Special Ops Bravado Hurts National Security

[Marauder06]

http://www.cnn.com/2013/05/01/opinion/malvesti-collins-bin-laden-leaks/index.html

Wednesday is the second anniversary of the Osama bin Laden raid.The terrorist leader's death made the world safer, but the bombings in Boston on Patriots' Day are a cruel reminder that we will never prevent every act of terror. In the United States, we accept that risks coexist with our culture of freedom. Yet we also must act with greater responsibility in the face of ongoing threats.

We can begin by rejecting a culture that drives details of our nation's special operations missions out into the open, thereby weakening our national security.

The aftermath of the raid in Abbottabad is a powerful example of this problem. We have tolerated, and at times encouraged, a steady stream of marketing and promotion that glorifies the mission and its participants: "No Easy Day," an unauthorized, tell-all bestseller by a special operator; "Zero Dark Thirty," a blockbuster film based on insider accounts; and "The Shooter," an Esquire magazine profile that sparked a scramble for personal credit amid competing claims over who fatally shot bin Laden, and how and where.

We might think such visibility honors our nation's special operations forces -- expertly trained units that conduct clandestine, high-risk missions, often to combat terrorism -- but when these shadow warriors become public figures it produces unintended consequences.

Thoughts?

 

[Marine0311]

Yes it does. What happened to the terms "Shadow Warriors" and "Quiet Professionals"?. When you advertise you put units and lives at risk.

 

[DA SWO]

Semi-agree.

Some movies glorifying the Military are a wartime necessity, but the level of access we gave does hurt those still doing the deed (NatGeo ST6 for example).

 

[SpitfireV]

I don't really agree with this paragraph because it implies that the civilian side of things is more or less solely to blame for leaks- after he makes the point earlier in the piece that the have been a bunch of tell-all's from the SEALs involved. The general theme of "leaks endanger security" I agree with but I think the blame lays in a bunch of places (from my observations), not just the civilian side.

Officials then must hold themselves and each other to these standards. If not, they undermine their credibility and erode the trust that is essential in civil-military relations. Those who risk their lives serving the nation must be confident that the people sending them into harm's way will not make personal or political gain a bigger priority than the protection of the mission's integrity.

 

[Kunoichii]

Movies are better when the writters have to use their imagination for what they think SOF does, rather than SOF people telling them what they do. Makes it fun for everyone.

 

[Confederate Son]

Forgive me if this question is as ignorant as it may turn out to be but... Am I to believe that rivalry and jealousy could possibly impact future operations and their results? "I'm not getting any credit so I'm not gonna put out" Maybe I'm naive but that's kinda' hard to believe.

 

[Teufel]

What, I never told you guys that I killed Osama Bin Laden? And Zarqawi. Also Jessica Biel slept with me repeatedly to get into character for her A Team movie. Was I not supposed to share all that?

 

[RackMaster]

What, I never told you guys that I killed Osama Bin Laden? And Zarqawi. Also Jessica Biel slept with me repeatedly to get into character for her A Team movie. Was I not supposed to share all that?

Pics or it never happened. :-" Just of Jessica Biel, we believe the rest of it.

 

[policemedic]

And the pics should only be of Jessica, sans clothing.