Senate Democrats blast national security leak
on Iran cyberattackBy Jeremy Herb - 06/05/12
The Democratic chairwoman of the Senate Intelligence Committee on Tuesday expressed worry that leaks to the press about a cyberattack authorized by the Obama administration on Iran could lead to a counterattack on the United States.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) joined other senior Senate Democrats in expressing serious concerns about the leak, which detailed a cyberattack intended to hamper Iran's nuclear program. Some Republicans argue the information was leaked to help President Obama's reelection campaign.
Feinstein said the fact that the United States is launching cyberattacks against other countries could ?to some extent? provide justification for cyberattacks against the United States.
?This is like an avalanche. It is very detrimental and candidly, I found it very concerning,? Feinstein told reporters Tuesday. ?There?s no question that this kind of thing hurts our country.?
Several Democrats noted the Iranian leak is just the latest in a series of media reports about classified U.S. anti-terrorism activity.
?A number of those leaks, and others in the last months about drone activities and other activities are frankly all against national security interests,? said Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee. ?I think they?re dangerous, damaging, and whoever is doing that is not acting in the interest of the United States of America.?
Feinstein and Kerry, however, rejected Sen. John McCain?s (R-Ariz.) charge that the leaks were politically motivated to boost Obama?s image.
Kerry said that he ?categorically? rejected the accusations that the leaks were coming from the White House for political purposes.
And Feinstein said she did not think the White House leaked the story for political purposes.
?That?s hard for me to believe,? she said.
A story The New York Times last week revealed U.S. involvement with Stuxnet, a computer virus that was used against Iranian nuclear facilities and caused centrifuges to explode. The story detailed joint U.S. and Israeli efforts to develop the virus as well as conversations Obama had with his advisers on whether to continue the program when the virus became public in 2010. The story cited unnamed current and former U.S., Israeli and European officials.
The FBI launched an investigation on Tuesday about who disclosed information on the Iranian cyber attack, the Wall Street Journal reported.
McCain earlier on Tuesday called for an investigation into the leak. He and Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.) are planning a colloquy on the Senate floor Tuesday afternoon to discuss the Stuxnet story, a McCain aide confirmed.
Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin (D-Mich.) said that he had serious concerns about the cyberattack story going public but said he didn?t know where the leaks came from.
?I just can?t believe that there?s a decision in any kind of a formal way to leak this kind of a thing,? Levin said. ?I just cannot believe that.?
Senate Homeland Security Committee Chairman Joe Lieberman (Conn.), an Independent who caucuses with Democrats, called for an investigation into the leaks on Tuesday.
Asked if he thought there was a political side to the leaks, Lieberman told The Hill he did not know. ?The mere fact that people suspect it is means that it ought to be investigated,? he said.
http://thehill.com/blogs/defcon-hill/policy-and-strategy/230985-senate-dems-blast-leaks-about-iranian-cyberattacks
