Whoever leaked the “Classified or Top Secret” information to the media regarding the Iran nuclear facility bombings committed a serious crime – lives are at stake.
The following comes from a retired military officer:
Reference the ongoing situation where a government official leaked Classified information to the media, with unconfirmed intel that the bombing damage to Iran’s main nuclear facility (Fordrow) was less than initially reported, with only as little as 2-3 months delay to their program based on a damage assessment.
Here’s why it’s worse if this is authentic:
- It was actually Top Secret information, not just Secret, according to some media sources.
- Top Secret level means we either had special surveillance equipment in play, that we don’t talk about (such as our best satellites), or we or the Israelis have a trusted spy among the Iranian experts who are being used by the Iranian govt to inspect the damage at the site.
- Since the bombing damage would not allow satellites to peer into the hole without obstruction, there’s only 2 other intelligence methods that could give us Top Secret level information – the Human Intelligence (or HUMINT) which would be that trusted spy, or Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) such as intercepted cellphone calls among very senior Iranian leaders, that we don’t want to know that we can tap/intercept their phone calls.
In either case, it’s very bad that the open media announced they had Top Secret intel, because the spy (for Israel or us) could now be found out, because Iran would know to look for who is talking among that inner circle of first responders to their facility site.
Or it also prompts the Iranians to ditch their phones, so we don’t intercept those any more. However, if they find the spy – that person could be dead already, all because of this Leaker to the media.
This is a very serious issue, and is exactly why people go to jail for a long time if they leak out Top Secret information. Lives are at stake for HUMINT operations. Operational safety and security are also at stake – we may not have as good of intel for a follow-on strike, if one is needed.
So let’s say Trump was bluffing – purposely, because he wanted Iran to believe the USA is done and over with bombing Iran. It’s a good cover story. Deflect, puff up your chest and act like it’s Game Over. Since we cannot surprise them again, as effectively, this type of posturing and deflection is exactly what could help raise our potential for surprise, if we know we must strike the target again. See the point? Again, the Leaker could have just ruined our ability to have more of a surprise 2nd follow-on strike on that facility.
Also, as a last reminder, the MSM said that the Leaker told them specifically up front, “I am not allowed to talk to the media” – so the person knew full well they were breaking the law and disobeying orders.