-
Whistleblowers, Leakers, and Spies
I was a Federal government whistleblower, revealing the failure of Iraq Reconstruction at a time when everyone from President Obama to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was praising it as the solution to America’s nation-building expedition in Iraq. I made public information the government wished to keep quiet, though in my case everything was unclassified, albeit hidden away. I gained little from all this, instead being forced into early retirement by my employer the State Department, ahead of being fired or prosecuted. I know from bitter personal experience the difference between whistleblowers, leakers, and spies, all of whom expose what the government wants hidden.
So it was with concern I read in The New York Times that “the Iran war has significantly drained much of the U.S. military’s global supply of munitions, and forced the Pentagon to rush bombs, missiles and other hardware to the Middle East from commands in Asia and Europe. The drawdowns have left these regional commands less ready to confront potential adversaries like Russia and China.” The article is sourced around a few think-tankers, but uses unnamed officials and experts who are saying in broad daylight that the U.S. is running so low on critical munitions that not only is the war with Iran in danger of stumbling, but it has created a global vulnerability our adversaries might exploit. In other words, if you are reading this in Beijing, the U.S. might not be able to decisively shoot back in a scuffle.
Spies steal secrets. Imagine the espionage resources China and Russia devote to trying to learn about U.S. munitions stocks, one of the country’s most closely guarded secrets because of the advantage it gives an adversary. All those intelligence officers out there running ops against logistics soldiers and airmen, all those spy satellites counting delivery vehicles moving into storage facilities, who needs them. Somebody seems to have done the nasty work for them. Journalists should seek truth for public accountability. But when anonymous officials leak operational military vulnerabilities for domestic political agendas, the practical result can look dangerously similar to espionage. They act in the gray zone of our Venn diagram with circles drawn for whistleblowers, leakers, and spies.
Or maybe the Times made up the story based on speculation, taking the White House’s hard repudiation of the article as more “proof” it is true. But if not in this case, how about one of so many others given to the press by insiders that are damaging to the U.S.? How about the stories claiming most U.S. bases in the Middle East are damaged beyond use? Or that our sailors are not being fed properly? Or that U.S. casualties exceed government-released numbers? Or that the FBI is in chaos because Kash Patel is a day drinker, or the same at the Pentagon because Pete Hegseth is an alcoholic? Or the tales from the Oval Office that Trump is deathly ill, suffers from dementia, or had to be stopped from using nuclear weapons in the Gulf? What all those stories, many of them republished from X or conspiracy sites by America’s largest media outlets, have in common is that they are sourced from deep inside the American government, meaning either a whistleblower, leaker, or spy.
Whistleblowers are a special kind of government employee. They act on conscience, learning something due to their unique position that they believe after reflection is so important to the American people that it needs to be disclosed. I got to personally know through a common attorney people like Daniel Ellsberg (the Pentagon Papers), John Kiriakou (who blew the whistle on CIA torture), Tom Drake and Bill Binney (who disclosed NSA warrantless spying on Americans years before Ed Snowden). I learned through friends the motivations of whistleblowers Chelsea Manning and Snowden. Each person took a long, personal journey that led them to bring to light what our government was doing in our name. Their decisions were motivated by love of country and not personal gain. They were not political people per se, and did not seek revenge against some president or political party. Most importantly, they, as did I, all signed their real names to their disclosures, knowing that that act alone established credulity, albeit at the price of one’s job if not one’s freedom. They were patriots and had no need to hide behind anonymity.
Of course not all who claim to be whistleblowers are selfless patriots. In one example, a 2019 whistleblower complaint alleged President Donald Trump abused his power by pressuring Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden, triggering the first impeachment. Interestingly, the whistleblower worked to remain anonymous in trying to bring down Trump. Critics later argued that the analyst was politically motivated, and the case remains controversial precisely because anonymity made it difficult to judge motives as clearly as with traditional whistleblowers who stand publicly behind their claims. The so-called whistleblower is now the subject of a criminal referral to the Department of Justice.
Leakers are a different breed, and Washington has always been rotten with them. It used to be more journalists were taught to be skeptical of self-motivated leakers, and to judge the value of the information they provide against possible harm to others or the nation. They once understood conscience and judgement needed to be present alongside the First Amendment on the reporter’s side if not the source’s. Not so much anymore.
The key difference between leakers and whistleblowers is motivation. Whistleblowers seek to help the country, by telling, for example, that our government has torn up the Bill of Rights to spy on us. Leakers seek to help themselves by surfacing information, or just malicious watercooler gossip, to destroy a political enemy (the Kash Patel story) or further a political aim (resistance to the Iran war). Leaking often results from personal grievances or the desire to manipulate public opinion, for example, the leaked Supreme Court draft opinion overturning Roe v Wade. They do not care who gets hurt along the way, up to and including American troops facing an Iranian enemy empowered by the thought America is running out of missiles. Indeed, hurting someone may be the whole point of the leak. Leakers by and large do not have the courage to stand publicly by what they say, and almost always hide as “anonymous sources.” They count on the drama of their leak to offer credibility, not the willingness to risk their lives, fortunes, and honor.
