Some Americans have forgotten who the bad guys really are in this fight. They have turned against those who defend them from harm, and defend those sworn to kill us.

BY Gordon Cucullu

Enemy combatants, captured on the battlefield, many self-confessed, hard core terrorists of the first order, are being portrayed as sympathetic figures by groups such as the ACLU, the Center for Constitutional Rights, and the more than 500 attorneys who comprise the informal Guantanamo Bay Legal Group, many of who, according to Andrew McCarthy, are now part of the Obama administration's Justice Department, including Attorney General Eric Holder.

In a looking-glass world this has become, American soldiers and intelligence officers are considered a threat while terrorists are given the benefit of the doubt. Perhaps this should be expected from a public in which almost 30 percent of Americans think that the US government was involved in the 9/11 attacks.

Much of the media fret openly about rights for Guantanamo detainees, insisting that they deserve the same protections granted Constitutionally to American citizens. They ignore or downplay atrocities committed by terrorists yet are quick to condemn any acts - whether rumor, allegation, or fact - by American soldiers or intelligence operators that don't meet the impracticable if not impossible standards set.

This convoluted thinking has emboldened our enemies and enervated our military and intelligence operators. We have returned to a pre-9/11 mindset and are exposing ourselves for more attacks.

In the latest string of actions that merit punitive reaction from US authorities, an investigation is underway over allegations that Guantanamo attorneys smuggled photos of CIA agents into their Gitmo clients, asking detainees if any of the photographed men had interrogated them.

According to details released from the on-going investigation, the attorneys used stalkers to follow the CIA operators to their homes, primarily in the Northern Virginia area, to photograph agents surreptitiously.

Essentially, this action has painted a target on these CIA operators and their families for the terrorists and their fellows, many of whom already operate clandestinely inside the US waiting for an opportunity to launch an attack.

Where is the public outrage? Men and women sworn to defend this country are put at risk by other Americans for political advantage or from a warped concern for the welfare of admitted terrorists who are, ironically, determined ultimately to destroy the very attorneys who represent them. The irony could easily turn to tragedy.

Too many Americans have adopted a lackadaisical attitude toward national security issues, and are quick to dismiss gross breaches of security as immaterial to their welfare. Witness the lack of outcry when respected newspapers like the New York Times and Washington Post - acting despite administration pleas to maintain secrecy - openly, indeed arrogantly, disclosed secrets like prisons for detainees in allied countries and communications intercept programs designed to monitor terrorist activities inside the US.

Media cite the "public right to know" in defending their "exposes" while knowing jeopardizing current counter-terrorism operations.

Other gross security breaches like former National Security Advisor Sandy Berger's theft of highly classified documents from the National Archives, were brushed off as eccentricities because the popular media hated George Bush and wanted to score points against him while protecting the image of their favorite, Bill Clinton.

Conversely, minor incidents like Valerie Plame, an openly declared employee of the CIA, supposedly being "outed" by Scooter Libby, generated excesses of wrath and condemnation. In both instances reaction was contingent on a predetermined political position and what means might be best used to advance that agenda.

The hypocrisy is easy to spot. Plame, a well-known CIA employee, is a victim, but other operators, legitimately under deep cover, are perpetrators of torture and abuse who must be identified and prosecuted. Soldiers are accused of crimes for trying to fight under increasingly restrictive rules of engagement knowing that even following all the rules will not protect them from the wrath of prosecutors who will judge their actions from offices far distant from the battlefield.

Military Police Sergeant Kiet Christensen hesitated when a civilian vehicle sped toward his convoy. "I could have lit him up, but I waited because I was afraid of what might happen if I made the wrong call." The suicide bomber blew up Christensen's Humvee and now, 23 surgeries later, the sergeant still lives with the consequences of his decision. "It's a miracle we all weren't killed," he said.

Neither our soldiers nor intelligence operators ought to depend on miracles. Nor ought they hesitate - for hesitation is death in combat - because of fear of retroactive prosecution for actions they took in good faith to save lives.

Soldiers and intelligence operators live in a world that, thankfully, most Americans will not have to experience. Life or death decisions must be made in extreme conditions under intense pressure. Hesitation or fear of being prosecuted hampers accomplishment of the mission and risks their lives and the lives of others.

Both the military and CIA have institutional safeguards to deal with behavior judged to be outside of regulations. All of these agencies have over the years successfully met challenges posed by instances of conduct that violated stated norms.

Now we are watching both the military and intelligence agencies politicized to a measure that will interfere with mission accomplishment and will cost lives, both in the field and, should more attacks occur, on American soil.

Removing politics from human institutions is a Quixotic goal for people are inherently political beings. Nevertheless, frivolously using individuals who have dedicated themselves to our safety to achieve short-term political points reprehensive and must cease.

Americans are responsible for reigning in politicians who we think are violating our trust and confidence. It is important that we stand united behind our military and intelligence community members who sacrifice much for our safety and ask only to be allowed to do their jobs knowing that their countrymen support them.


Gordon Cucullu is a former Army Special Forces lieutenant colonel and author. His latest book is Inside Gitmo: The True Story behind the Myths of Guantanao Bay.