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MCCAIN ACCUSES U.S. ADMINISTRATION OF IRAN CYBER ATTACK DETAILS LEAK
PanARMENIAN.Net
June 2, 2012 - 14:23 AMT
PanARMENIAN.Net - U.S. Senator John McCain on Saturday, June 2
accused President Barack Obama's administration of leaking details
of a reported cyber attack on Iran and other secret operations to
bolster the president's image in an election year, AFP reported.
"Again we see these leaks to the media about ongoing operations,
which is incredibly disturbing. Doesn't this give some benefit to
our adversaries?" McCain told reporters in Singapore, where he was
attending a summit on Asian security.
McCain, who was defeated by Obama in the 2008 presidential election,
said there had been ill-advised leaks previously that revealed details
of the U.S. raid last year that killed Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin
Laden and other operations.
"We know the leaks have to come from the administration. And so we're
at the point where perhaps we need an investigation," said McCain,
the most senior Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee. "So
this is kind of a pattern in order to hype the national security
credentials of the president and every administration does it. But
I think this administration has taken it to a new level."
The New York Times reported Friday that Obama accelerated cyber
attacks on Iran's nuclear program using the Stuxnet virus, and expanded
the assault even after the virus accidentally made its way onto the
Internet in 2010.
The operation, begun under President George W. Bush and codenamed
"Olympic Games," is the first known sustained U.S. cyberattack ever
launched on another country, employing malicious code developed with
Israel, according to the Times.
McCain said he believed the U.S. president had authority to launch such
an attack. "But I also believe that it would be helpful if he talked
to a select few leaders of Congress. Most presidents have done this,"
he said.
The White House "never" briefed lawmakers on the assault, he said.
The Times said its report was based on 18 months of interviews with
current and former US, European and Israeli officials, and was adapted
from the book "Confront and Conceal: Obama's Secret Wars and Surprising
Use of American Power," by David Sanger, set to be published next week.
The cyber attack, aimed at preventing Iran from developing nuclear
weapons, sowed widespread confusion in Iran's Natanz nuclear plant,
the newspaper said.
PanARMENIAN.Net
June 2, 2012 - 14:23 AMT
PanARMENIAN.Net - U.S. Senator John McCain on Saturday, June 2
accused President Barack Obama's administration of leaking details
of a reported cyber attack on Iran and other secret operations to
bolster the president's image in an election year, AFP reported.
"Again we see these leaks to the media about ongoing operations,
which is incredibly disturbing. Doesn't this give some benefit to
our adversaries?" McCain told reporters in Singapore, where he was
attending a summit on Asian security.
McCain, who was defeated by Obama in the 2008 presidential election,
said there had been ill-advised leaks previously that revealed details
of the U.S. raid last year that killed Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin
Laden and other operations.
"We know the leaks have to come from the administration. And so we're
at the point where perhaps we need an investigation," said McCain,
the most senior Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee. "So
this is kind of a pattern in order to hype the national security
credentials of the president and every administration does it. But
I think this administration has taken it to a new level."
The New York Times reported Friday that Obama accelerated cyber
attacks on Iran's nuclear program using the Stuxnet virus, and expanded
the assault even after the virus accidentally made its way onto the
Internet in 2010.
The operation, begun under President George W. Bush and codenamed
"Olympic Games," is the first known sustained U.S. cyberattack ever
launched on another country, employing malicious code developed with
Israel, according to the Times.
McCain said he believed the U.S. president had authority to launch such
an attack. "But I also believe that it would be helpful if he talked
to a select few leaders of Congress. Most presidents have done this,"
he said.
The White House "never" briefed lawmakers on the assault, he said.
The Times said its report was based on 18 months of interviews with
current and former US, European and Israeli officials, and was adapted
from the book "Confront and Conceal: Obama's Secret Wars and Surprising
Use of American Power," by David Sanger, set to be published next week.
The cyber attack, aimed at preventing Iran from developing nuclear
weapons, sowed widespread confusion in Iran's Natanz nuclear plant,
the newspaper said.