Washington Whispers: SEALs Angry at Attention, Want it Stopped

From the beginning we have been shocked at the amount of information leaked to the media from Obama and his staff in the White House.  Obama and every person in that situation room agreed to Secretary Gates' demand that nothing be leaked about the operation.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates said President Obama's national security team initially agreed to keep details of the bin Laden raid secret, but that didn't work out so well. 

"Frankly, a week ago Sunday, in the Situation Room, we all agreed that we would not release any operational details from the effort to take out bin Laden," Gates said during a town hall with Marines at Camp LeJeune, N.C. "That all fell apart on Monday -- the next day."

Took less than 24 hours and the Counterterrorism Chief Brennan was out shooting off his mouth along with the Press Secretary Carney, and Vice President Biden about details of the operation followed by a some info from Secretary of State Clinton and Senator Diane Feinstein (D-CA).  CIA Director Panetta has been giving the facts to counter misinformation that Obama and his minions keep providing the media in their rush to prop up Obama during the week after Bin Laden was killed. The amount of information leaking including now showing the helmet cams of the SEALS where you can make out who they are is beyond disgusting.  Believe now that some members of the Obama media will write and print anything without one thought to who it might harm if it makes Obama look good.

Obama and his minions exposed how our special operations operate, have not protected the location of our SEALS along with their identity with releasing video from the helmet cams, or the data they risked their lives to retrieve from this operation.  This Administration has put the NAVY Seals and all other special operations people at risk with their leaking details of the operation to boost Obama politically.

It goes from the disgusting to the bizarre as Disney is now seeking to trademark "Seal Team Six."  What right did they have to trademark that name?  Then we have the Hero Makers Obama SEAL doll complete with a machine gun for the man that wants gun control.  That action figure may backfire on Obama if the comments on various websites are any indication.  Everyone knows he was playing golf on Sunday afternoon and they had to bring him in from the golf course not to mention he had been dithering on taking out Bin Laden since August 2010 when CIA Director Panetta told him of Bin Laden's whereabouts.

This was a special ops mission that our people could have been killed and Obama, his minions, and now toy makers treat it like it is a movie not reality.

Sad of state of affairs when you cannot trust the occupant of the White House to keep secrets.  Why is Obama so quick to leak what is obvious classified information in violation of his agreement to Gates but keeps anything about himself secret.  He is the most secretive President ever with the biggest mouth when it comes to other people.  He quit protecting the SEALS when he had them fly to Fort Campbell, an Army, base to meet with him and all the leaks have added to the worry about their safety and that of their families.  Obama and his people are providing the Islamic terrorists with a blueprint on how our special operations forces work.  WHY?

Obama has always been about politics and his reelection from day one but this time he has crossed the line putting our military and their families at risk.  If this leaking from the White House keeps up, then we can safely assume Obama and his people could care less about protecting our military who he had such disdain for before he was elected.

SEALs Angry At Attention, Want It Stopped 

By Paul Bedard

Posted: May 13, 2011 

U.S. Navy SEALs, like the teams that killed Osama bin Laden, are grateful for nation's show of support but are growing angry with the continued focus on their operation, tactics, and tools, claiming it could jeopardize future raids and their safety. 

"My friends in the community tell me they're very glad for the bit of attention they got," said former Pentagon deputy undersecretary Jed Babbin, "but at some point the best way to help them is to stop. You guys in the press have done a good job, but stop for God's sake, stop." 

[See photos of the reaction to bin Laden's death.] 

The latest straw came when CBS revealed that the members of Special Warfare Development Group, formerly SEAL Team Six, wore helmet cams into bin Laden's lair. For many, that was a detail too far and could lead those being targeted by the military to somehow deploy countermeasures. 

And Washington Whispers this week reported on two blogs that identified the type of gun the SEALs likely used to kill bin Laden, the HK416 . 

"Anything further that comes out," added Babbin, a sponsor of the Special Operations Warfare Foundation, "could damage their operational security, maybe reveal tricks of the trade or even endanger their families."

