U.S. Navy SEALs, like the teams that killed Osama bin Laden, are grateful for nation's show of support but are growing angry with the continued focus on their operation, tactics, and tools, claiming it could jeopardize future raids and their safety.-Paul Bedard, U.S. News
"My friends in the community tell me they're very glad for the bit of attention they got," said former Pentagon deputy undersecretary Jed Babbin, "but at some point the best way to help them is to stop. You guys in the press have done a good job, but stop for God's sake, stop." -Jake Tapper, ABC News
Speaking at a town hall with Marines at Camp Lejeune on Thursday morning, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said"the Special Forces who participated in the successful mission to kill Osama bin Laden were worried about their safety, and that he was concerned that so many details of the operation had become known to the public".
“Frankly, a week ago Sunday, in the Situation Room, we all agreed that we would not release any operational details from the effort to take out bin Laden,” Gates said. “That all fell apart on Monday -- the next day.”
Gates’ response was prompted by a question from a Marine in a Medical Logistics Company, who asked “what measures are being taken to protect the identities and the lives of the SEAL team members, as well as the lives of military forces deployed that might have to face extreme retaliation from terrorist organizations that want to have those identities known?”
Gates said that “there is an awareness that the threat of retaliation is increased because…of the action against bin Laden. “ He said there “has been a consistent and effective effort to protect the identities of those who participated in the raid, and I think that has to continue.”
The defense secretary said that “when I met with the team last Thursday, they expressed a concern about that, and particularly with respect to their families…I can't get into the details in this forum, but we are looking at what measures can be taken to pump up the security.”
Asked for further clarification of Gates’ remarks, Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell said that Secretary Gates was "not pointing fingers at any particular individual or any particular building" for details becoming known. "But all of a sudden airwaves and newspapers were filled with details about a covert military and intelligence operation and that's concerning because one of the reasons that these operations -- and this operation in particular -- are effective is because how they do their work, how they're equipped, how they're trained, their tactics and procedures are all secret. The more that's in the public domain the less likely we'll be able to pull these operations off in the future."
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