Information classified for safety reasons

When I was in the Air Force, I was exposed to much classified information. I learned that information was classified to protect sources, methods and the information content.

The current administration, while patting itself on the back for the killing of Osama bin Laden, totally ignored the concept. We did not need to know the assault team's unit, nor how many there were, nor the things they took with them. Al-Qaida is not dumb and will use the information we gave away to tighten its security, just as they did after the New York Times revealed that we were tracking them by monitoring their mobile phone calls.

Contrast this to the previous president who was pilloried by the Democrats (“Helied”) and the press when weapons of mass destruction were not immediately found in Iraq. When 500 tons of yellowcake, the raw ore yielding uranium, were found, rather than holding a news conference to tell the world, President George W. Bush ordered secrecy while it was removed from the country. Only then was it quietly announced.

What a stark difference between the two presidents.

Tom Vavra

Ely