Rob Curtis, who writes the Gear Scout blog for Military Times, said that there are concerns that the focus on the bin Laden raid has distracted the special operations world. "There are still plenty of HVTs [high-value targets] out there that Joint Special Operations Command is hunting and according to my sources close to and inside of SOCOM this story has become a huge distraction for the community."

[Check out political cartoons about the War in Afghanistan.] 

What's more, he adds, "It's my feeling that the administration has aimed a spotlight into one of the darkest corners of our national security apparatus without regard for the damage it might do to its ongoing operations."

Of course, President Obama led the SEALs parade, even visiting with many after the killing in Pakistan. What's more, the public has a huge appetite for what some call "SEAL porn," stories about every little detail on how the special operations warriors operate. 

Source: US News and World Report

Once again Paul Bedard of US News and World Report has brought the facts that Obama and the leakers from his Administration along with the Obama media have put these men and their family at risk with their big mouths.  Because they have also revealed the details of how this operation went down including with the choppers, they are putting other special operations forces at risk as well.

The more we read from various sites the more we find other people share our opinion about all the leaking harming our special ops missions by telegraphing how missions go down and what tactics are used.  Is it all to prop up Obama for his reelection or is it something more sinister?  We frankly don't know.  What we do know is that it is time for this White House led by Barack Obama to quit playing political games when it comes to the safety of any of our military.

Obama White House Spin Clarifies the Clarifications -- Incompetence Rules

We have noted through this whole White House debacle that the British papers along with American bloggers have been far out in front of all the clarifications but this one from the London Telegraph says it all.

Osama bin Laden: that White House clarification in full
By Damian Thompson
May 4, 2011

This just in from an exclusive source…

In an earlier briefing, we may have given the impression that Osama bin Laden was armed when we stormed his compound. We meant, of course, that he was unarmed. Moreover, we would like to clarify that when we said he resisted arrest, that was merely a figure of speech. In addition, we would like to make a small correction to our report that bin Laden used his wife as a human shield; he did not, in fact, use his wife as a shield. Earlier statements that she was killed were, of course, a misunderstanding. She was not killed; that was another lady. Furthermore, we would like to remove any doubt over our claim that we have decided to release a photograph of Osama bin Laden’s body by confirming that we shall not be releasing any pictures of the body. We trust that this clears up any confusion.

Source: London Telegraph

This excerpt from Pamela Geller sends shivers up your spine when you realize that the United States may have been on the verge of losing Bin Laden again as all signs pointed to his leaving the house most likely for the mountains. Obama dithering almost cost us the death of Bin Laden -- thanks to CIA Director Leon Panetta it didn't as he was not afraid to order the mission to proceed.

It is disturbing that the safe-house was discovered last August and that we risked losing OBL over the course of the past nine months. The courier's name who led to Bin Laden through Bush's CIA interrogations was leaked in the latest WIKILEAKS dump. So it was only a matter of time.

"Osama bin Laden had 500 Euros in cash and two telephone numbers sewn into his clothing when he was killed, CBS News has confirmed." It was a miracle we got there in time.

Atlas Shrugs

Found one of the best details of the continous White House spin clarifying the clarifications that happened over a 3-day period at Pamela Geller's Atlas Shrugs site. All this spin continues to lend credibility that Obama was not the one who ordered the SEAL Teams to find and kill Bin Laden. As head of the CIA, Panetta was in the perfect position to order the mission. Would be an educated guess that the true details of what happened that Sunday night won't be revealed for sometime as it would totally blow a hole in the Obama and White House spin.

Obama's Got More 'Splainin' to Do
May 5, 2011

In the aftermath of the OBL kill, it becomes increasingly clear that the only ones who got it right were the righteous, our military heroes. Leave it to the Obama administration to destroy a golden, historic moment once the kill was made. Perhaps this is why he was silent at his exploitative visit to Ground Zero earlier today. Because every time he (and members of his mafia like Brennan) open their pie hole, they stick their foot in it.

How bad did the morphing OBL naarative get? So bad that the White House said: We Won't Release Any More Operational Details About OBL Killing

After two days of administration officials offering up conflicting details and accounts of the intense U.S. assault-team raid on Osama bin Laden's compound and his subsequent killing, the White House has completely shut down press attempts to get a full accounting of what transpired.[...]

