Having worked with classified information, I can tell you that 99.99% of the stuff is boring, pointless information that really shouldn't be classified, but guess what? It *is* classified, and I could, and rightly should, go to jail for revealing it.
A nation's trust, and all that jazz.
If only I were a journalist:
LONDON, July 10 -- The United States and Britain are drawing up plans to withdraw the majority of their troops from Iraq by the middle of next year, according to a secret memo written for British Prime Minister Tony Blair by Defense Secretary John Reid.
The paper, which is marked "Secret -- UK Eyes Only," said "emerging U.S. plans assume that 14 out of 18 provinces could be handed over to Iraqi control by early 2006," allowing a reduction in overall U.S.-led forces in Iraq to 66,000 troops. The troop level is now about 160,000, including 138,000 American troops, according to a military spokesperson in Baghdad.
Some secret, eh?
Now, why would you think something like this might be classified? Hmmm. . . I wonder. . .
While top U.S. military commanders and Pentagon officials have been hoping to reduce troop levels in Iraq for some time, the British memo is apparently the first time such a significant reduction has been outlined under a specific timetable. President Bush has refused to set a withdrawal date, citing concerns that such a deadline would allow insurgents to wait out the U.S.-led occupation.
Gee, ya think?
A lot of jihadis are dumb as bricks, but not all of them are. I'm pretty sure Zarqawi has a calendar on his desk. Perhaps something cute, like a "Love Is. . . " calendar.
Revealing to our enemy a timetable of when we're planning to withdraw is a serious breach of security. It reveals two key pieces of data that should be kept secret: it lets the enemy know our assessment of the battlefield situation (i.e., we expect things to be quiet enough to leave by such a date), and it lets the enemy know how long they have to bide their time until we leave for good.
Obviously, neither piece of data is something our enemy should know.
Sweet lord, this is the most surreal war in our history. Activities that would get you arrested-- even executed-- in earlier wars instead go rewarded, even praised(!).
Democracy exists to protect *our* freedoms, not those of our enemies. Some of us have higher obligations than others in this fight, but at a minimum, it is common sense to everyone that information like this has no place in the public record. At some point, all people must trust their governments with information like this, or else those governments-- and the armed forces they command-- can not function.
This is treason. Plain and simple treason, worthy of a rope. And not just for the leaker, but for the Mail reporters, too.
Strong words, I know, but damn it, we are at war. How many more bombings must the British-- or the Americans-- endure before we wake up to this fact?
We all understood this, once.
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This posting was made on my personal computer.
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