Why is the US Government Bullying an American Hero?

Why is the US Government Bullying an American Hero?

The thread title and link above are from a piece written by Valerie Plame.

excerpt from above:

As I learned first-hand in 2003, there are times when the politicians bring the posturing and drama to you.

I served my country, loyally and well, as a covert CIA operations officer focused on stopping nuclear weapon proliferation until the Bush administration decided to betray my secret identity as payback for my husband questioning the White House's justification for the Iraq War.

I didn't know of Plame. When this story was in the news, I was just entering high school and not too deep into current events. She wrote a book about the whole thing, published in 2007.www.amazon.com...

Now, she contributes to Huffington from time to time. Yesterday, she published a critique regarding the treatment of the man known as Mark Owen, author of the new first hand narrative of the bin Laden operation.

The book, "No Easy Day: The Firsthand Account of the Mission That Killed Osama Bin Laden," is set to hit shelves on Sept 11. It is penned under the pseudonym "Mark Owen," according to the publisher, but multiple sources told Fox News his name is in fact Matt Bissonnette, 36, of Wrangell, Alaska. Bissonnette could be exposing himself to legal trouble, as the Pentagon has not vetted the account.

www.foxnews.com...



Plame feels the treatment toward Owen, as I prefer to call him, has been unfair.

It's a short a powerful read, so I'll post the bulk here.

In the past few weeks, we have heard riveting stories of heroism and valor from one of the U.S. soldiers who participated in the combat mission that killed Osama bin Laden. His book, written under a pseudonym (his true identity was subsequently made public by Fox News), is by most accounts devoid of any classified information. In fact, most of what is in the book had been already leaked by top officials of the U.S. government themselves. I am dismayed to read the steady stream of criticism flowing from the U.S. government aimed at the book and its author. The Defense Department and administration officials have called the author's decision to publish the book the "height of irresponsibility." Former CIA Director and current Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has even gone so far as to say, "I think we have to take steps to make clear to him and to the American people that we're not going to accept this kind of behavior."

At the same time that they threaten the author and try to "make clear" they're not going to accept an honest account of what happened in Abbottabad, Americans have also recently learned that the CIA and other U.S. government agencies have been cooperating with Hollywood figures on a movie about the same topic. In fact, according to CIA emails released recently, one writer was given a "deep dive" inside the Agency as they wrote a screenplay on the bin Laden raid. Are U.S. government officials angry that the author wrote a book, or that his book came out before their movie? This, of course, comes after the U.S. government officials have participated in and been sources for newspaper articles, magazine features and even movies -- like Act of Valor.

It is time for the public to make clear to our government that we will no longer accept their unsubstantiated or spoon-fed version as the only one of significant historical events. I don't believe that cooperating with an author or a screenwriter or even a movie producer on an authentic account of what happened in war is necessarily a bad thing, as long as no classified information is jeopardized. In fact, it has happened throughout American history and inspired many Americans to serve our country in their careers -- myself included. However, next time you hear an American government official attacking the author of No Easy Day -- stop and ask yourself why they are trying to bully an American hero. I just wish the officials making these threats would do the same. Our government has survived as long as it has because there are those prepared to hold it to account for its words and deeds. It's the essence of our democracy.

In your face, Washington!

reply to post by PatrickGarrow17


I don't believe any of it. It's just a sham for some guy to make money. The guys that pulled this off are SEALs for crying out loud, they KNOW the importance of OPSEC and would never do that. If it is true and he really is one of the guys that was there during this operation and writes a book about it, he should be charged with treason.

reply to post by billy197300


From what I understand, his status as a genuine member of the Seal team has been accepted as fact.

reply to post by PatrickGarrow17


Matt Bissonnette was A Navy Seal, Valerie Plame was a CIA employee. Both had to sign non-disclosure agreements. Many of us have sign similar things for employment as well.

When you sign these types of documents, you are setting yourself up for failure if you decide to branch off into other endeavors using new found knowledge or experience that you gained while in that field.

Many military and Gov’t employees have run afoul of this because they didn’t ask for permission or vet their projects thru the proper channels. The Pentagon recently banned Lieut. Colonel Anthony Shaffer's Operation Dark Heart: Spycraft and Special Ops on the Frontlines of Afghanistan — and the Path to Victory

They even went out of their way to see the destruction of 9,500 copies.

They also quite possibly made it a best seller.

I do not believe in censorship, and want to read their stories. But I do also believe in OPSEC. It's a tricky razor to walk.

reply to post by TDawgRex


You think maybe Plame is writing this article with a little bias, based on her personal story?

They are two totally different things. Plame was a undercover agent who's cover was blown by the president. Owen wrote a book without going through proper channels to get clearance to write the book. Owen also signed documents saying he wouldn't reveal any info of missions he was on.

reply to post by PatrickGarrow17


For sure, she experianced something similiar and thusly would sympathize, it's natural.

Just think about the last time you were accused of doing something wrong, even though you thought you did the right thing.

It has a tendancy to stick in your craw a bit.

Originally posted by PatrickGarrow17
Why is the US Government Bullying an American Hero?

The thread title and link above are from a piece written by Valerie Plame.

excerpt from above:

As I learned first-hand in 2003, there are times when the politicians bring the posturing and drama to you.

I served my country, loyally and well, as a covert CIA operations officer focused on stopping nuclear weapon proliferation until the Bush administration decided to betray my secret identity as payback for my husband questioning the White House's justification for the Iraq War.

I didn't know of Plame. When this story was in the news, I was just entering high school and not too deep into current events. She wrote a book about the whole thing, published in 2007.www.amazon.com...

Now, she contributes to Huffington from time to time. Yesterday, she published a critique regarding the treatment of the man known as Mark Owen, author of the new first hand narrative of the bin Laden operation.

