12A Wednesday, September 5, 2012
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
U.S. Navy: Bin Laden
book leaks classified info
"No Easy Day"
cleared formal
Pentagon review
WASHINGTON (AP) - A for-
mer Navy SEAL's insider account
of the raid that killed Osama bin
Laden contains classified infor-
mation, the Pentagon said Tues-
day, and the admiral who heads
the Naval Special Warfare Com-
mand said details in the book may
provide enemies with dangerous
insight into secretive U.S. opera-
tions..
Rear Adm. Sean Pybus told
his force Tuesday that "hawking
details about a mission" and sell-
ing other information about SEAL
training and operations puts the
force and their families at risk.
"For an elite force that should
be humble and disciplined for life,
we are certainly not appearing to
be so," Pybus wrote in a letter to
the roughly 8,000 troops under
his command. "We owe our chain
of command much better than
this."
The letter was obtained by The
Associated Press.
At the Pentagon, press secre-
tary George Little said that an offi-
cial review of the book, "No Easy
Day," determined that it reveals
what he called "sensitive and clas-
sified" information. He was not
more specific but said the author
was required to submit the book
to the Pentagon before publication
for a formal review of potential
disclosures of such information.
"When you have special opera-
tions units that perform these
missions, there are tactics, tech-
niques, and procedures, not to
mention human life, that are in
play," Little said. "And it is the
height of irresponsibility not to
have this kind of material checked.
for the possible disclosure of clas-
sified information."
He told reporters during a
briefing that the Pentagon is still
reviewing what legal options
should betaken againstthe author.
Pybus, in his letter, was more
direct, saying that, "We must
immediately reconsider how we
properly influence our people in
and out of uniform NOT to seek
inappropriate monetary, political,.
or celebrity profit from their ser-
vice" with the SEALS.
"We all have much to gain
or lose," he said. "In the weeks
ahead; we will be taking actions to
meet this'challenge, and I appreci-
ate your leadership and support of
our community in this effort."
Last week, Adm. William
McRaven, head of U.S. Special
Operations Command, warned
his troops that he would take legal
action against anyone found to
have exposed sensitive informa-
tion that could cause fellow forces
harm. The Naval Special Warfare
Command is a unit within U.S.
Special Operations Command.
A lawyer for author Matt Bis-
sonnette, who wrote under the
pseudonym Mark Owen, has dis-
puted that he was legally obliged
to have the book screened before
publication.
Bissonnette's co-author Kevin
Maurer said in a statement Tues-
day that Bissonnette "was meticu-
lous aboutnadheringto his desire to
never do anything to undermine
the SEALs' mission or put his for-
mer colleagues in harm's way."
Little would not say what dam-
age may result from the book's
revelations and he declined to
point to any specific portions of
the book that contain material
that would be considered a vio-
lation and a release of classified
information.
He said the Pentagon did not
try to stop the public release
of the book this week in part
because there wasn't much time.
"Pre-release copies of the
book were already being circu-
lated around," Little said.
The book, which was pub-
lished by Dutton, an imprint of
Penguin Group (USA), was No.
1 on Amazon's best seller list
Tuesday, which was its official
release day. The initial print run
was 575,000 copies and publica-
tion of the book was moved up
from Sept. 11 to Sept. 4 amid a
flurry of reports about the book
last week.
Jeh Johnson, the Pentagon's
top lawyer, notified Bissonnette
last Thursday that the Pentagon,
believes he is in "material breach
and violation" of two nondisclo-
sure agreements and of a related
document he signed upon leav-
ing active duty in April2012.
The Justice Department
could go after the profits of the
book in a civil proceeding if it is
determined that he violated the
nondisclosure agreement by not
getting the book pre-cleared.
I
I
Former President Bill Clinton speaks ata 2010 campaign event in Rackham Auditorium.
Clinton aims tounify
4
Separatist party takes power in
Quebec after electora victory
No vote to breaki ties to pass legislation, and the Marois on her victory but said he
results will undermine efforts did not believe the results meant
away from Canada to quickly hold a referendum on most Quebecers favor separation.
separation. "Our government will remain
expected soon Quebec's official election web- focused on jobs, economic growth
Mite showR AP preli)inary resultspd goo ceonoa iiagerner.
MONTREAL (AP) -- A s epa-givingPth just over 32 percent "'Harpesid"WeTaeveeconod
ratist party won power in the of the vote and 57 seats, while the it issues and jobs are also the pri-
French-speaking province of Liberals had about 30 percent of ority of Quebecers. In that sense,
Quebec on Tuesday night, but the vote and 46 seats. A new party, we will continue working with the
another referendum to break Coalition Avenir Quebec, followed Government of Quebec on those
away from Canada isn't expect- with 27 percent and 20 seats. The common objectives."