Leakers rely on anonymity because they seek effect, not accountability; whistleblowers accept accountability often at personal cost because truth, not political advantage, is their purpose.
Copyright © 2024. All rights reserved. The views expressed here are solely those of the author(s) in their private capacity.
Recent Comments
Leave A Comment
Buy Peter’s Books on Amazon!
Rich Bauer said...
1Peter wants to claim he was the great Federal government whistleblower, revealing the failure of Iraq Reconstruction at a time when everyone from President Obama to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was praising it as the solution to America’s nation-building expedition in Iraq. made public information the government wished to keep quiet, though in my case everything was unclassified, albeit hidden away. I gained little from all this…
Enough of your BS., Peter. If you had a conscience, then You should have refused to serve in Iraq. But You took the big paychecks and promise of future great postings. You could have done this country a great service, But then the Nazis pay so well.
As for Trump’s illegal war today it is over today because it was costing him and his Repug Nazis too much money. Now about all those war crimes HeadUpHis Ass and Stupid Hitler should be sentenced… hey Peter write about that.
05/6/26 7:51 AM | Comment Link
Rich Bauer said...
2Donnie Dementia’s War-ton Report Card
The stable genius got a report card on his Illegal Iran war with grades similar to his Wharton school.
Iran Regime Change- F
Iran Nuke Program Obliteration- F
Murder of 169 little Iranian girls- F
Damage to global economy- F
Damage to alliance – F. ( cannot play well with others)
Market timing corruption- F
Damage to US defense programs in Asia- F
In short, the student has not learned anything.
05/6/26 9:37 AM | Comment Link
Rich Bauer said...
3DYING FOR THE CAUSE WILL KILL THE MAGA TRANS
DEMENTED and his proxy MAGA are losing the Iran War because of its mistaken belief that the world is a fundamentally transactional place, and that everyone has a price. For Xample, The EVILGELICALS sold out to a soulless freak because they believed the freak would get them what they want. The key to the soulless freak’s power isn’t just that he accurately sensed that much of the Republican establishment paid lip service to principle but really cared about power — it’s that he knew millions upon millions of voters possessed similar values. Their commitments to character or ideology took a back seat to the simple desire to defeat their opponents. The most important thing was to win. Anything else was a luxury.
And then came Iran. It gave THE FREAK a big FU to his trans strategy. Their strategy was to run out the clock on MAGA and the Freak to get the win. Let’s not make a deal with the devil.
05/7/26 7:57 AM | Comment Link
Rich Bauer said...
4MAGA Trans wants a return on investment
Breaking News: MAGGOTS don’t like getting hosed at the gas pump
If you trust polls- I don’t- 36% of voters (MAGA TRANS) still think Demented gives a crap about them. But that percent is dropping as the price of gas heads for $5. MAGGOTS are trans creatures but don’t like getting screwed. While giving Demented a BJ doesn’t bother these MAGA Trans, they don’t like the pain Demented is mounting.
What happens when the MAGA Trans get too sore to continue the love fest with the little dick-hater? They seek another to satisfy them. While VD Dance is getting it on with his own loveseat, little dick Marco will be twerking for their attention. Little Marco just yesterday said the failed Epic Fiasco is over. Just a matter of time for gas prices to come back down. Just another MAGA liar who promises not to come in their Trans mouths.
05/7/26 8:35 AM | Comment Link
Rich Bauer said...
5Project Freedumb is just another term for nothing left to lose
Shock and Awful is the predictable result when the dumbest voters elected the dumbest Prezidunce TWICE, who selected the dumbest guy to lead the war. Not shocking Saudi and Kuwait told said dumbass Prezidunce to f himself when he asked to use their bases and airspace for his dumbass Freedumb plan. Spain and other EU countries have had enough of Prezidunce, closing their bases for US flights destined for the Iran War.
If Prezidunce was smart, he would accept the Iranian proposal to begin talks to end the illegal war: arrest the war criminal HEADUPHISASS and hand him over to the Iran, where he would spend the rest of his miserable life caring for graves of the 160 little Iranian girls he murdered.
05/7/26 10:59 AM | Comment Link
Rich Bauer said...
6“One big glow..”
The diseased brain of Demented has no other solution to his Iran Epic Fiasco than to once again threaten to nuke Iran. See, this is the reason countries need nukes. How else to deter a psychopath than assure his mutual destruction.
05/8/26 7:09 AM | Comment Link
Rich Bauer said...
7“If oil is $250 it will be worth it…”
If it crushes the GOP into a permanent minority party.
05/8/26 7:31 AM | Comment Link
Rich Bauer said...
8Kash the drunken Indian broke by leakers or whistleblowers?
Kash, The drunken Indian Demented put in charge of the Famous but incompetent, is about to go on permanent rehab. The question Peter must be asking is whether the drunken Indian is an unfair victim of a leaker or a whistleblower.
Got to go with leaker, as truth has no purpose in the most corrupt administration in US history. J Edgar Boozer makes Demented look like a fool for choosing him for his cabinet of Fools.
