NYC Letter: Loose Lips -- Michelle Obama

Day 838 of CHOPE

Michelle Obama to Al Qaeda: The guys you want are Navy SEALs.

MICHELLE OBAMA PRAISES SEALS
IN COMMENCEMENT SPEECH

May 7, 2011 (ABC News) - First lady Michelle Obama today praised the bravery of the Navy SEALs who carried out the raid on Osama bin Laden, calling it "the essence of the word 'service,'" in her commencement address at the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls. Ms. Obama:

Just imagine, a small group of brave men, dropped by helicopter, half a world away in the dead of night into unknown danger inside the lair of the most wanted man in the world, They did not hesitate, risking everything for us, for our freedom and security. And they did it not just as Navy SEALs. They did it as husbands, as fathers, as sons.

This speech marks the first time [sic] a person from the White House administration to directly publically acknowledge the SEALs' role in the raid on bin Laden.

Ms. Obama does not hold the distinction of being the first blabbermouth to put the SEALs at post-op risk. Joe "A Great VP" Biden had already outed the SEALs on Tuesday.

Where is the White House down-the-line discipline not to identify units of covert operations? We suggest the White House familiarize itself with the basics -- and necessity -- of OPSEC (Operational Security). Pronto.

Operations Security, or OPSEC, is keeping potential adversaries from discovering our critical information. As the name suggests, it protects our operations – planned, in progress, and those completed.

BLABBERMOUTH
Think First. Think Again. Then Think Really Hard.

OPSEC is a vital element in protecting the Army’s soldiers and missions, and I want to stress how vital a role every member of the team plays in ensuring that we deny our adversaries potentially useful information.

Whether we are on duty or off duty, we cannot afford to let our guard down. Your diligence in OPSEC is key to ensuring our effectiveness in operations and our collective safety. Together, we will succeed.

Maj. Gen. Keith B. Alexander,
Commanding General, U.S. Army
Intelligence and Security Command
OPSEC: A GUIDE FOR FAMILY AND FRIENDS

The blasé browser waves us off: What's the big secret? The newspapers and TV reported the SEALs did the kill. Yes, inattentive browser, but that was best-guess reporting before Mr. Biden and Ms. Obama gushed confirmation. Confirming the service unit is the first thread Al Qaeda pulls to unravel the skein of the agents' identities.

Indeed, American news media may serve as the de facto intelligence bureau for terrorists, but that does not excuse highly placed blabbermouths confirming the media's easy guesses.

CHOPE.

Taking the guesswork out of terrorism.