Carney repeatedly refused to answer basic operational questions about the sequence of events that occurred inside the compound Sunday night, at times appearing petulant when reporters persisted. [...]

The Obama Administration’s cloud of confusion explained Bookworm

Usually when governments use misinformation, they use it to make themselves look good. The Obama Administration gets points for originality, insofar as it’s been using disinformation and misinformation to make itself look arbitrary, unlawful, helpless and stupid. Here’s jj’s great summary:

Okay, what do we have here:

1) There was a firefight.
2) There was no firefight.
3) Bin Laden was “resisting.”
4) Bin Laden wasn’t armed. (Makes the concept of “resisting” interesting.)
5) He used his wife as a shield.
6) His wife was killed too.
7) He didn’t use his wife as a shield. She ran at a SEAL who shot her in the leg, but she’s fine.
8 ) Some other woman — the maid? — was used as a shield. By somebody. Downstairs.
9) That other woman — downstairs — was killed.
10) Maybe not. She was killed unless she wasn’t — and who was she, anyway?
11) Bin Laden’s son was killed.
12) Unless it was some other guy.
13) Bin Laden’s daughter saw him get killed. She’s undoubtedly traumatized, poor dear.
14) They were going to capture Bin Laden until the problem with the helicopter, which was:

A) It had mechanical trouble
B) It did a hard landing
C) It crashed
D) It clipped a wall with a tail rotor, effectively a crash

15.) They were never going to try to capture him; it was always a kill mission.
16.) No, it wasn’t.
17) The chopper blew up.
18) The SEALs blew it up.
19.) Panetta said yesterday the world needed proof and the photo would be released.
20.) Obama said today in an interview he taped with Steve Kroft for “60 Minutes” to be broadcast Sunday that it won’t be released. It’s too gruesome, would offend Muslim sensibilities (something he worries about a lot — I personally do not give a warm fart on a wet Wednesday about Muslim sensibilities), and how would Americans feel if Muslims released pictures of dead Americans?
21.) Kroft — who’s not a total idiot — pointed out that ever since “Black Hawk Down” days, Muslims have been doing precisely that, filming American bodies being dragged through the streets, filming Daniel Pearl’s head being cut off, filming any and everything.
22) Obama gets pissed at CBS, the tape gets cleaned up, that question disappears. (Inside info.)
23.) We got a “treasure trove” of stuff from hard drives, etc.
24.) There were no phone lines, and no internet access at the “mansion,” they didn’t even have TV — what “treasure trove?”
25.) There is obviously in the pictures of the place a large satellite dish. I guess they used it for making salads.
26.) And now, just today: apparently the idea was to capture him, but only if he was naked. There was a suspicion he might be wearing a suicide bomber type explosive vest, or belt. So if he’s not naked and you can’t see if he has a vest on or not – shoot him.

The idiot Carney — they actually managed to find someone who makes Gibbs look good — is currently twisting himself into knots trying to explain why the photograph that the whole world was expecting isn’t going to be released. (Obviously the thing to do is get Trump on the case, he’ll force Obama to release it.)

The military did great, the administration — or whatever that bunch is, kind of like “The Little Rascals” — have managed to turn it into spaghetti. The story has changed so many times in the course of a mere three days it’s a joke — the world would be better off if Panetta had left the little shitwit on the golf course.

Source: Atlas Shrugs

The latest spin of the AK-47 nearby Bin Laden but no guns were found except on one bodyguard can be added to the list along with Navy SEALS thought he was reaching for a weapon but Bin Laden was in a fog himself. Now this incompetent White House team is using the SEALS as who made the decision to shoot?

The photographs on the internet can also be added to the 'Fog of War.' There are so many photographs alleging to be the compound that it makes your head swim. We love the ones from ABC that show the oval windows where the shooting place up the stairs and then look at the outside of the compound and the home with three floors has no oval windows but why let a little detail like that discourage ABC from running with the pictures. There is a brick wall no there is a concrete wall with concertina wire not it is brick beside an alley, etc. They cannot even get the wall right so why are we surprised at anything else out of the media not to mention the White House who has been rewriting the script.

