President Barack Obama’s administration has unleashed an unprecedented wave of prosecutions over leaks of national security secrets.
Now, he’s the political beneficiary of several major breaches in the wall of secrecy.
Continue ReadingFor more than a year, the White House has cultivated a politically potent public narrative about the president’s deft handling of the war on terror. Obama and his reelection campaign gleefully capitalized on the first anniversary of the raid that killed Al Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden. Filmmakers commemorating the event got special, high-level briefings. And a TV news crew was allowed to interview the president in the Situation Room.
That aggressive image building has sometimes bumped up against the national security establishment’s tendency to be tight-lipped. In the past week, the tensions boiled over as Republicans leveled accusations that the president’s political imperatives are pushing sensitive classified information into the public domain.
Detailed accounts have emerged recently about Obama approving “kill lists” for terrorists, his decision to launch a computer virus attacking Iran’s nuclear program and the administration’s success infiltrating an Al Qaeda-linked terrorist cell. All reinforce the notion of the president as a commander-in-chief willing to take tough action to defend the nation, even when some of his top advisers had qualms.
“It is difficult to escape the conclusion that these recent leaks of highly classified information, all of which have the effect of making the president look strong and decisive on national security in the middle of his reelection campaign, have a deeper political motivation,” Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said Tuesday on the Senate floor.
“The only conceivable motive for such damaging and compromising leaks of classified information is that it makes the president look good,” said McCain, who called for a special prosecutor to probe the leaks.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) echoed those accusations.
“I don’t think you have to be Sherlock Holmes to figure out what is going on here. You’ve had three leaks of intelligence that paint the president as a strong leader,” Graham said Wednesday on Fox News.
Obama aides insist that the White House remains committed to stamping out leaks and hasn’t intentionally released secrets that could jeopardize sensitive operations.
“The president feels very strongly that we must prevent leaks of classified or sensitive information that could risk ongoing counterterrorism or intelligence operations,” White House press secretary Jay Carney said Thursday. He called McCain’s charge “grossly irresponsible.”
Now, he’s the political beneficiary of several major breaches in the wall of secrecy.
Continue ReadingFor more than a year, the White House has cultivated a politically potent public narrative about the president’s deft handling of the war on terror. Obama and his reelection campaign gleefully capitalized on the first anniversary of the raid that killed Al Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden. Filmmakers commemorating the event got special, high-level briefings. And a TV news crew was allowed to interview the president in the Situation Room.
That aggressive image building has sometimes bumped up against the national security establishment’s tendency to be tight-lipped. In the past week, the tensions boiled over as Republicans leveled accusations that the president’s political imperatives are pushing sensitive classified information into the public domain.
Detailed accounts have emerged recently about Obama approving “kill lists” for terrorists, his decision to launch a computer virus attacking Iran’s nuclear program and the administration’s success infiltrating an Al Qaeda-linked terrorist cell. All reinforce the notion of the president as a commander-in-chief willing to take tough action to defend the nation, even when some of his top advisers had qualms.
“It is difficult to escape the conclusion that these recent leaks of highly classified information, all of which have the effect of making the president look strong and decisive on national security in the middle of his reelection campaign, have a deeper political motivation,” Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said Tuesday on the Senate floor.
“The only conceivable motive for such damaging and compromising leaks of classified information is that it makes the president look good,” said McCain, who called for a special prosecutor to probe the leaks.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) echoed those accusations.
“I don’t think you have to be Sherlock Holmes to figure out what is going on here. You’ve had three leaks of intelligence that paint the president as a strong leader,” Graham said Wednesday on Fox News.
Obama aides insist that the White House remains committed to stamping out leaks and hasn’t intentionally released secrets that could jeopardize sensitive operations.
“The president feels very strongly that we must prevent leaks of classified or sensitive information that could risk ongoing counterterrorism or intelligence operations,” White House press secretary Jay Carney said Thursday. He called McCain’s charge “grossly irresponsible.”