August 16, 2012
The former military operative says issue ‘more than politics.’ Plans to release TV ads in battleground states.
August 16, 2012
The former military operative says issue ‘more than politics.’ Plans to release TV ads in battleground states.
Ben Smith, described as a Navy SEAL in the documentary, 'Dishonorable Disclosures,' says, 'Mr. President, you did not kill Osama bin Laden, America did.'
A group of former special operations and intelligence members is sounding off against President Barack Obama in a documentary released Wednesday that accuses him of taking credit for the death of Osama bin Laden.
The group, calling itself the Special Operations OPSEC Education Fund, is also upset about alleged security leaks under the Obama administration — saying the lapses are putting overseas military members at risk.
“Mr. President, you did not kill Osama bin Laden, America did,” Ben Smith, identified as a Navy SEAL, says in the online documentary, “Dishonorable Disclosures.” “The work that the American military has done killed Osama bin Laden. You did not.”
The documentary, 'Dishonorable Disclosures,' describes how security leaks under the Obama administration have threatened national security.
Scott Taylor, a former Navy SEAL and the group’s president, told Reuters that politics wasn’t the motivation behind creating OPSEC, but that members are worried that the current administration “has certainly leaked more than others.”
Scott Taylor, a former Navy SEAL, complains that the Obama administration has allowed for more high-level leaks than other presidencies.
Taylor was reportedly unsuccessful in his 2010 bid seeking the Republican nomination for a congressional seat in Virginia.
He told the New York Times that while some members are Republican, more of them are “apolitical.”
“This issue is more than just politics,” he told the newspaper. “Folks from this group, including me, have buried enough of our buddies.”
During the one-year anniversary in May of bin Laden’s death, Obama’s re-election campaign released a Web ad that lauded the President for going after bin Laden and questioned whether Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney would have done the same.
President Barack Obama delivers remarks during a campaign event in Mansfield Central Park in Mansfield, Ohio, on Aug. 1.
The Times noted that while the OPSEC film shows Obama announcing the death of bin Laden, it leaves out the President giving kudos to the “tireless and heroic work of our military and our counterterrorism professionals.”
OPSEC, which registered as a nonprofit and says it has $1 million to spend, plans to release TV ads in six battleground states this summer, including Ohio, Florida and Virginia, Reuters reported.
The White House has denied leaking high-level information, although members of Congress have criticized leaks about several classified events, including the military raid that killed bin Laden and cyber sabotage of Iran’s nuclear program.
Obama campaign spokesman Ben LaBolt compared OPSEC’s motives to the way Democratic presidential contender Sen. John Kerry was treated in 2004 when his service during the Vietnam War was questioned.
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney campaigns in Des Moines, Iowa, in August.
“The Republicans are resorting to Swift Boat tactics because when it comes to foreign policy and national security, Mitt Romney has offered nothing but reckless rhetoric,” LaBolt said in a statement.
Romney’s campaign didn’t immediately comment Wednesday.
Courtesy: nytimes
