Special Operations OPSEC Education Fund

OPSEC's president is Scott Taylor, a former Navy SEAL and former U.S. Congressman from Virginia.{{cite web|url=http://slatest.slate.com/posts/2012/08/15/special_operations_opsec_education_fund_starts_swift_boat_like_anti_obama_media_campaign_.html|title=Special Ops Group Launches Anti-Obama Media Blitz|first=Abby|last=Ohlheiser|date=August 15, 2012|publisher=Slate|access-date=August 15, 2012|archive-date=August 15, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120815184822/http://slatest.slate.com/posts/2012/08/15/special_operations_opsec_education_fund_starts_swift_boat_like_anti_obama_media_campaign_.html|url-status=dead}} Its lead spokesperson and former SEAL, Ben Smith, was also a spokesperson for Tea Party Express. Another spokesperson is Chad Kolton, who worked for the Bush administration as a spokesperson for the Director of National Intelligence, and who was hired to perform media relations for OPSEC in July 2012 through HDMK, a Republican strategic communications firm.{{cite web|url=https://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2012/08/15/faulting-obama-former-officers-plan-ads-on-bin-laden-leaks|title=Faulting Obama, Former Officers Plan Ads on Bin Laden Leaks|first=Alicia|last=Mundy| work=The Wall Street Journal|date=August 15, 2012}} Public records filed with authorities indicate the group's treasurer, lawyer and television producers also have affiliations with Republican Party organizations.

OPSEC registered with the Internal Revenue Service as a 501(c)(4) social welfare organization. Unlike 501(c)(3) organizations, 501(c)(4) organizations can participate in partisan politics.{{cite web | url = https://www.irs.gov/irm/part7/irm_07-025-004.html#d0e332 | title = 7.25.4 Civic Leagues, Social Welfare Organizations and Local Associations of Employees | access-date = 2012-08-22 | author = Internal Revenue Service | author-link = Internal Revenue Service | work = Internal Revenue Manual | publisher = Internal Revenue Service | quote = An exempt IRC 501(c)(4) organization may intervene in political campaigns as long as its primary activity is the promotion of social welfare.}} The group is not required to disclose its donors and OPSEC has declined to reveal them. In 2012, the group said that it had raised almost $1 million in donations.{{cite web|url=http://www.cnn.com/2012/08/16/politics/former-seals-obama/index.html |title=Former special forces officers slam Obama over leaks on bin Laden killing|first=Dugald|last=McConnell|author2=Brian Todd|publisher=CNN|date=August 16, 2012}}

{{Infobox organization

|name = Dishonorable Disclosures

|image = Dishonorable_Disclosures_promo.jpg

|leader_title = Release date

|leader_name = August 15, 2012

|leader_title2= Running time

|leader_name2 = 22 minutes

|leader_title3= Country

|leader_name3 = United States

|leader_title4= Language

|leader_name4 = English

}}

On August 15, 2012, the group launched its criticism campaign of President Obama by promoting a 22-minute documentary style web video hosted on the organization's website and on YouTube entitled "Dishonorable Disclosures".

The group announced they were planning on showing it in a handful of voting swing states, including Virginia, Colorado, Florida, Ohio, North Carolina, and Nevada. According to The New York Times, the video portrayed Obama "as a braggart taking credit for the accomplishments of special forces and intelligence operatives".{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/16/us/politics/ex-military-and-cia-officers-attack-obama-over-bin-laden-leaks.html |title=Ex-Officers Attack Obama Over Leaks on Bin Laden Raid |work=The New York Times |date=August 15, 2012 |access-date=August 15, 2012 |author=Shane, Scott |archive-date=August 19, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120819004642/http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/16/us/politics/ex-military-and-cia-officers-attack-obama-over-bin-laden-leaks.html?_r=1 |url-status=bot: unknown }}() Using interviews with a handful of former special forces and intelligence personnel, it accused the Obama Administration of leaking information and taking too much credit for killing bin Laden.{{cite web | url=http://communities.washingtontimes.com/neighborhood/political-potpourri/2012/aug/15/announcement-opsec-operation-security-group-releas/ | title=OPSEC, Operational Security group release film condemning national security leaks | work=The Washington Times | date=August 15, 2012 | access-date=August 15, 2012 | author=Kubin, Jacquie}} The interviewees alleged that the administration intentionally leaked details about the raid on bin Laden's compound that would help terrorists identify the Navy SEALs involved.{{cite web | url=https://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2012/08/15/faulting-obama-former-officers-plan-ads-on-bin-laden-leaks/ | title=Faulting Obama, Former Officers Plan Ads on Bin Laden Leaks | publisher=The Wall Street Journal | date=August 15, 2012 | access-date=August 15, 2012 | author=Mundy, Alicia}}

