White
House denies 'political' drone leaks
THE
White House is battling claims that national security leaks to the US
media about drone strikes and cyber attacks authorised by Barack
Obama have been politically motivated to make the President look
strong in an election year.
10
June, 2012
A
bipartisan congress group including senior members of Mr Obama's
Democratic Party yesterday promised a legislative crackdown on the
disclosure of classified information after identifying a "damaging
and intolerable" problem.
The
push was led by Democrat Dianne Feinstein, chairwoman of the US
Senate's select committee on intelligence, who argues the "avalanche
of leaks" could put the lives of US military and intelligence
personnel in danger.
Senator
Feinstein said she had sent a classified letter to Mr Obama outlining
her deep concerns about the release of classified information. She
said she made it clear that "disclosures of this type endanger
American lives and undermine American national security". The
FBI has launched its own investigation into the matter.
Senior
Republicans and Democrats in the US congress are deeply concerned
about two articles in particular published in The New York Times over
the past week detailing Mr Obama's deliberations on drone strikes
against al-Qa'ida terrorists and cyber attacks against Iran's nuclear
facilities.
One
report said the President had a secret terrorist "kill list"
and related counter-terrorism discussions held in the White House
situation room as Mr Obama considered possible targets.
Another
detailed how he secretly ordered increasingly sophisticated attacks
on the computer systems that run Iran's nuclear facilities. It said
Mr Obama had decided to accelerate an operation codenamed Olympic
Games that began under the Bush administration, and confirmed that
the US and Israel were behind the so-called Stuxnet computer worm
that was accidentally spread globally on the internet after wreaking
havoc on Iran's Natanz nuclear plant.
John
McCain, who faced Mr Obama in the 2008 election as his Republican
presidential opponent, blames the White House for leaking sensitive
information and wants prosecutions for breaches of national security
if perpetrators inside the administration can be identified.
Senator
McCain claims the leaks "have a deeper political motivation"
to make Mr Obama look strong and decisive on national security in the
middle of an election campaign while his standing among voters on
economic issues remains shaky.
Suspicions
about White House involvement in leaking material have been
heightened by the Obama administration's apparently declining to
lodge complaints with the New York Times despite vigorously pursuing
past leaks.
Mr
Obama's national security council spokesman, Tommy Vietor, said "any
suggestion that the White House has leaked sensitive information for
political purposes has no basis in fact, and has been denied by the
authors themselves".
Mr
Vietor's comments followed a vigorous denial by White House spokesman
Jay Carney, who insisted "any suggestion that this
administration has authorised intentional leaks of classified
information for political gain is grossly irresponsible".
Republican
senator Lindsay Graham told Fox News this week that he did not think
the President was calling reporters, but he suggested someone in the
White House was orchestrating leaks of classified information.
"Look
at the stories," he said. "They talk about people inside
the Situation Room, talking to reporters on background, that were in
a meeting with the President: a blow-by-blow description of how you
decided which targets to hit."
New
York Times managing editor Dean Baquet yesterday dismissed claims
that the articles were based on leaks, saying they were commissioned
by the paper and had followed strenuous reporting.
"I
can't believe anybody who says these are leaks," Baquet said.
"Read those stories. They are so clearly the product of tons and
tons of reporting."
According
to the New York Times, its story on drones by reporters Jo Becker and
Scott Shane followed a lengthy investigation including interviews
with many former and serving administration officials.
The
article was moved forward for publication after a similar one
appeared in Newsweek by Daniel Klaidman, who has been working on a
book about Mr Obama's national security policy. In an email to
Huffington Post, Shane said he and Becker were commissioned to write
an article on Mr Obama's national security policy in February and
followed a "completely normal reporting process" that
included speaking to some people given permission to speak, and
others not.
The
article on the Stuxnet virus was written by New York Times reporter
David Sanger, extracted from his new book Confront and Conceal.
In
his book, Sanger says he discussed with senior government officials
the political risks of publishing sensitive information and agreed on
request to withhold some details that were considered to jeopardise
current or planned operations.
Obama
Endorses Another Escalation of CIA Drone Strikes in Pakistan
Official:
'What Do We Have to Lose?'
By
Jason Diaz
26
April, 2012
As
officials express public outrage at the Pakistani government for
various perceived slights, President Obama has been authorizing more
and more aggressive levels of drone strikes against the tribal areas,
further escalating the war in the area.
The US has claimed that the strikes are extremely accurate and based on the best intelligence possible. Despite this, the drone strikes in Pakistan have killed well over 2,000 people since President Obama took office, and fewer than 50 of the victims have ever been conclusively named by officials.
Officials familiar with the situation say that the escalation is a result of the NATO summit in Chicago, during which Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari was supposed to agree to reopen the supply routes into Afghanistan. No deal was ever finalized, and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has said that US patience toward Pakistan is running out.
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