President Barack Obama‘s aides and allies are trying to undermine an emerging campaign by former soldiers who are slamming the White House for what they see as a willingness to betray the nation’s secrets in exchange for publicity.

His aides released a plea from Sen. John Kerry late Friday, urging supporters to ignore the Special Operations OPSEC Education Fund’s hard-hitting criticisms. OPSEC is military jargon for operational security.

The email from Kerry did not include any evidence that Obama’s aides were not responsible for the release of the secrets to the media.

Those secrets included the existence of a US spy in al-Qaeda, as well as secret details about the successful killing of Osama bin Laden in May 2011. Those details included the existence of a US spy network in Pakistan.

The release of secrets has prompted bipartisan criticism from senators and representatives.

Kerry’s email was accompanied by a second message from Obama campaign spokesman Ben LaBolt.

With the subject line “Forwarded Without Comment,” LaBolt’s message consisted of an article which said the head of a different group of veterans -- not the Special Operations OPSEC Education Fund -- believes Obama was born outside the United States.

The article, published in Foreign Policy, quoted Larry Bailey, who founded the unrelated Special Operations Speaks organization, saying “I have to admit that I’m a Birther.”

LaBolt’s effort to associate the birther movement with the Special Operations OPSEC Education Fund is likely intended to mute the impact of the group’s charges.

Democrats have chosen to be sensitive to criticism from veterans because they blame a veterans groups for derailing Sen. Kerry’s 2004 run for the presidency...

The OPSEC group’s mission statement, according to its website, is to “stop the politicians, President Obama and others, from politically capitalizing on US national security operations and secrets!”

The group also says it aims to “educate the public on the importance and necessity of Operational Security in today’s environment.”

Its 22-minute video, titled “Dishonorable Disclosures,” has been viewed nearly 1 million times on YouTube since its Aug. 15 launch.

Kerry’s email did not make an argument against the group’s concerns, but accused it of lying and smearing Obama unfairly.

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Editor's Note: View the video, "Dishonorable Disclosures" on NMJ's main page in the "Video" section.


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