The chopper story keeps morhping as well -- they cannot even get the number right -- went from 4 to 2 back to 4 with one down and then to 2 plus they had to fly in a Chinook. One picture has the backyard all burnt and kind of looks like a chopper was set afire after being blown up but there is no hole in the fence and no hole in the ground if it was exploded. But wait a few days later the "quick growing grass" now covers up the burnt area. ABC seems to be in full cover mode for Obama which makes us wonder why.

We cannot even find out the truth from this media when it is obvious that Obama doesn't have the backbone to order a kill team into action. Sad day for America that a person like Obama can be elected President who is not a 'natural' born citizen and the media are not up in arms. What if all of this comedy central on Bin Laden had happened with President Bush. Congress would have been calling for his impeachment but when it comes to Obama crickets are chirping.

GOP fires back: White House did not tell us about reading Abdulmutallab his rights

Where did Obama find such intept people to place in his Administration? For John Brennen to say Republicans knew was stretching it a lot. Guess Republicans now have to become mind readers as well when dealing with this Administration so they know what they meant to say.

Brennan calls the Ranking Republican on Intelligence and doesn't tell him about mirandizing Abdulmulttallab which might lead to the assumption he didn't tell the Democrat Chairman of House Intelligence either. Did he?

We live in dangerous times that seem to be getting more dangerous by the day with the inept group of people in the White House on intelligence. First they cannot connect the dots and then Brennan comes out with his weasel worded statement that you are left with asking what is he saying. Making intelligence calls on an unsecure cell phone on this important breach of security brings more worry they don't have a clue.

GOP fires back: White House did not tell us about reading Abdulmutallab his rights
By: Byron YorkChief Political Correspondent02/07/10 2:24 PM EST

Republican lawmakers are denying a charge made by top White House counterterrorism official John Brennan that they were briefed about -- and did not object to -- the decision to offer full American constitutional rights to accused Detroit bomber Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab.

On "Meet the Press," Brennan said that on Christmas night, just hours after Abdulmutallab tried to blow up Northwest Airlines flight 253, Brennan called GOP Senators Mitch McConnell and Christopher Bond, as well as Republican Representatives John Boehner and Peter Hoekstra, and told them that Abdulmutallab was in FBI custody. "None of those individuals raised any concerns with me at that point," Brennan said. "They didn't say, Is he going into military custody? Is he going to be Mirandized?"

Each of the lawmakers strongly denies Brennan's account. A spokesman for McConnell says, "During a brief call from the White House, Sen. McConnell was given a heads up that Abdulmutallab was in custody, but little else. He wasn’t told of the decision to Mirandize Abdulmutallab."

A spokesman for Boehner says, "On an unclassified/non-secure call to Boehner's cell phone that was very short, John Brennan informed Boehner that Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab was in custody. The call imparted no other substantive information and Brennan did not inform Boehner that the administration had read Abdulmutallab his Miranda rights." And Bond released a statement saying that Brennan "never told me any of plans to Mirandize the Christmas Day bomber -- if he had I would told him the administration was making a mistake."

In a conversation Sunday afternoon, Hoekstra, the ranking Republican on the House Intelligence Committee, angrily denied Brennan's statement. The possibility of Mirandizing Abdulmutallab "never came up" in a call that Hoekstra describes as a "quick update." Hoekstra recalls Brennan calling between 7:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. on Christmas, which would have been before Abdulmutallab was informed of his rights. "I think I talked to Brennan before they did it," Hoekstra says. "He could have told me that, and asked me what I felt about it -- but he didn't."

Hoekstra says if Brennan had brought up the subject of Miranda rights, then he, Hoekstra, would have discussed the issue with legal counsel from the Intelligence Committee. "If Brennan had called and said, 'Congressman, we're contemplating a legal strategy here,'" Hoekstra says, "the first thing I would have done is call up…my legal counsel and some other people and said, 'Hey, is this a sound strategy or not?' It never came up."

All the lawmakers describe Brennan's call as being very short; one recalls it as less than a minute. And all describe it as a heads-up, and not a briefing or an exchange of views.