The book, "No Easy Day: The Firsthand Account of the Mission That Killed Osama Bin Laden," is set to hit shelves on Sept 11. It is penned under the pseudonym "Mark Owen," according to the publisher, but multiple sources told Fox News his name is in fact Matt Bissonnette, 36, of Wrangell, Alaska. Bissonnette could be exposing himself to legal trouble, as the Pentagon has not vetted the account.

www.foxnews.com...



Plame feels the treatment toward Owen, as I prefer to call him, has been unfair.

It's a short a powerful read, so I'll post the bulk here.

In the past few weeks, we have heard riveting stories of heroism and valor from one of the U.S. soldiers who participated in the combat mission that killed Osama bin Laden. His book, written under a pseudonym (his true identity was subsequently made public by Fox News), is by most accounts devoid of any classified information. In fact, most of what is in the book had been already leaked by top officials of the U.S. government themselves. I am dismayed to read the steady stream of criticism flowing from the U.S. government aimed at the book and its author. The Defense Department and administration officials have called the author's decision to publish the book the "height of irresponsibility." Former CIA Director and current Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has even gone so far as to say, "I think we have to take steps to make clear to him and to the American people that we're not going to accept this kind of behavior."

At the same time that they threaten the author and try to "make clear" they're not going to accept an honest account of what happened in Abbottabad, Americans have also recently learned that the CIA and other U.S. government agencies have been cooperating with Hollywood figures on a movie about the same topic. In fact, according to CIA emails released recently, one writer was given a "deep dive" inside the Agency as they wrote a screenplay on the bin Laden raid. Are U.S. government officials angry that the author wrote a book, or that his book came out before their movie? This, of course, comes after the U.S. government officials have participated in and been sources for newspaper articles, magazine features and even movies -- like Act of Valor.

It is time for the public to make clear to our government that we will no longer accept their unsubstantiated or spoon-fed version as the only one of significant historical events. I don't believe that cooperating with an author or a screenwriter or even a movie producer on an authentic account of what happened in war is necessarily a bad thing, as long as no classified information is jeopardized. In fact, it has happened throughout American history and inspired many Americans to serve our country in their careers -- myself included. However, next time you hear an American government official attacking the author of No Easy Day -- stop and ask yourself why they are trying to bully an American hero. I just wish the officials making these threats would do the same. Our government has survived as long as it has because there are those prepared to hold it to account for its words and deeds. It's the essence of our democracy.

In your face, Washington!

edit on 9/15/2012 by PatrickGarrow17 because: (no reason given)

Well I have to give Plame some props for this!

Originally posted by buster2010
They are two totally different things. Plame was a undercover agent who's cover was blown by the president. Owen wrote a book without going through proper channels to get clearance to write the book. Owen also signed documents saying he wouldn't reveal any info of missions he was on.

I think that the OP is refering to this.

From Wiki:
On May 31, 2007, various news media reported that Simon and Schuster and Valerie Plame-Wilson were suing J. Michael McConnell, Director of National Intelligence, and Michael V. Hayden, Director of the CIA, arguing that the CIA "is unconstitutionally interfering with the publication of her memoir, Fair Game, ... set to be published in October [2007], by not allowing Plame to mention the dates that she served in the CIA."[65][66]

Judge Barbara S. Jones, of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, in Manhattan, interpreted the issue in favor of the CIA. Judge Jones ruled that Valerie Plame's constitutional freedoms were overridden by the Classified Information Act. Therefore, the ruling stated that Plame would not be able to describe in her memoir the precise dates she had worked for the CIA. In 2009, the federal court of appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed Judge Jones's ruling.

And they both signed non-disclosure agreements.

Most of what the Govt. considers classified, is not. A good sum of taxpayer money is wasted every year on over-classification of documents and intel.

The subject at hand was a raid. Every Govt. and paramilitary organization conducts raids of some type. There are only so many different ways to conduct a raid. Every raid is done according to certain principals. And none of them are secrets. Any Joe Shmoe SWAT team guy has done the same.

The SEALS just have better gadgets and gizmos.

I thought an "American Hero" was a jingoistic, war-mongering, mystical-preaching, murder-loving, privileged billionaire? I guess I forgot about the wonderful CIA agents...

Originally posted by watchitburn
Most of what the Govt. considers classified, is not. A good sum of taxpayer money is wasted every year on over-classification of documents and intel.

The subject at hand was a raid. Every Govt. and paramilitary organization conducts raids of some type. There are only so many different ways to conduct a raid. Every raid is done according to certain principals. And none of them are secrets. Any Joe Shmoe SWAT team guy has done the same.

The SEALS just have better gadgets and gizmos.

I can't count the number of times I've seen documents linked here that have FOUO (For Offical Use Only) clearly marked on them.

When I was in the service, I saw FOUO, Confidential and even a couple of Secret marked docs going out over Hotmail, AOL, Yahoo servers.

The people that sent such docs usually got slapped hard.

Regarding filmakers, NG already have their 'Graphic' account of the raid in the can complete with night vision footage, (I'm not even sure if the 'recomstruction' disclaimer was used, no matter it is not in agreement with what this Seal is saying in the 'leaked' contents if his book. Notwithstanding that, you need to have to believe that the raid took place as stated in the first place, since other intelligence sources had already considered OBL no longer with us. Then there is the rationale of a ground assault on the compound in foreign territory, it surely had nothing to do with a proving of ultimately .that OBL is well and truly expired, since he was, we are told, secretly buried at sea, to avoid being enshrined. As far as the Seal is concerned, his name could be Fred Bloggs, persona non gratis The whole Navy seas.