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Why would obama reveal State secrets to an author?

hypocritexposer

Well-known member
Mr. Woodward, in "Obama's Wars," describes a Dec. 9, 2008, meeting between President-elect Obama and then-CIA Director Michael V. Hayden and then-Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell. The briefing was on a detailed listing of some of the "14 highly classified covert actions," Mr. Woodward wrote.

At the top of the list was the Bush administration's program to "conduct clandestine, lethal counterterrorism operations and other programs to stop terrorists worldwide" in more than 60 nations. One program goal was to stop al Qaeda from using a nuclear weapon or spreading a biological warfare agent.

Other covert actions were directed at stopping Iran from developing nuclear weapons; deterring North Korea from building more; conducting anti-arms proliferation activities around the world; and launching lethal CIA operations in Afghanistan, like deadly drone attacks and the 3,000-person CIA unit called Counterterrorism Pursuit Teams.

In Iraq, CIA covert action involves both lethal and political operations, such as payoffs to Iraqi government officials and organizations.

Also, CIA was paying "tens of millions" to several foreign intelligence services, including Jordan's General Intelligence Department.

Covert actions mentioned in the briefing included a program to stop genocide in the Darfur region of Sudan and a CIA program to provide the Turkish government with intelligence and other support to prevent the northern Iraq-based Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK) from setting up an enclave in Turkey.

Disclosure of the programs raised eyebrows among several high-ranking national security officials because covert action — political, military and intelligence operations that are designed to hide the U.S. role in carrying them out — are among the most closely guarded secrets.

According to Mr. Woodward, several covert programs, including counternarcotics and propaganda activities, were not disclosed to avoid endangering the lives of operatives and to avoid hampering U.S. foreign relations.


The book quotes the president, when asked about the covert action briefing, as saying: "I'm not going to comment on my reaction to our deep secrets."

Asked about the disclosure, a CIA spokesman said, without elaborating: "Separate and apart from any specific instance, when the agency has reason to believe there has been a possible violation of the law, such as the unauthorized disclosure of classified information, it has an obligation to refer the matter to the Department of Justice."

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/oct/13/inside-the-ring-33926199/?page=5
 
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