I am deeply concerned when any information a bout United States clandestine operations leaks into the media using current and former sources who are quoted anonymously.

On my anger scale, this is one step above the former generals and colonels who spew forth as media talking heads on what our troops are likely to do in “hot spot” situation – in effect, providing study scenarios for our enemies.

The craziness of the White House Situation room photo-op in the bin Laden affair cost the United States the opportunity to act upon the intelligence that was found in his compound when it had real value. By publicizing bin Laden’s death as an ego booster for the empty suit in the White House, we lost a valuable commodity: time-sensitive information.

So who is behind this particular story and why would they make this information available, even anonymously, to the media?

Providing corroboration and aid and comfort to our enemies?

The Associated Press is reporting …

American spies outed, CIA suffers in Lebanon

“WASHINGTON (AP) - The CIA's operations in Lebanon have been badly damaged after Hezbollah identified and captured a number of U.S. spies recently, current and former U.S. officials told The Associated Press. The intelligence debacle is particularly troubling because the CIA saw it coming.”

“Hezbollah's longtime leader, Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, boasted on television in June that he had rooted out at least two CIA spies who had infiltrated the ranks of Hezbollah, which the U.S. considers a terrorist group closely allied with Iran. Though the U.S. Embassy in Lebanon officially denied the accusation, current and former officials concede that it happened and the damage has spread even further.”

“In recent months, CIA officials have secretly been scrambling to protect their remaining spies - foreign assets or agents working for the agency - before Hezbollah can find them.”

How casually the left-biased media regards the death of individuals who are rendering, for whatever motivation, a service to the United States …

“To be sure, some deaths are to be expected in shadowy spy wars. It's an extremely risky business and people get killed. But the damage to the agency's spy network in Lebanon has been greater than usual, several former and current U.S. officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about security matters.”

Robert Baer, a former senior CIA officer who worked against Hezbollah while stationed in Beirut in the 1980's, said Hezbollah typically executes individuals suspected of or caught spying. <Source>

Were these U.S. officials authorized to speak “off the record” or are they rogue elements freelancing for their personal and professional benefit?

The Lebanon crisis is the latest mishap involving CIA counterintelligence, the undermining or manipulating of the enemy's ability to gather information. Former CIA officials have said that once-essential skill has been eroded as the agency shifted from outmaneuvering rival spy agencies to fighting terrorists. In the rush for immediate results, former officers say, tradecraft has suffered.

The most recent high-profile example was the suicide bomber who posed as an informant and killed seven CIA employees and wounded six others in Khost, Afghanistan in December 2009.

Last year, then-CIA director Leon Panetta said the agency had to maintain "a greater awareness of counterintelligence." But eight months later, Nasrallah let the world know he had bested the CIA, demonstrating that the agency still struggles with this critical aspect of spying and sending a message to those who would betray Hezbollah.

The CIA was well aware the spies were vulnerable in Lebanon. CIA officials were warned, including the chief of the unit that supervises Hezbollah operations from CIA headquarters in Langley, Va., and the head of counterintelligence. It remains unclear whether anyone has been or will be held accountable in the wake of this counterintelligence disaster or whether the incident will affect the CIA's ability to recruit assets in Lebanon.

If we recognize the enemy, why the hell aren’t we bombing the crap out of their infrastructure or do we outsource it to the Israelis that Obama loves to denigrate …

In response to AP's questions about what happened in Lebanon, a U.S. official said Hezbollah is recognized as a complicated enemy responsible for killing more Americans than any other terrorist group before September 2001. The agency does not underestimate the organization, the official said.

The CIA's toughest adversaries, like Hezbollah and Iran, have for years been improving their ability to hunt spies, relying on patience and guile to exploit counterintelligence holes.

In 2007, for instance, when Ali-Reza Asgari, a brigadier general in the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps of Iran, disappeared in Turkey, it was assumed that he was either killed or defected. In response, the Iranian government began a painstaking review of foreign travel by its citizens, particularly to places like Turkey where Iranians don't need a visa and could meet with foreign intelligence services.

It didn't take long, a Western intelligence official told the AP, before the U.S., Britain and Israel began losing contact with some of their Iranian spies.

Apparently the funding of Hezbollah may not stop with Iran …

“The State Department last year described Hezbollah as "the most technically capable terrorist group in the world," and the Defense Department estimates it receives between $100 million and $200 million per year in funding from Iran.”