Ben Smith, identified in the video as a former SEAL, is seen saying, "Mr. President, you did not kill Osama bin Laden, America did. The work that the American military has done killed Osama bin Laden. You did not."{{cite web | url=http://in.reuters.com/article/usa-campaign-binladen-ad-idINL2E8JE80520120815 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306173223/http://in.reuters.com/article/usa-campaign-binladen-ad-idINL2E8JE80520120815 | url-status=dead | archive-date=March 6, 2016 | title=Special ops group attacks Obama over bin Laden bragging, leaks | publisher=Reuters | date=August 15, 2012 | access-date=August 15, 2012}} Fred Rustmann, identified in the video as a retired CIA officer, alleged that Hollywood elites were invited to the White House to be briefed on how the raid took place, and that the administration leaked "what kind of sources we had, what kind of methods we used, all for the purpose of making a Hollywood movie", referring to the film Zero Dark Thirty.{{cite web | url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/17/opsec-video-hollywood-dishonorable-disclosures-obama_n_1798005.html?ir=Entertainment | title=OPSEC 'Dishonorable Disclosures' Video Says Hollywood Received Leaked Information From Obama | publisher=Huffington Post | date=August 17, 2012 | access-date=August 18, 2012 | author=Miles, Kathleen}} Bill Cowan, identified as a retired lieutenant colonel, also alleged that President Obama divulged covert information to Hollywood, saying in the video "When we divulge national security information such as the identity of the organization that killed Osama bin Laden, we have now put all of those men, all of their families, everybody around them at some sort of risk."

Peter Bergen, author of Man Hunt: The Ten Year Search for Bin Laden From 9/11 to Abbottabad, wrote a critical analysis of Dishonorable Disclosures. Bergen wrote that what precipitated the operation going public was not Obama's announcement of the raid but the crash of the Black Hawk helicopter and the arrival of Pakistani journalists at bin Laden's Abbottabad compound soon afterward.{{cite news |last=Bergen |author-link=Peter Bergen |first=Peter |title=Are 'Swift Boat' attacks on Obama bogus? |url=http://www.cnn.com/2012/08/17/opinion/bergen-obama-swift-boat/ |access-date=August 22, 2012 |publisher=CNNm |date=August 19, 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120827033254/http://www.cnn.com/2012/08/17/opinion/bergen-obama-swift-boat |archive-date=August 27, 2012 }} () Bergen added that U.S. Adm. Mike Mullen had advised Obama that Pakistan's top military officer, Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, had asked for the U.S. to go public, persuading Obama to announce the raid sooner than was planned although Obama had initially preferred to wait for 100% DNA confirmation of bin Laden's death. Bergen noted that Obama's speech did not divulge the name of SEAL Team Six, instead saying that a "small team of Americans carried out the operation with extraordinary courage and capability."[https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/blog/2011/05/02/osama-bin-laden-dead Transcript] of Barack Obama's speech of May 1, 2011 ([https://web.archive.org/web/20110510211657/http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2011/05/02/osama-bin-laden-dead WebCite archive of 2011-05-09]), Whitehouse.gov. Bergen wrote that as discussed in multiple news stories, SEALs are the principal Special Operations Forces in the Afghanistan/Pakistan theater, and that "obviously, a mission to take out bin Laden would not be entrusted to any other than these elite units" (referring to SEALs and Delta Force), adding that it remained unclear who first leaked the involvement of SEAL Team Six. Bergen also wrote it was "just plain wrong" that anyone in the U.S. government leaked the name of Dr Shakil Afridi, writing that this information first surfaced in The Guardian in July 2011 after Afridi was arrested by the Pakistani intelligence service. Bergen also wrote that it was entirely Obama's decision, made against the advice of both the vice president and secretary of defense, to launch the raid based on fragmentary intelligence that bin Laden might be there. Bergen also wrote that the United States' use of drones in Pakistan "is one of the world's worst kept secrets," that disclosure of the Stuxnet virus attacks on the Iranian nuclear program had been reported since 2010, and that Iran publicly acknowledged the cyberattack two years earlier.{{cite news|url=http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/tobyharnden/100086416/joe-biden-opens-his-mouth-about-us-navy-seals/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110506041958/http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/tobyharnden/100086416/joe-biden-opens-his-mouth-about-us-navy-seals/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=May 6, 2011 |title=Joe Biden opens his mouth about US Navy SEALs |first=Toby |last=Harnden |date=May 4, 2011 |work=The Daily Telegraph}}

