IN THE MILITARY

PENTAGON REALLY DID GOOF BY ANNOUNCING INVASION

Briefing on recapturing Mosul discloses 'military secrets,' says defense secretary

WASHINGTON – Americans were scratching their heads after a U.S. military officer briefed the press on plans for an Iraq-led offensive in Mosul last month.

“Why would the military be announcing military plans for next spring?” ordinary citizens wondered out loud.

Radio talk-show hosts had a field day questioning the sanity of the move.

On Tuesday, new Defense Secretary Ash Carter made it official. It was a big mistake – the open disclosure of “military secrets.”

The anonymous briefer, whose presentation for reporters at the Pentagon on Feb. 19 was authorized by U.S. Central Command, said the U.S. wanted the Iraqis to launch the offensive in Mosul in April or May, or perhaps later.

“That clearly was neither accurate information nor, had it been accurate, would have been information that should be blurted out to the press,” Carter told the Senate Armed Services Committee. “So it’s wrong on both scores.”

Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who appeared before the committee  alongside Carter, said he had discussed the Mosul briefing with Gen. Lloyd Austin, head of Central Command.

“He’s conducting an internal inquiry,” Dempsey said, adding that he is confident Austin will “take the appropriate action.”

The briefing was done by an officer at Central Command headquarters in Tampa, Florida. He spoke by phone to a group of reporters in the Pentagon on condition of anonymity under ground rules set by Central Command – a fairly common occurrence not only with the military but with other Washington Cabinet departments.

The disclosure raises another question: Why would the secretary of defense wait two weeks to denounce the disclosure of “military secrets”?

“It is important that we be open as a department – not with military secrets and not with war plans, which was the mistake made in this case – but we do try to keep the country informed of what we’re doing,” he said. “It’s about protecting them. It is a democracy. And so, openness is important but it has to have limits when it comes to security matters, and those limits obviously weren’t respected in this case.”

Read more at http://www.wnd.com/2015/03/pentagon-really-did-goof-by-announcing-invasion/#39m2KydDCHldd0yG.99