We must begin protecting our secrets

The latest attack against the Bush administration and the war in Iraq is a result of a leaked intelligence report the President ended up declassifying. This report is available for reading at the Office of National Intelligence as it is now declassified and available to the public.

The media once again conducted an un-American activity in releasing classified information, instead of prosecution under various acts as it should have been, it once again is off the hook once the papers were declassified. Any unauthorized release of classified information, pro or con is what I have a severe problem with and cannot understand why someone constantly gets away with these un-American acts. It matters none to me if something comes out and states that we found WMD and did not release it, if it is classified and leaked; someone needs to go to jail.

When Daniel Ellsberg leaked what has become known as the Pentagon Papers he was successfully prosecuted under various laws relating to the offense. This is what should be done to anyone in the media, Times, etc., in the present situation and the fact they continuously are getting ways with it is an insult to those men and women presently serving in harm’s way.

I totally believe in the fact that the public needs to be informed, but not through someone illegally obtaining a classified document and publishing it with the knowledge they are protected under Amendment rights, it is apparent the Bush administration would rather play spin-doctor then to protect the secrets of our country when facing the media. Yes, I am infuriated over this and it is time someone in the beltway spoke out and began calling for this practice to come to a screeching halt.

As I stated, it matters not to me if one of these papers were the Holy Grail of the invasion plans and put an end to all further speculation, if it is illegally obtained and released then that person need to be in a federal lockdown, pure and simple. Like many of my brothers and sisters I had a high security clearance, my job dictated that. If I had leaked so much as someone’s birthday, I would still be sitting in Leavenworth. Why is this law not applicable to today’s insanity?

As far as the papers themselves, I am saving that for my next post. I wanted to comment on the act itself now, the illegal, un-American act the media once again successfully gets away with, that is my peeve and it is a rant that will go nowhere because politicians would rather work the spin angles then to protect secrets.