The Fourth Estate: Endangering the US Public, Again

The Blotter at ABCnews is providing another example of the ability of journalists to torpedo another secret program that the US is using to our own benefit, and maybe the benefit of a lot of the rest of the world.

The CIA has received secret presidential approval to mount a covert "black" operation to destabilize the Iranian government, current and former officials in the intelligence community tell the Blotter on ABCNews.com.

The sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the subject, say President Bush has signed a "nonlethal presidential finding" that puts into motion a CIA plan that reportedly includes a coordinated campaign of propaganda, disinformation and manipulation of Iran's currency and international financial transactions.

Nice. That anonymity is also there because his actions are extremely illegal.

Get this:

The "nonlethal" aspect of the presidential finding means CIA officers may not use deadly force in carrying out the secret operations against Iran.

Still, some fear that even a nonlethal covert CIA program carries great risks.

"I think everybody in the region knows that there is a proxy war already afoot with the United States supporting anti-Iranian elements in the region as well as opposition groups within Iran," said Vali Nasr, adjunct senior fellow for Mideast studies at the Council on Foreign Relations.

"And this covert action is now being escalated by the new U.S. directive, and that can very quickly lead to Iranian retaliation and a cycle of escalation can follow," Nasr said.

Now, by this contention alone, you can draw the conclusion that ABC is endangering the public. It also is a propaganda calling point for anyone who wishes to further stir up Islamic extremism.

Additionally, these actions were covert. They may still be covert, but having someone reporting them as being a reality gives the enemy a catalyst that really isn't needed and makes covert actions much less likely to succeed.

I always hope that this type of report is actually the government abusing the press with misinformation for some other end.