Tipsheet

CIA Director: Shut It

When details, although they changed from day to day, about how the Osama bin Laden raid was conducted were freely being given to the media by the White House, I had to stop and think, "Why is the White House giving us so much detail about this?"

CIA Director Leon Panetta seems to feel the same.

CIA director Leon Panetta is warning his employees that leakers will be investigated and possibly prosecuted after a flurry of reports in the media about the technology and methods used to track and ultimately kill Osama bin Laden.

In a memo obtained by The Associated Press, Panetta told staff Wednesday that the disclosure of classified information to anyone not cleared for it — reporters, friends, colleagues in other agencies or former CIA officers — can endanger lives.

Exactly, and with Pakistan cozying up to the Chinese, keeping details about how the raid on bin Laden was conducted as classified information is crucial not only to keep Americans and military servicemembers safe, but to the success of future operations.