ed any time soon after the Parti separatist Quebec Solidaire party Although a number of candi-
Quebecois failed to win a major- won 2 seats. dates from the smaller parties are
ity of legislative seats. A party needs to obtain 63 of separatists, a minority govern-
Parti Quebecois leader Pauline the 125 seats to form a majority. ment means "the more radical
Marois, who becomes Quebec's Charest, who lost his own seat, things in the party platform are
first female premier, replaces Lib- congratulated Marois for becom- going to be dead on arrival," said
eral Jean Charest, Quebec's leader ing Quebec's first woman premier, Bruce Hicks, a political science
for nearly a decade. but noted it is a minority govern- professor at Concordia University
With opinion polls showing lit- ment. in Montreal.
tle popular appetite for a new sep- "The result of this election Francois Legault, a former PQ
aratist referendum, Maroisherself campaign tonight speaks to the minister who now leads the Coali-
has left much uncertainty about if fact that the future of Quebec tion Avenir Quebec, has showed
and when one would be held under lies within Canada," Charest little support for quickly holding a
a PQ government. said. He did not indicate whether referendum, saying the separation
But more autonomy for Que- he intended to step down as Lib- issue has paralyzed the province
bec is high on the agenda for the eral leader after the defeat. for too long. He has said a referen-
PQ, which has said it would seek Quebec has held two referen- dum should be put off for at least
a transfer of powers from the dums to split from Canada, in a decade.
federal government in areas like 1980 and 1995, the last narrowly With the PQ just short of a
employment insurance and immi- rejecting independence. A recent majority, however, the party
gration policy. If those measures poll showed support for inde- should be able to win support
are rejected, the party believes pendence under 30 percent, but from other parties on a number
it would have a stronger case for analysts said voters were weary of other issues, for instance by
independence. of the Liberals after three terms offering them cabinet positions,
Without a majority in the Que- in office. Hicks said.
bec Assembly, however, the PQ Canadian Prime Minister Charest called the election:
will need to work with other par- Stephen Harper congratulated more than a year before he had
Keynote address that brings Clinton back to the to rebuild America from the
national political forefront and ground up," Clinton says, adding,
sign of mended lends Obama the validation of "That's what happened when I
.1. the Democratic Party's most was president."
relationship with popular elder statesman. To be sure, Clinton hasn't
With the economic recov- always been a model surrogate
ab ama ery still tepid and unemploy- for the Obama campaign.
ment stubbornly high, Obama The former president once
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) - campaign officials are eager praised Romney's '"sterling"
When Bill Clinton takes the to portray the president's eco- business credentials at 'Bain
convention stage in prime time nomic policies as mirroring Capital, the private equity firm
Wednesday to praise Presi- those of his Democratic prede- where Romney amassed a lsrge
dent Barack Obama, it will be cessor. Many voters remember fortune. Clinton also broke with
the most visible step on a path Clinton's tenure as a period of Obama on tax policy, suggest-
toward reconciliation for two prosperity. The economy added ing George W. Bush-era tax cuts
former rivals whose political some 22 million new jobs dur- for higher income earners be
fortunes are now inextricably ing his two terms in the White extended at least temporarily.
linked. House from January 1993 to the Obama has pledged to allow the
That Obama would choose start of 2001 and Clinton left cuts to expire as a way to cut the
the former president for such office with a balanced federal federal deficit.
a high-profile speaking spot budget and surplus. Clinton later walked back
and that Clinton would accept But it's not a one-wayproposi- that comment, but Republicans
seemed unfathomable in 2008, tion, as Clinton needs an Obama seized on it to suggest he was
when the two clashed bitterly win in November to preserve his siding with the GOP on taxes.
during the Democratic nomina- own legacy. A recent Fox News poll found
tion showdown between Obama "From President Clinton's a nearly 20-point gap among
and Hillay RofIImJ Clinto pspcive, if o iy were hit ters for the wsmen
e frmer p'esid nt's wife veete"he'lrepeal'verything _ ienton is vie wndrably
Even though Hillary Clinton Clinton ever did and everything by 61 percent of white voters,
now serves as Obama's secretary he wants to advance," longtime Obama by 42 percent. Among
of state, resentments between Clinton adviser Paul Begala independents, just 46 percent
the current and former presi- said. "He and President Obama have a favorable view of Obama
dents have been slow to ebb. share an economic philosophy while 64 percent view Glinton
But now, with the Democratic ferociously focused on the mid- favorably.
incumbent locked in a tight race die class, and he believes Obama Mindful of the formerpresi-
with Republican Mitt Rom- has us on the right track." dent's appeal to those groups,
ney, Obama has fully embraced Begala also serves as senior the Romney campaign has tried
Clinton as a political partner in adviser for Priorities USA Action, to co-opt Clinton's. record as a
hopes of capturing the former an independent group support- weapon to use against Obama.
president's uncanny knack for ing Obama's re-election that has They've done so most nota-
political survival against tough struggled to compete financially bly in a TV ad claiming Obama
odds. with similar Republican-leaning has tried to strip the work
"President Clinton has an groups. Clinton has signed on to requirements from welfare,
economic record second to help the group and did his first which was a key component of
none," Obama campaign man- event in August, briefing donors the welfare reform law Clin-
ager Jim Messina said at a on the political.landscape. His ton signed in 1996 and which
briefing Tuesday hosted by assistance helped the group raise remains one of his signature
ABC News and Yahoo. "He's a about $10 million in August, its accomplishments.