Read more at the Washington Examiner: Washington Examiner

More Spin on Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab by John Brennan, Obama Counterterrorism Official

Unfortunately, we cannot write what we are thinking about Mr. Brennan. Senator Bond's comment below has already pointed out that John Brennan never said a word about 'mirandizing' this terrorist. Guess Republicans were supposed to channel what Brennan was saying and draw their own conclusions.

Brennan needs to step down after this fiasco when he didn't even tell the Republicans he contacted they had or were going to mirandize this individual. Guess they wanted bi-partisan political cover for the decision to Mirandize but Brennan left out an important part in the discussion.

Lawmakers should have been the last to be called and only briefed on what was happening not trying to get them to agree to something without all the facts. Obama's picks for office are turning out to be disasters. You can add John Brennan to Disaster list.

Is anyone in charge in the White House? Do you feel safer with this group in charge now? We sure don't!

Thanks to Byron York for getting the facts out for everyone to draw their own conclusion including the comments from Senator Bond.

White House: Top GOP leaders didn't object to reading Abdulmutallab his rights
By: Byron York
Chief Political Correspondent
02/07/10 11:42 AM EST

Top Obama counterterrorism official John Brennan is blasting Republican lawmakers, accusing them of hypocrisy and of making a "political football" of the administration's decision to grant full American constitutional rights to accused Detroit bomber Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab.

Appearing on "Meet the Press," Brennan said that on Christmas night, just hours after Abdulmutallab tried to blow up Northwest Airlines flight 253, Brennan called top Republican lawmakers, telling them that Abdulmutallab was in FBI custody. "None of those individuals raised any concerns with me at that point," Brennan said. "They didn't say, Is he going into military custody? Is he going to be Mirandized?"

Here is Brennan's full statement, beginning with a question from NBC's David Gregory:

GREGORY: When you briefed some Republicans about how he was going to be treated, were they on board with the administration's decision?

BRENNAN: On Christmas night, I called a number of senior members of Congress. I spoke to Senators McConnell and Bond, I spoke to Representatives Boehner and Hoekstra. I explained to them that he was in FBI custody, that Mr. Abdulmutallab was in fact talking, that he was cooperating at that point. They knew that in FBI custody means that there's a process that you follow, as far as Mirandizing and presenting him in front of a magistrate. None of those individuals raised any concerns with me at that point. They didn't say, Is he going into military custody? Is he going to be Mirandized? They were very appreciative of the information. We told them we would keep them informed, and that's what we did. So there's been quite a bit of an outcry after the fact, where again, I'm just very concerned on behalf of the counterterrorism professionals throughout our government, that politicians continue to make this a political football and are using it for whatever political or partisan purposes.

I'm trying to get reaction from some of the lawmakers who were contacted, but it's not clear how strong Brennan's point is. He says he told the Republicans that Abdulmutallab "was cooperating at that point," which suggests that Brennan called the lawmakers before Abdulmutallab stopped talking. It is not clear whether he then re-called them to say that, after a 50-minute interrogation, Abdulmutallab was no longer cooperating. It also appears that Brennan relied on the lawmakers to surmise that Abdulmutallab had been given the Miranda warning, since they were told that he was in FBI custody. And it's not clear whether the lawmakers knew there was no high-value detainee interrogation group to question Abdulmutallab. (Even the Director of National Intelligence didn't know that when he testified at a recent Senate hearing.)

Nevertheless, Brennan seems angry about Republican criticisms of the handling of Abdulmutallab. What is less clear is just what the administration told the lawmakers about it.

UPDATE: Sen. Bond responds, saying Brennan "never told" him of the plan to Mirandize Abdulmutallab. Bond's entire statement:

Brennan never told me any of plans to Mirandize the Christmas Day bomber -- if he had I would have told him the administration was making a mistake. The truth is that the administration did not even consult our intelligence chiefs, as DNI Blair testified, so it's absurd to try to blame Congressional leaders for this dangerous decision that gave terrorists a five week head start to cover their tracks.

Read more at the Washington Examiner: http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/blogs/beltway-confidential/White-House-Top-GOP-leaders-didnt-object-to-reading-Abdulmutallab-his-rights-83756337.html#ixzz0esEsitLi