Derp.
Republicans are not strong on national security. They are however, top-notch at the fine art of
bungling things up:
Rep. Peter King's (R-N.Y.) public thanks to Jordan this month for helping capture Osama bin Laden's son-in-law has upset a delicate U.S. government agreement to keep Jordan's role in the operation secret, U.S. officials told The Huffington Post.
King, a member of the House Intelligence Committee and until recently the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, was the first U.S. official to confirm the arrest of Sulaiman Abu Ghaith. In a March 7 statement several hours before the indictment against Ghaith was unsealed, King thanked "our allies in Jordan" for help capturing Abu Ghaith, who served as a spokesman for al-Qaeda.
Jordan's cooperation in the arrest is a sensitive issue, as most governments in the region do not like to be seen as assisting the U.S. in these matters even if, behind the scenes, they're willing to do so. It's at least possible, then, that King's fouling of the secrecy arrangement in this case may have some repercussions for future operations. King says he didn't know he was supposed to shut up about that, which is a phrase you could also apply to a great deal of other Republicans in a great deal of other situations, so there you go.
King engaged in a full-on crusade against intelligence leaks last summer, complaining that perceived information leaks from the White House "put the lives of U.S. servicemembers, intelligence officers and civilians at risk." No word yet on whether his legislative fervor for plugging intelligence leaks will extend to the good congressman's own pie hole.