REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz/File Photo
How the heck did top-secret US intel on Israel’s military plans wind up on a pro-Iranian Telegram channel?
Whether it was incompetence, hostile espionage or an intentional leak, it was a blow to a US ally caught in a multi-front war — with President Biden, Veep Kamala Harris and the rest of their administration constantly carping about Israel’s tactics.
Countries spy on their friends all the time, but sabotaging them is another matter.
The leaks include two top-secret reports by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency on Israel’s plans to retaliate against Iran’s missile attack this month: They detail the aircraft and munitions to be deployed as well as military exercises that appear to be training for the strike.
Good news: The reports don’t flag potential targets or definitively predict the “scale and scope” of a strike.
Bad news: It’s not clear how much more info leaked and could become public, or simply wind up in Tehran’s hands, potentially doing far more damage.
It’s near-certain the leaks came from somewhere in the administration; this top-secret info originated at a US intel agency and looks to be nothing that would legitimately be shared outside the US government.
And at least one top Harris-Biden official, now-suspended Iran special envoy Robert Malley, is thought to have stored classified material on his personal email account and cellphone, where it was later accessed by a “hostile cyber actor.”
Plus: Malley had ties to a pro-Iran group, the Iran Experts Initiative, some of whose affiliates, such as Ariane Tabatabai, continue to work in top posts where they might have access to classified docs.
And anyone in this administration might leak thinking to help Harris-Biden goals: The White House, after all, is publicly fretting that Israel’s coming response to Iran’s recent, massive ballistic-missile attacks might go too far.
Indeed, many Harris-Biden folks openly despise the Jewish state: Hundreds of federal employees have expressed outrage over US support for Israel in the war begun by Hamas’ Oct. 7 atrocities.
Harris and Biden themselves have held up weapons shipments, ordered Israel not to go into Rafah (where it thankfully eliminated Oct. 7 mastermind Yahya Sinwar last week) and told Jerusalem not to respond to Iran’s first missile and drone attack back in April.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken just again threatened to cut off military aid. Harris called a heckler’s claim that Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians “real.”
The White House has already been complaining about Jerusalem’s failure to share its war plans, but this scandal should guarantee the Harris-Biden folks learn even less.
However the leaks happened, Israel doesn’t dare share sensitive information with Washington now — nor until the entire current administration is gone.