As reported by the Law Enforcement Examiner

“A top member of the U.S House of Representatives yesterday urged her colleagues -- both Republicans and Democrats -- to cease foreign aid to an Arab nation that is being run by a group on the U.S. State Department's list of terrorist organizations.”

“Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said yesterday that no U.S. funds should be provided to the newly-formed Hezbollah government in Lebanon, or to a Palestinian Authority that includes Hamas.”

“The congresswoman and other lawmakers are concerned that U.S. taxpayer money may end up in the hands of terrorist groups claiming to be political organizations.”

Is the real purpose of the news leak to gin up public support for a strike on Iran?

“Backed by Iran, Hezbollah has built a professional counterintelligence apparatus that Nasrallah - whom the U.S. government designated an international terrorist a decade ago - proudly describes as the ‘spy combat unit.’ U.S. intelligence officials believe the unit, which is considered formidable and ruthless, went operational in about 2004.”

Revealing methods and sources?

Using the latest commercial software, Nasrallah's spy-hunters unit began methodically searching for spies in Hezbollah's midst. To find them, U.S. officials said, Hezbollah examined cellphone data looking for anomalies. The analysis identified cellphones that, for instance, were used rarely or always from specific locations and only for a short period of time. Then it came down to old-fashioned, shoe-leather detective work: Who in that area had information that might be worth selling to the enemy?

Isn’t this the type of internal communications analysis and data-mining that the ACLU (American Communist Lawyers Union) and the progressives want to prevent in the United States?

Gee! I didn’t know that – and now I do …

The effort took years but eventually Hezbollah, and later the Lebanese government, began making arrests. By one estimate, 100 Israeli assets were apprehended as the news made headlines across the region in 2009. Some of those suspected Israeli spies worked for telecommunications companies and served in the military.

In Iran, intelligence minister Heidar Moslehi announced in May that more than 30 U.S. and Israeli spies had been discovered and an Iranian television program, which acts as a front for Iran's government, showed images of internet sites used by the U.S. for secret communication with the spies. U.S. officials said the Iranian television program showed pictures of people who were not U.S. assets, but the program's video of the websites used by the CIA was accurate. <Source>

And obviously the techniques listed above worked because here is proof provided by your friendly media source.

“Back at CIA headquarters, the arrests alarmed senior officials. The agency prepared a study on its own vulnerabilities, U.S. officials said, and the results proved to be prescient.”

“The analysis concluded that the CIA was susceptible to the same analysis that had compromised the Israelis, the officials said.”

“CIA managers were instructed to be extra careful about handling sources in Lebanon. A U.S. official said recommendations were issued to counter the potential problem.”

Yah think?

“But it's unclear what preventive measures were taken by the Hezbollah unit chief or the officer in charge of the Beirut station. Former officials say the Hezbollah unit chief is no stranger to the necessity of counterintelligence and knew the risks. The unit chief has worked overseas in hostile environments like Afghanistan and played an important role in the capture of a top terrorist while stationed in the Persian Gulf region after the attacks of 9/11.”

Helping to identify another covert operative using prior postings and history?

Discouraging recruiting of human intelligence assets and exposing lazy-man’s tradecraft?

"We've lost a lot of people in Beirut over the years, so everyone should know the drill," said a former Middle East case officer familiar with the situation.”

“But whatever actions the CIA took, they were not enough. Like the Israelis, bad tradecraft doomed these CIA assets and the agency ultimately failed to protect them, an official said. In some instances, CIA officers fell into predictable patterns when meeting their sources, the official said.”

In Beirut, two Hezbollah double agents pretended to go to work for the CIA. Hezbollah then learned of the restaurant where multiple CIA officers were meeting with several agents, according to the four current and former officials briefed on the case. The CIA used the codeword "PIZZA" when discussing where to meet with the agents, according to U.S. officials. Two former officials describe the location as a Beirut Pizza Hut. A current US official denied that CIA officers met their agents at Pizza Hut. <Source>

“This allowed Hezbollah to identify assets and case officers and unravel at least part of the CIA's spy network in Lebanon. There was also a reluctance to share cases and some files were put in ‘restricted handling.’ The designation severely limits the number of people who know the identity of the source but also reduces the number of experts who could spot problems that might lead to their discovery, officials said.”

