jillio

Whatever you say Reba.

Deafness

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sallylou

Reba, the point is that all of us have to deal with terrorism now, and the truth is that the only real power we have in modern society is how to react to the threat of terrorism. I don't know why you have a problem with that.

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Reba

That's why SEALs are not supposed to be identified. No pictures, no names, no addresses, no unit designations, no ranks/rates, no hometowns or states, no marital status, no physical description, no awards ceremonies, NOTHING.

Revealing their identities or missions will jeopardize their lives, the lives of loved ones, and the missions they perform. It can essentially put an end to their careers.

sallylou

I asked you how the identities were revealed. Did someone in the military get photos and reveal them? It's not clear to me why this problem exists.

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Beowulf

So we're just to take it on faith they exist?

Reba

Would you say that to undercover police officers, too?

How can covert operators do their jobs if they're known to everyone?

Reba

Do you mean this particular team, or all SEALs?

Beowulf

What team? Please, ma'am, I do not know anything.

sallylou

If you don't know how their identity was revealed, just say so.

Yes, I say that about terrorism to everyone. I also say something similar to people who are afraid to go out of their neighborhood because of crime.

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Reba

Sorry.

It wasn't even supposed to be revealed that it was SEAL Team 6 that did the mission. People know where Team 6 is based, and from there can find out more information, such as who is attached to that team.

They were revealed when it was announced that it was SEAL Team 6.

Other details, such as what kind of intelligence was found, and how the mission was carried out (helicopters, numbers involved, timing, etc.) can jeopardize future operations. Now the bad guys will know what to look out for and how to defend against them.

Reba

Good answer!

sallylou

Who's the idiot that released that information? It sounds like a total failure of security. Someone should be held responsible. I think that even embedded journalists with regular military is a bad idea.

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Reba

That's not the same thing. Do you really expect undercover police to infiltrate gangs and other criminal groups by making themselves known?

Do you remember the stink about this identity revelation?

Key Players in the Plame Affair - washingtonpost.com

netrox

I don't get it... how can you say that there's no mission if bin Laden was killed and the mission partially failed with original plan (helicopter went down) and the media will find out by investigating how it was executed.

No one knows who they are. And I don't expect their identities to be known.

Reba

It was someone who was present in the situation room.

Remember when embedded journalist Geraldo Rivera drew a map in the sand showing where his unit was headed and what they were going to do? Yikes!

sallylou

You're confusing two issues. First, the identities of undercover people should not be revealed and consequences should exist for doing it. That should have applied to Valerie Plame too but that's a different thread. It someone is "outed" then the government should protect him/her.

Second, a completely different issue, all Americans should not let the terrorists win by giving them power over our lives. The second issue is more about our American attitude. And it has nothing to do with undercover people at all. We all have to adjust to a new reality.

Now that I've clarified that, I must get some rest.

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sallylou

I knew that the freaking situation room was a bad idea.

Geraldo is crazy. Recently, he went to Egypt and just about got shot by the rebels.

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Reba

There was a mission, and it was a success. Leaking information about the conduct of the mission can jeopardize future missions.

I hope the media won't find out. If people keep quiet, they shouldn't find out.

Reba

Yeah, I remember that! (I think it was Libya.) He's hard to keep up with.

netrox

I don't understand. Explain how the "conduct" could jeopardize the future missions? We already know a lot of missions in the past. How can we possibly not know if something happened and say, "there was no mission!"

I sure hope no identity is revealed and those who do should be accountable for it.

Reba

My bad. I thought you were referring to the SEALs and their families, not to Americans in general.

Reba

This is an ongoing war, and there are still a lot of the leaders and contacts that we want to catch. If they know how we go about catching them, they can take measures to avoid capture.

Normally all mission related information is kept classified until all uses for the information have expired.

kokonut

Glad to see people here actually condoned the assassination of OBL. Good riddance.

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"... turns out they are telling the truth."

Reba

Let's stay on topic please.

The topic is how leaking mission information can endanger the SEALS, their families, and the success of future missions.

Reba

The leaks have to stop. Who released the information about the porn that was found in the compound? Why was that necessary?

No more information from the raid should be released until all the data has been analyzed and put to use in the form of successful follow-up missions. Even then, it shouldn't be released without great care. To do so would be reckless.

saywhatkid

I considered this a military operation. OBL was a target of the operation, just a different uniform.

Sorry for the hijacking...

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saywhatkid

Similar to toothpaste, the trouble with leaks of this nature is that you cannot go back and stuff the information back in the tube. Those families have every right to expect privacy. They also have reason to fear retaliation. Someone deserves to be called on the carpet here.

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souggy

Wirelessly posted

Given the nature of the operation, I am sure the press would had figured out it was SEAL Team Six with or without the leak. I had a hunch it was DEVGRU when the news of a copter assault in Pakistan was highlighted.



There are other Tier One counterterrorist forces, like DELTA and JTF2, yes; but the ballsy nature of the operation haven't been seen since the Iranian Hostage Crisis. Yes, I am aware DELTA spearheaded the operation in Iran, but the M.O. of this operation didn't fit any historical information about the Delta Force.

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Reba

No problem.

Jiro

I've had this concern since the beginning. This is all because of Internet. Information flowed fast around the world in seconds. People are hunger for details otherwise people will get furious and doubt/accuse everything. Looks like we have become "pix or it didn't happen" generation.

I groaned when there was just too much details released on daily basis since mission. Obama Administration dropped a ball on this one. A bad one. This is another Valerie Plume mess.

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