The Great Compromise

[Bill Moore]

Shortly after the 9/11 attacks, President Bush said we're in a new type of war. It should have been a new type of war (new for the U.S., but very old to some like the Israelis). It should have been a war largely fought in the shadows by SOF and the CIA and our allies' equivalents. Every now and then a report would surface to confirm the death of one of the murderers, but it wouldn't be an expose of who did it, because that would obviously put them and their families at risk. It would also set a norm, where the media would expect to be spoon fed scoops by officials so they so could get rich by transforming a deadly serious war and event into a media circus.

During the Cold War we knew how to keep secrets, but now we created a self fulfilling myth that all aspects of the operation will leak anyway, so we need to be the first ones out with the story. Doesn't really matter if we put those fighting at risk, or compromise techniques and tactics to the point where they can't be used again, the important thing is to get the story out and exploit it for all its worth.

So now we have a new norm, and that new norm is officials granted secret clearances and entrusted with classified information feel they have the right, or even the obligation to intentionally leak this information to the media. So many have done it now, and no one has been prosecuted, so we in effect have neutralized any laws covering these violations by ignoring them. How can prosecute the next group of clowns when they leak classified information, when we haven't prosecuted the previous ones? Why do lawyers spend more time trying to prosecute our interrogators who were following the orders of their bosses than prosecuting those government officials that divulge classified information?

It didn't start with the last administration, but the exposure and subsequent attack of Mrs Plame (former CIA employee) for political gain was one such instance. The death penalty wouldn't have been too much for those that authorized this, regardless of your poltical views.

Now we have identified ST6 as the heroes who killed UBL. Why? The original story that a small group of American operators killed him would have been sufficient. No one outside a select few should have known more. Was it CIA, Z, SEALs, Rangers, SF, or the 82d? It didn't matter, what mattered was the mission was a success. Now we have SEALs and their families everywhere at risk due to this stupid and treasonous act. Of course that wasn't enough, someone had to mention we had a safehouse there (maybe, maybe not), but it doesn't matter. An official said it, so it will be believed.

We can't fight and win a war against terror in the shadows if we don't enforce our secrecy laws. I know secrecy is an uncomfortable topic in a democracy, but the fact that we're killing terrorists isn't a secret, but who is killing the terrorists is. Exposing them to added danger really provides no additional transparency to the American people, it only provides them with a media circus and cheapens the war, the battles and the people involved.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-13379298

Mr Gates revealed that the US Navy Seal team had expressed concerns over their safety and that of their families.

Mr Gates said details of the raid had leaked despite the intention by officials to keep them secret.

"Frankly a week ago Sunday, in the [White House] situation room, we all agreed that we would not release any operational details from the effort to take out Bin Laden," he said.

"That all fell apart on Monday, the next day."

I'm sure the men and women who risk their lives everyday around the world fighting the real war on terror in the shadows appreciate some butt wipe leaking this for whatever political gain they hoped to gain. It is a new type of war, not the one I thought President Bush was referring to, but rather the media circus war. We're our own worst enemies.

[jmm99]

Great post, Bill.

Political "chest thumping" has polluted the environment throughout the "AQ events" (from the 1993 WTC bombing).

I think one reason for that "chest thumping" lies in the symbiotic relationship (like them bug pictures) between the Political Class and the Media (mainstream and otherwise): Political Class < > Media. Both have a need to fill the 24-hour news cycle.

I think a second reason lies in the uncertainty and outright disputation (among the same performers) about how to tackle the "AQ events". If one is not certain about one's course of action, then one reverts back to the "Great Gorilla" plan - chest thumping.

I think a third reason is a loss in the sense of personal confidentiality - that is, that certain facts and communications remain confidential, regardless of whether or not they are "classified" (and at what level). What happens in Vegas today, is not likely to stay in Vegas.

In any event, we (as viewers) have been treated to - and probably in the future will be treated to - an event-based play by play and color commentary by the formal and informal spokespeople of whatever administration is in office. That is contrary to everything I was taught.

A definite need exists for extensive force feeding of the Political Class with very large amounts of this (orig. HT to a guy named Moore):

Smaller Cup of Shut.jpg

I was struck by Dave Maxwell's brief article at SWJ, A Recommendation for Quiet Professionals, which also deals with "chest thumping" - but of such a lesser order of magnitude than the Politico-Media "chest thumping".

My three cents worth.

Regards

Mike

[Bill Moore]

I just read Dave's article and concur with it. I think he would agree with my post (maybe not the tone). Somethings are classified for a reason, and others are classified out of habit. As the SECDEF stated above, all agreed to keep their mouth shut about this operation (the who done it part) for legitimate reasons. To add insult to injury I see they released a new video game that includes UBL's house, so want to be warriors can pretend to be heroes why they drink their coke and munch on their potato chips, again misrepresenting what war is to our public.

My take from Dave's article was we're obligated to write about our experiences in a professional manner so we can our thoughts to the existing body of knowledge. I agree 100% when you're not writing about classified operations and techniques (this only represents a small percentage of what we do). He also said not to chest thumb, and we have seen plenty of that. We may disagree (we'll see), but I think advocating for SOF to lead certain operations is far from chest thumbing, but appropriate based on SOF's unique training, education and task organization. If we're not unique from conventional forces (I hate the term special, but it is here to stay), then we wouldn't need SOF and I don't think many rational professionals would agree with that statement. Dave also hit the nail on the head about this persistent myth that conventional forces are out to "get SOF." Fort Bragg is home to many great conspiracy theories and this is one of them.

[Steve Blair]

I agreed with Dave's article from a more historical perspective. Just think of how much wisdom disappeared when the SOG 1-0s and 1-1s (along with the team members) left the service and rarely wrote about their experiences.

In something of a side note, the raid on OBL's compound reminded me more of Son Tay than it did anything else. Right down to the loss of one helicopter.

[DVC]

great post, bill.

Political "chest thumping" has polluted the environment throughout the "aq events" (from the 1993 wtc bombing).

I think one reason for that "chest thumping" lies in the symbiotic relationship (like them bug pictures) between the political class and the media (mainstream and otherwise): Political class < > media. Both have a need to fill the 24-hour news cycle.

I think a second reason lies in the uncertainty and outright disputation (among the same performers) about how to tackle the "aq events". If one is not certain about one's course of action, then one reverts back to the "great gorilla" plan - chest thumping.

I think a third reason is a loss in the sense of personal confidentiality - that is, that certain facts and communications remain confidential, regardless of whether or not they are "classified" (and at what level). What happens in vegas today, is not likely to stay in vegas.

In any event, we (as viewers) have been treated to - and probably in the future will be treated to - an event-based play by play and color commentary by the formal and informal spokespeople of whatever administration is in office. That is contrary to everything i was taught.

A definite need exists for extensive force feeding of the political class with very large amounts of this (orig. Ht to a guy named moore):

Smaller Cup of Shut.jpg

i was struck by dave maxwell's brief article at swj, a recommendation for quiet professionals, which also deals with "chest thumping" - but of such a lesser order of magnitude than the politico-media "chest thumping".

My three cents worth.

Regards

mike

+1