Yes, let’s breach the “need to know” barrier and expose this life-threatening sensitive information to the pointy head people at the state department and other agencies who have embedded moles.

“Nasrallah's televised announcement in June was followed by finger-pointing among departments inside the CIA as the spy agency tried figure out what went wrong and contain the damage.”

“The fate of these CIA assets is unknown. Hezbollah treats spies differently, said Matthew Levitt, a counterterrorism and intelligence expert at the Washington Institute for Near East Studies who's writing a book about the terrorist organization.”

No shit Sherlock … unlike the progressive wimps in our infrastructure institutions who regard waterboarding as torture, foreign spy agencies routinely torture spies to death to extract information – using power tools, hot pokers, chemicals and other unpleasant devices and practices which would turn your stomach. And if not for the information, to send a message of discouragement to those who might betray their country.

Pointing the bureaucratic finger of blame …

What possible benefit can occur from highlighting this issue and pointing a finger of blame?

“Who's responsible for the mess in Lebanon? It's not clear. The chief of Hezbollah operations at CIA headquarters continues to run the unit that also focuses on Iranians and Palestinians.”

Is this the Chief’s shorthand way of saying “twasn’t me McGee?” Someone gunning for the Chief’s job? Or simply just another pointless bureaucratic turf war?

Can we “out” an operative?

“The CIA's top counterintelligence officer, who was one of the most senior women in the clandestine service, recently retired after approximately five years in the job. She is credited with some important cases, including the recent arrests of Russian spies who had been living in the U.S. for years.”

Can we out another operative?

“Officials said the woman was succeeded by a more experienced operations officer. That officer has held important posts in Moscow, Southeast Asia, Europe and the Balkans, important frontlines of the agency's spy wars with foreign intelligence services and terrorist organizations.”

Perhaps President Obama will reward the bastards with a medal – to be presented in the CIA lobby in sight of the now-weeping gold stars that signify covert operatives lost in action …

The U.S. official, speaking for the record but without attribution, gave grudging credit to the efforts of Iran and Hezbollah to detect and expose U.S. and Israeli espionage. <Source>

Speaking on or off the record – I find this official’s remarks repugnant. Let’s compliment the enemy who caused the deaths of those who died keeping America safe and secure from terrorists. Perhaps this asswipe might be concerned with hardening our systems and procedures and not so concerned about complimenting our enemies.

Want to know who is responsible for some of this “wonderful” reportage and how to follow them quickly and easily as they provide additional information?

“Contact the Washington investigative team at DCInvestigations(at)ap.org”

“Follow Apuzzo and Goldman at and http://twitter.com/mattapuzzohttp://twitter.com/goldmandc”

Bottom line …

There is a point where the public’s right to know and the potential danger to covert operatives intersect … and it appears that the self-serving leftist media, including many of its members who do not wish America well, is willing to cross that line with impunity. Aided and abetted by politicians and bureaucrats who are fighting for credibility, name recognition and turf – willing to compromise the safety and security of the United States for their own selfish reasons.

We saw an innocent man, Scooter Libby, knowingly pursued and prosecuted for political reasons (hoping he would turn on the Vice President of the United States, Dick Cheney) by a partisan prosecutor who actually knew early on exactly who leaked the identity of a “covert operative” who was, in fact, not legally a covert operative. And a chicken-shit President, George Bush, who refused to give this man a full and complete pardon lest it affect his legacy. These are lives that are damaged in pursuit of Washington bragging rights.

It is time to face the sad fact that loyalty to the United States is no longer a requirement to work for the government. Self-professed socialists and communists who could not get a security clearance have been appointed to high office by the President of the United States – a man whose loyalty is not beyond question given his past and present associations with those who do not wish our beloved America well.

And it is about time that the media either self- censors these latent traitors and for those who consider themselves patriots to simply stop supporting those individuals or organizations who put our nation’s clandestine operators and national security at risk.

-- steve

P.S. There is the possibility that this story is part of a disinformation campaign – always a possibility with clandestine services. But I don’t think so because of the methods described in the article.

Reference Links …

My Way News - American spies outed, CIA suffers in Lebanon

U.S. foreign aid to Hezbollah-controlled Lebanon must stop, says Congresswoman

CIA Spies Caught, Fear Execution in Middle East - ABC News