Friday, July 27, 2012

Which is worse: leaking classified information or destroying it?

The discovery of leaks of sensitive or classified information has startled the American people and many politicians alike. Recent leaks have jeopardized US national security causing unprecedented concern for America's best and brightest operators working inside the Defense Department and our spy agencies. But what is more damaging -- leaking classified information or destroying it?
Leaking classified information is irresponsible and damaging but so can the destruction of information.
Just this week, two reports have unfolded proving some Department of Defense leaders are actually destroying sensitive information for selfish reasons. These acts of betrayal can actually cost the lives of America's greatest assets -- our warriors.
The Washington Times released an article titled Army destroyed report that favored software that detected buried bombs. The article explains how military leaders and their civilian counterparts actually destroyed information in an attempt to protect one of their own babies, an intelligence tool known as the Distributed Common Ground System (DCGS).
DCGS has many competitors. One of its main competitors is an analytical tool known as Palantir.  Palantir has been used for several years by intelligence analysts supporting our special operators. A few conventional intelligence analysts sought to incorporate Palantir into their toolbox but were denied access.

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