very credible messenger ... he's best monthly haul. Clinton released a statement
going to deliver a very compel- Clinton stars in an Obama, saying the ad was "not true" -
ling speech." campaign commercial currently an assessment shared by inde-
Obama called Clinton in July, running in battleground states. pendent fact-checkers.
and asked him to give the speech In the ad, the former president It's been an uneasy partner-
that would place the president's suggests that Romney would ship for Obama and Clinton, two
name in nomination. Clinton return the country to George political heavyweights whose
accepted enthusiastically, aides W. Bush-era economic poli- styles and political instincts
to both men said. cies while affirming Obama's often conflict. Tempers flared
If the arrangement seems approach that he argues mirrors between the two in 2008, lead-
like a forced marriage, it's also his own. ingto accusations of race baiting
a mutually beneficial pairing "President Obama has a plan and recriminations.
ECB chief is wielding more sway than Fed Chair Bernanke
Benchmark interest
rate cut expected on
Thursday
WASHINGTON (AP) - Move
over, Ben Bernanke. This is
Mario Draghi's moment.
The European Central Bank
president is overtaking the Fed-
eral Reserve chairman - at least
for now - as the central banker
with the most influence on the
global economy and markets.
Faced with a growing reces-
sion and a possible breakup of
the 17-country euro alliance,
Draghi has bigger problems than
Bernanke, who's, overseeing an
economy in recovbry.
As head of the ECB, which
meets Thursday, Draghi also has
more ammunition left than Ber-
nanke does.
The Fed chief still wields con-
siderable power to drive finan-
cial markets. That was clear last
week, when stocks jumped after
Bernanke signaled in a speech
in Jackson Hole, Wyo., that the
Fed will do more to help the still-
weak U.S. economy.
Yet the focus of the global
financial world has shifted to
Draghi. Some economists expect
the ECB to cut its benchmark
interest rate Thursday. Many
also hope Draghi spells out plans
by the ECB to start buying bonds
of troubled European govern-
ments to ease their borrowing
costs and shore up the euro alli-
ance.
"Draghi's role in averting an
implosion of the eurozone puts
him in the unfortunate position
of being the central banker with
the greatest influence on global
financial stability in the short
term," says Eswar Prasad, pro-
fessor of trade policy at Cornell
University.
Bernanke's task isn't as urgent,
"since the U.S. economy is plod-
ding along and does not face an
imminent disaster scenario.
Stock prices have risen in
recent weeks, in part because
investors expect the Fed and the
ECB to reduce lending costs in
the United States and Europe.
The Standard & Poor's 500 stock
index has risen more than 5 per-
cent since July 25..
Greece, struggling with debts
and its fifth year in recession,
may have to stop using Europe's
single currency if it doesn't
impose the tough budget cuts
being demanded as a condition
for its, bailout. Many fear that
bigger indebted countries -
like Spain and Italy - would be
forced to follow Greece out of the
eurozone.
The breakup of the alliance
could be devastating. Borrow-
ers in countries that left the
eurozone would struggle to
produce enough money in their
weak local currencies to repay
old debts denominated in much
stronger euros. As debts soured,
Europe's banking system would
freeze up. Its economy would
likely follow.
"The stakes in Europe are
much higher," says Ethan Har-
ris, co-head of global economic
research at Bank of America Mer-
rill Lynch. "Europe is already in
a recession. Their banking sys-
tem is in worse shape than ours.
And their fiscal policy process is
even more broken ... The survival
of the euro is at stake."
Last month, Draghi vowed
to do "whatever it takes" to
hold the eurozone together and
said that "believe me it will be
enough." Markets rallied on the
bold promise. Investors assumed
the ECB would intervene in the
bond market and buy up Italian
and Spanish government debt.
They hope its purchases would
drive Italy's and Spain's borrow-
ing costs down to sustainable
levels.
Imminent action by the ECB
is considered unlikely. Indebted
countries like Spain would first
have to apply for aid to the euro-
zone's bailout fund. Then they
would have to agree to condi-
tions spelling out how they'd
shrink their deficits.
And key details have yet to
be settled. They include how
tough the conditions would be
and whether any bond purchases
would target a specific interest-
rate ceiling.
Theoretically, Draghi has lim-
itless power to print money to
pour into bond purchases. But
Germany's conservative Bundes-
bank opposes the purchase
plan. It says governments could
become addicted to central bank
support - and slack off on cut-
ting their deficits.
Bundesbank head Jens Wei-
dmann, who sits on.the ECB's'
governing council, is so far alone
in opposition to bond purchases
by the ECB. But Weidmann could
conceivably rally more support
for his position if Draghi and the
council majority are perceived as
going too far.
Chancellor Angela Merkel has
indicated she's open to Draghi's
plans - a key factor fueling mar-
ket expectations he'll be able to
carry out a strong intervention.
Analysts say the effort ultimately
needs public support in the cur-
rency union's largest country.