Elizabeth Flock of US News questioned the group's claims to be non-partisan noting that "its ranks are filled with Republicans" and stating that OPSEC "has clearly taken a political side".{{cite news|last=Flock|first=Elizabeth|title=Navy SEAL Group Hits Back At Obama Campaign For 'Swift Boat' Comparison|url=https://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/washington-whispers/2012/08/16/navy-seal-group-hits-back-at-obama-campaign-for-swift-boat-comparison-|access-date=18 October 2012|newspaper=U.S. News & World Report|date=16 August 2012}} News reports have described the group's ties to the Republican Party, noting that several prominent leaders of the group are Republicans and Tea Partiers and that it shares an office with a Republican consulting firm and a Republican polling firm.{{cite news |title=Obama campaign accuses Republicans of smear tactics over bin Laden, leaks |author=Mark Hosenball |author2=Warren Strobel |author3=Christopher Wilson |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-campaign-binladen-ad-idUSBRE87E01F20120815 |newspaper=Reuters |date=15 August 2012 |access-date=27 August 2012}}{{cite news|last=Dilanian|first=Ken|title=Group attacking Obama for security leaks includes past talkers|url=https://www.latimes.com/politics/la-xpm-2012-aug-16-la-pn-group-attacking-obama-for-security-leaks-includes-past-leakers-20120815-story.html|access-date=9 October 2012|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=16 August 2012}}{{cite news|last=Dozier|first=Kimberly|title=Special operators to anti-Obama groups: Zip it|url=http://www.navytimes.com/news/2012/08/ap-special-operators-tell-anti-obama-groups-zip-it-082112/|access-date=18 October 2012|date=21 August 2012}} While the group described itself as nonpartisan, some of its leaders have been involved in Republican campaigns and Tea Party groups. The film's featured former SEAL members include one whose Facebook page identifies him as a spokesman for the Tea Party Express and several Republican campaigns, and OPSEC's president Scott Taylor ran unsuccessfully as a Republican candidate for Congress in 2010. In a 2012 interview with The New York Times, Taylor acknowledged the Republican ties of some members but said that "as many or more (of the film's participants) are apolitical." While the film portrayed President Obama as a "braggart taking credit for the accomplishments of special forces and intelligence operatives," during the video clip of Obama announcing the killing of Osama bin Laden, the portion in which Obama credited the "tireless and heroic work of our military and our counterterrorism professionals" was deleted by the filmmakers. In a CNN interview in 2012, Admiral William H. McRaven, a former commander of United States Special Operations Command, said that Obama "shouldered the burden" for the operation, "made the hard decisions," and was "instrumental in the planning process."

The Obama campaign compared it to the discredited "swift boat" smear tactics used against presidential nominee John Kerry in 2004. A spokesperson said, "No one in this group is in a position to speak with any authority on these issues and on what impact any leaks may have had, and it's clear they've resorted to making things up for purely political reasons."{{cite web | url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/15/opsec-special-forces_n_1777538.html | title= OPSEC, Special Forces Group, Attacks Obama Over Bin Laden Bragging, Leaks | publisher=Huffington Post | date=August 14, 2012 | access-date=August 15, 2012 | author=Hosenball, Mark}} Leaders of OPSEC responded by stating the group is non-partisan and unconnected to any political party or presidential campaign. The military veterans political action committee called VetPAC has said "OPSEC is a shadowy Republican front group," and called their video "dubious" and "silly". Juliet Lapidos of The New York Times called the OPSEC video "a dishonest hatchet job" and remarked that while the stars of the video presented themselves as concerned citizens with no partisan motivations, their positions were inconsistent with their decision to appear in the video.{{cite news|last=Lapidos|first=Juliet|title=Return of the Swift Boat|url=http://takingnote.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/08/16/return-of-the-swift-boat/|access-date=18 October 2012|newspaper=The New York Times|date=16 August 2012}} Military journalist and former Marine, Geoffrey Ingersoll, reported in Business Insider that the video is a partisan effort instead of an effort to protect US troops, saying, "Obama used SEALs to kill bin Laden. Republicans are using them to eliminate Obama."{{cite news|last=Ingersoll|first=Geoffrey|title=Why The New SEAL Ad Is As Outrageous As The Obama Leaks It's Attacking|url=http://www.businessinsider.com/these-seal-attack-ads-are-as-outrageous-as-the-obamas-leaks-theyre-attacking-2012-8|access-date=18 October 2012|newspaper=Business Insider|date=17 August 2012}}

{{Reflist|30em}}

• [http://www.opsecteam.org/ Special Operations OPSEC Education Fund (website)]
• [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2341890/ Dishonorable Disclosures] at the Internet Movie Database
• Dishonorable Diclosures on YouTube {{YouTube|X-Xfti7qtT0}}
• Official {{YouTube|ZNYmK19-d0U|video}} "President Obama on Death of Osama bin Laden" showing the May 1, 2011 speech by President Obama, posted to YouTube channel "whitehouse" on May 1, 2011 ([https://web.archive.org/web/20110507200124/http://www.youtube.com//watch?v=ZNYmK19-d0U WebCite archive]).
• Whitehouse.gov [https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/blog/2011/05/02/osama-bin-laden-dead transcript] of Barack Obama's speech of May 1, 2011 ([https://web.archive.org/web/20110510211657/http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2011/05/02/osama-bin-laden-dead WebCite archive of 2011-05-09]) announcing the death of Osama bin Laden.

Category:501(c)(4) nonprofit organizations

Category:2012 United States presidential election

Category:Killing of Osama bin Laden

Category:Organizations based in Alexandria, Virginia