Censorship: Navy SEAL Faces Charges for Writing Uncleared Book on Bin-Laden Raid
This week, I shipped off to the U.S. State Department my fourth book for security review as required by nondisclosure rules binding on all active duty and retired government personnel who have held top secret security clearances. Taking an average of six months per review, my books will have sat a total of two years with the green eye-shaders in Washington. That's two years of not being published. Two years of royalties not flowing into my bank account.
So, why do I put up with this? Because I have to. The regs state:
Public speeches, writings and teaching materials on matters of "official concern" must be submitted to the appropriate office for review before publication or use. The purpose
of such review is to ensure that classified material and other material protected by law are not improperly disclosed.
An employee must not publish any public speaking, writing, or teaching
material on a matter of official concern until all classified material has been
deleted from the submitted material.
And, as with all USG employees who are granted a security clearance, I signed a nondisclosure agreement requiring me to submit all relevant writings for review prior to publication.
Former CIA ops officer "Ishmael Jones" (a pseudonym) and ex-State Department Foreign Service officer Peter Van Buren have been sanctioned for having violated the rules by publishing uncleared tell-all books. A federal judge recently ordered Jones to remand all of his royalties to Uncle Sam. The State Department fired Van Buren.
Now there is the case of "Mark Owen," a SEAL Team 6 member who participated in the operation to kill Osama bin-Laden. Owen, (also a pseudonym) has written a book about the operation without first getting it cleared by the Defense Department. It is not clear why Owen chose to go this route. He states in the book that he wants "to set the record straight about one of the most important missions in U.S. military history. 'No Easy Day' is the story of 'the guys,' the human toll we pay, and the sacrifices we make to do this dirty job."
Reactions from Special Forces colleagues aren't positive. The unofficial Special Forces website sofrep.com asserts, "Word has it that {Owen} was given the boot from SEAL Team Six’s Red Squadron not long after the Bin Laden raid, possibly causing some bad blood. There is also speculation that {Owen} has come on some hard times financially leading him to chase a seven figure payday. Don’t tell us the money is for charity because that doesn’t give you a free pass." One member adds, "members of SEAL Team 6 are extremely angry about this book and feel betrayed."
For its part, Owen's publisher, Dutton, says, "for tactical, technical, and procedural information as well as information that could be considered classified by compilation" by a former "special operations attorney." In response, a Special Operations Command (SOCOM) spokesman said any such review by a non-USG attorney was "irrelevant."
Media reports almost all miss the point when discussing this case. The talking heads focus on whether or not Owen is spilling sensitive information. They conclude that, if not, then there should be no problem. That's completely wrong. The point is whether Owen violated his legal obligation to clear his writing, as the rest of us must. If so, he can expect to face the same kind of sanctions as have Jones,Van Buren and others before them.
What I find particularly troubling, legal issues aside, is why Owen chose to take the extraordinarily risky step of revealing his own identity, and possibly those of other Team 6 members, by publishing an uncleared book. His real name has been reported, though I, myself, will not reveal it here. A spokeswoman for the publisher said, "Personal security is the sole reason the book is being published under a pseudonym." Who are they kidding? After a few minutes of cyber-sleuthing, I ascertained Owen's address, photo, family relations and other tidbits. If I were an al-Qaeda operative, I'd have a good fix on how to find him. As one of the team members who helped dispatch bin-Laden, Owen is most certainly a wanted man among Islamist terrorist circles. His cavalier approach to his personal "OPSEC" defies common sense.
Owen will most assuredly face a protracted legal battle which will probably result in the royalties of his book being forfeited to the government -- notwithstanding that "the majority of the proceeds" from the book will be "donated to charities helping the families of killed SEALs."
So, why does one government official after another snub his nose at Uncle Sam and proceed with publishing uncleared books when the track record shows he will only bring down a world of hurt on himself? Only each individual can answer that.
See also
Why I'm Censored