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The level of detail spilling out through media reports about crucial national security operations is raising the question of whether President Barack Obama's administration can keep a secret - or in some cases even wants to.
In just the past week, two tell-all articles about Obama's leadership as commander-in-chief have been published, dripping with insider details about his sleeves-rolled-up involvement in choosing terrorist targets for drone strikes and revelations about his amped-up cyber war on Iran.
Each article notes the reporters spoke to "current and former" American officials and presidential advisers, as well as sources from other countries.
"This is unbelievable ... absolutely stunning," a former senior intelligence official said about the level of detail contained in the cyberattack story.
The official noted that the article cited participants in sensitive White House meetings who then told the reporter about top secret discussions. The article "talks about President Obama giving direction for a cyberweapons attack during a time of peace against a United Nations member state."
The article follows on the heels of what many considered dangerous leaking of details about a mole who helped foil a plot by al Qaeda in Yemen. The revelations of the British national threatened what was described at the time as an ongoing operation.
"The leak really did endanger sources and methods," Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-California and chair of the Intelligence Committee, told Fox News.
Yea Obama's foreign policy is certainly in trouble. No one is going to help us, he and his administration outs every one that helps then leaves them to their own defenses. The wanna be King of the World is stepping on too many toes. He doesn't care about anyone but himself.
Obama needs to be fed constant praise to keep his ego at it's huge size, so he spouts off about these Intel Ops to get credit, not caring one bit who it endangers.
President Obama and senior administration officials participated in a simulated cyberattack exercise on Tuesday. The simulation, which was sponsored by Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), examined how the federal government would respond to an attack that caused physical damage to the nation's critical infrastructure. The president hosted a Cabinet meeting with his leadership team to practice the decision-making that would occur following a significant attack, according to the White House. The simulation is the latest in a series of exercises to help the government prepare for a catastrophic cyber attack.
Senior administration officials, including Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and FBI Director Robert Mueller, performed a classified demonstration of how the government would respond to a cyber attack on the New York City electrical grid in front of dozens of senators in March. The White House is pushing Congress to pass cybersecurity legislation that would set mandatory standards for critical infrastructure, such as power grids and gas pipelines, to help guard against such attacks. Supporters of the mandates say they are are necessary to protect vulnerable systems from attacks that could kill thousands of people, but many Republicans argue the regulations would impose unnecessary burdens on businesses.
"As President Obama said in his State of the Union address, we need Congress to pass legislation to secure the nation from the growing danger of cyber threats, while safeguarding the privacy and civil liberties of our citizens," the White House said in its statement on the exercise. "The American people expect their government to ensure the cybersecurity of the critical infrastructure upon which so much of our national security, economic well-being, and daily lives depend." The House passed a cybersecurity bill, the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA), in April, but the bill opted for voluntary information-sharing with the government, rather than imposing mandates. Obama threatened to veto CISPA, saying it would fail to protect critical infrastructure and would undermine people's privacy by encouraging companies to hand over their customers' personal information to spy agencies.
Although the administration has made improving cybersecurity a top priority, it has also reportedly wielded cyber weapons itself. The New York Times reported last week that the United States worked with Israel to develop the Stuxnet virus, which caused centrifuges in Iranian nuclear facilities to explode. The story detailed joint U.S. and Israeli efforts to develop the virus, as well as conversations Obama had with his advisers on whether to continue the program when the virus became public in 2010. The story cited unnamed current and former U.S., Israeli and European officials.
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Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), chairwoman of the Intelligence Committee, said the leak about the attack on Irans nuclear program could to some extent provide justification for copycat attacks against the United States. This is like an avalanche. It is very detrimental and, candidly, I found it very concerning, Feinstein said. Theres no question that this kind of thing hurts our country. The FBI opened its own probe Tuesday into who disclosed information on the Iranian attack, The Wall Street Journal reported. On Capitol Hill, the Senate Armed Service Committee promised hearings, while two Republican senators called for a special counsel investigation.
Several Democrats noted with alarm that the Iranian cyber leak is just the latest in a series of media reports that disclosed classified information about U.S. anti-terrorism activity. A number of those leaks, and others in the last months about drone activities and other activities, are frankly all against national-security interests, said Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee. I think theyre dangerous, damaging, and whoever is doing that is not acting in the interest of the United States of America.
Feinstein and Kerry, however, rejected charges from Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) that the leaks were made deliberately in an attempt to boost President Obamas reelection bid. Kerry categorically rejected the accusations that the leaks were coming from the White House for political purposes, saying that was not close to reality. Feinstein also said she did not think the information about the Iran attack came from the White House. Thats hard for me to believe, she said.
A story in The New York Times last week revealed U.S. involvement with the Stuxnet worm, a computer virus that was used against an Iranian nuclear facility and caused centrifuges to explode. The story detailed joint U.S. and Israeli efforts to develop the virus as well as conversations Obama had with his advisers on whether to continue the program when the worm became public in 2010. The story cited unnamed current and former U.S., Israeli and European officials. The White House has denied that it was an authorized leak. McCain accused the White House of planting the story for political purposes, and on Tuesday joined with Intelligence Committee ranking member Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.) in calling for a special counsel to investigate and prosecute whoever is responsible for the national-security leaks.
MORE
Drone strike kills No. 2 Al Qaeda leader in Pakistan | Fox News
Republicans pissed Obama took out another al Qaeda.
Republicans let them go, Obama takes them down.
Drone strike kills No. 2 Al Qaeda leader in Pakistan | Fox News
Republicans pissed Obama took out another al Qaeda.
Republicans let them go, Obama takes them down.
