Right to know versus Need to know

How much information is "too much?" How much do we REALLY need to know about special operations and secret operations DURING a war that is ongoing, rather than letting those stories come out AFTER conflicts are ceased? Does it NOT make sense to keep certain things under wraps until a more appropriate time to release them rather than to let them out in the middle of an ongoing war?

Evidently the New York Times and certain former military officials don't seem to think so.

U.S. Aborted Raid on Qaeda Chiefs in Pakistan in ’05

By MARK MAZZETTI
Published: July 8, 2007
WASHINGTON, July 7 — A secret military operation in early 2005 to capture senior members of Al Qaeda in Pakistan’s tribal areas was aborted at the last minute after top Bush administration officials decided it was too risky and could jeopardize relations with Pakistan, according to intelligence and military officials.

The target was a meeting of Qaeda leaders that intelligence officials thought included Ayman al-Zawahri, Osama bin Laden’s top deputy and the man believed to run the terrorist group’s operations.

But the mission was called off after Donald H. Rumsfeld, then the defense secretary, rejected an 11th-hour appeal by Porter J. Goss, then the director of the Central Intelligence Agency, officials said. Members of a Navy Seals unit in parachute gear had already boarded C-130 cargo planes in Afghanistan when the mission was canceled, said a former senior intelligence official involved in the planning.

Okay. Let's think about this analytically. What good does it do for disgruntled former military staffers to complain about the operations they planned didn't come off? I know that there are several members of the military who are not happy with the Bush administration, particularly with George W. being the commander-in-chief. That's not the point. George W. Bush IS the current commander-in-chief of the United States armed forces. Not Nancy Pelosi. Not Hillary Clinton (God help us if she ever DOES make it to that position). Not Harry Reid.

It is highly unprofessional for a military officer to berate his commanding officer.

In MY mind, it says volumes about what kinds of officers these men made while on active duty.

Yes, I said "on active duty." Enlisted men can retire and walk away from it. Officers are officers for the rest of their lives, and subject to being recalled to active duty at any time.

Something to think about in regards to professionalism amongst our nations officers cadre.

Once and Always, an American Fighting Man

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