05/8/26 8:58 AM | Comment Link
Rich Bauer said...
9Demented Declares Victory and Goes Home
Demented knows his time is up on achieving a win as Iran has ghosted the old fool. The midterms are coming soon and Demented is getting a big fat F for his failed Israel First assignment. What to do, what to do?
Since the first bombs fell, HeadUpHis Ass has lied about the damage the US bases have sustained. Now criminal leakers (or are they criminal whistleblowers) in THE CIA have dropped a truth bomb on these idiots that Iran still has capacity to blow the rest of the region to dust. Expect a purge of THE CIA along with the drunken Indian. Gas is headed for $5. MAGGOTS is getting real angry. Inflation is the only thing these idiots care about, Demented.
What can he do? Demented will do what he always has done in his failed ventures: blame others like HeadUpHisAss and just Walk AWAY. Not my problem. Demented will Declare victory that he saved Israel and that Iran is finished regardless of some fake CIA INTEL. His idiot MAGGOTS will swallow anything.
05/8/26 11:52 AM | Comment Link
Rich Bauer said...
10Whistleblowers, Leakers, and Spies Vs Gaslighters and Bullshitters
Remember when the world laughed at Baghdad Bob? My how the worm has turned, not to mention the worm in RFK jr’s diseased brain. The world is now laughing at the diseased brain of the Pedo Protection Party gaslighters who want US to believe Epic Fiasco was a total victory..if you don’t count Iran now controls the Strait of Hormuz and the Iran leadership is still intact.
It really doesn’t matter who rats out these bullshitters for the endless lies that would shame Baghdad Bob. The fact remains reality (truth ) has a nasty habit of surfacing no matter how much bullshit they try to bury it under.
05/10/26 10:18 AM | Comment Link
Rich Bauer said...
11PREDICTING THE MAGA MIND
Demented was elected because a significant percentage rightfully believed the status quo was not working for them. This will be the REASON for the demise of the Pedo Protection Party in 2026 and 2028. While the PPP with 218 seats in the House is desperate to fix state voting, it will only lesson the number of seats it will lose, flipping the House to a minimum of 218 Dem reps.
Given the significant percentage who rightfully believe the status quo is not working for them, and disgusted by the Fat Gatsby obsession with his golden ballroom, the PPP will be humiliated when the government agencies start revealing the rampant corruption of the PPP. Even if Fat Gatsby resigns in January rather than face two years of impeachment hearings, Vance or Rubio will not be able to change MAGA MINDS. With these dumbass Amerikans, it is always time for something completely different…when it’s always something similar but different.
05/10/26 11:28 AM | Comment Link
Rich Bauer said...
12The Pedo Protection – Israel First Party will lose to the Amerika First Party
What if there is an election come November and no Demented Repug voters bother to show up to support the PPP? The Amerika First Party is done with Demented. Things are looking grim. Iran has ghosted Demented, willing to wait for gas to hit $6 WHEN the old fool cries UNCLE. THE CIVIL WAR Demented was hoping to start has begun in its own ranks. General Bonespurs has little to offer his MAGGOTS to continue to fight. Can’t blame the Dems for inflation now. It is not just the military stocks that are empty. The old fool has no ammo left, other than to shoot himself in the foot.
What to do? Demented’s MAGA CULT is down to 25%. His impeachment looms. Fat Gatsby aka Stupid Hitler may attempt the Battle of His Bulge and retreat to his ballroom bunker. Can’t resign in defeat. As Epstein proved, the PPP can hang together or surely they will hang separately.
05/11/26 8:47 AM | Comment Link
Rich Bauer said...
13Demented plays checkers one move at a time while Iran plays chess…and it’s checkmate
Demented could escalate with new bombings, but that is unlikely to force Iranian concessions and very likely to trigger devastating Iranian attacks on Gulf state oil and gas facilities that could take years to repair. He could try to wait Iran out, but Iran’s leaders are likely to win that game. The old fool has reportedly asked U.S. intelligence agencies to assess how Iran would respond if he simply retreated and declared victory. But declaring victory does not make it so. Demented does not have a winning move because he wasn’t aware what game he was playing.
05/11/26 7:30 PM | Comment Link
Rich Bauer said...
14Elder Abuse on both their houses
Remember when the Dems pushed old senile Joe Biden out on that stage to debate Demented? Clear case of elder abuse. Now the PPP is repeating that with poor old senile Demented. They are torturing the effectively 90year old on a 20 hour trip to China and back. No doubt the old senile guy will need a month to recover. DVT could kill the guy. Vance would be so sad. The CIA, already under investigation for leaking, would be a suspect. Putin knows the end is near for Demented. Desperate to end the Ukraine War.
No way the old senile guy makes it to the end of his term.
05/12/26 8:27 AM | Comment Link
Rich Bauer said...
15MAGA CULT DOWN TO 25%
With Inflation primarily driven by higher gasoline prices highest in three years 25% polled think the Iran War has absolutely nothing to do with it.
Gaslighting, hmmm?
05/12/26 11:40 AM | Comment Link