and his White House security staffers who made public a great deal of information on the SEAL-conducted raid on bin Laden's villa that should have remained secret. It is clear they all did so in the interest of political gain; to give President Obama and his administration a “bump up” in his sagging polls. Clearly, that information was classified; if not, it should have been classified, as the revealed material dealt directly with sources and methods.

Did they have to reveal the existence of the “stealth” surveillance drone? Did they have to reveal the existence of the CIA safe house in proximity to bin Laden’s villa? Did they have to reveal the specifics of the intelligence collected e.g., computer hard drives, diaries, thumb drives and the like? Once again, we perceive the much higher value our leaders place on political gain vice national security